Text has been updated to correct the number of radio stations owned.
Russell M. Perry will receive the NAB National Radio Award during the 2020 Radio Show.
He is described by the National Association of Broadcasters as “a trailblazing media entrepreneur, a champion of journalism and a celebrated humanitarian in his community,” according to NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith in the announcement.
The association noted that Perry began his radio career in 1993 with the founding of Perry Publishing & Broadcasting Co. and the purchase of an AM station in Oklahoma City, Okla.
[Read: Radio Show Announces Virtual Lineup]
“Since then, he has grown the company into the largest independently owned African-American broadcasting company in the nation, with 11 radio stations across the southeast United States.”
Earlier he was co-publisher of The Black Dispatch, and in 1979, became the owner and publisher of The Black Chronicle, a paid weekly newspaper serving Oklahoma.
Perry has also held high posts in Oklahoma state government as the secretary of commerce and secretary of economic development and special affairs. He’s active in efforts to promote and restore African-American-owned commerce in Oklahoma City.
Past honors include induction into the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and American Urban Radio Network Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
The Radio Show will be held virtually this year over a full week in early October; it is produced by the NAB and the Radio Advertising Bureau. Info is at the Radio Show website.