The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (RTNDF) honored former FCC chairman Richard Wiley, as well as Bob Schieffer of CBS News, Associated Press CEO and president Tom Curley and NBC Universal executive VP Paula Madison, March 6 during the organization’s First Amendment Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C.
Wiley, who also founded Wiley Rein, LLP, received a special RTNDF award for communications work over his career. John Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, presented the award and called Wiley the “father of HDTV” for his work as chairman of the FCC advisory committee that developed the U.S. standard for HDTV.
"In just 348 days, the reign of analog television will be largely over; and the bright promise of digital (and its highest form, HDTV) will be upon us," Wiley said in accepting the award.
Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” presented the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award to Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News and anchor of the Sunday public affairs program “Face the Nation.”
David Westin, president of ABC News, presented the First Amendment Leadership Award to Tom Curley, president and CEO of the Associated Press, who helped establish the Sunshine in Government Initiative.
Tom Brokaw, special correspondent for NBC News, presented the First Amendment Service Award to Paula Madison, executive VP for diversity of NBC Universal.
For more information, visit www.rtnda.org.
