Oprah Winfrey will receive the 2004 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Broadcasters during the All-Industry Opening at NAB2004 April 19.
Each year the association presents the award to recognize broadcasters who have made significant and lasting contributions to the industry.
Winfrey began her broadcasting career at a radio station in Nashville, TN. At the age of 19, she became the youngest person and the first African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV. She moved to Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the six o'clock news and then became the co-host of "People Are Talking," a local talk show.
In 1984, Winfrey moved to Chicago to host WLS-TV's morning talk show, "A.M. Chicago," which became the number one talk show the month after she began. In less than a year, the show expanded to one hour and was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show." In 1986, the show entered national syndication and has remained the number one show in the country for 17 consecutive seasons. Winfrey produces and hosts the show through Harpo Productions. It is seen by an estimated 23 million viewers a week in the United States, broadcast internationally in 110 countries and is the highest-rated talk show in television history.
Winfrey is chairman of Harpo, Harpo Productions, Harpo Studios, Harpo Films, Harpo Print and Harpo Video. Her other ventures include publishing, producing films, co-founding the Oxygen cable network and working as an educator. She has also appeared in films, including her performance in The Color Purple, for which she received both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.
For more information, please visit: www.nabshow.com.
