NAB Will Salute Lowry Mays

Lowry Mays may be called controversial for the impact he has had on radio. But no one questions whether he was successful at what he set out to do.
This spring he’ll jam another honor into his trophy case. Thirty-three years after buying his first radio station in San Antonio, Mays will receive NAB’s Distinguished Service Award.
Mays is chairman of the board of Clear Channel Communications, which now has 1,200 stations in addition to numerous other media holdings, as well as 50,000 employees.
NAB head Eddie Fritts commended Mays, saying he had “built from scratch a media and entertainment company that has changed the face of broadcasting and mass communications,” and he complimented Mays’ “passion for excellence, his commitment to community and his support for civic causes.”
The award recognizes broadcasters who have made significant and lasting contributions to the broadcasting industry. NAB gives it out at the spring convention.
Oprah Winfrey received the award last year.