CPB Presents Murrow Award to Richard H. Madden

Washington, D.C. May 17, 2001 -- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) today named Richard H. Madden, CPB vice president, radio, the recipient of the 25th annual Edward R. Murrow Award, public radios highest honor.

CPB Board member Ritajean H. Butterworth presented the award to Madden at the opening session of the annual Public Radio Conference in Seattle this morning.

The Murrow award recognizes individuals whose work has fostered the growth, quality, and positive image of public radio. During three decades in broadcasting as reporter, producer, executive and government official, Murrow was an outspoken advocate for responsible, courageous and imaginative use of the electronic media. These principles apply particularly well to public radio and those who have helped shape its direction.

"Rick Madden has encouraged the work of independent producers, instituted performance standards, fostered the health of rural and minority stations, and led countless initiatives to increase revenues and efficiency throughout the public radio system," said Butterworth. "For the past 18 years, I have witnessed first hand his passion for public radio."

"I am grateful that CPB and my colleagues consider my nearly 40 years of work in public radio as affirming Murrows values," said Madden. "Like Murrow, this award is about inspiration, about looking forward, and about applying well-reasoned values to raise our enterprise to its next level of significance."

Madden, a veteran public broadcasting executive with more than 30 years of experience, including a decade at the station level, has worked at CPB since 1983. He was appointed vice president, radio in May 1998, where he oversees the Corporations $13 million Public Radio Public Service Competitive Funds and policy development for CPBs $70 million Radio Community Service Grant program.

Madden served as founding director of the Corporations Radio Program Fund, created in 1986, which identifies new national broadcast programming including content for the new media environment. The fund has nurtured several of public radios top programs including, the creation of Native American and Hispanic satellite networks and related programming, programming for national and state-based internet and digital direct broadcast satellite services, production of the first station-based nationally distributed daily broadcast series, the first west coast-originated news program, and outreach specials, as well as programs and series that have won multiple national and international awards.

Madden has led three major national reviews (1992, 1995, and 1998) of CPBs station grant policies. The 1992 review led to the creation of financial incentives for CPB-funded minority and rural stations. The 1995 review led to the development of the first audience-based performance standards for public radio and the creation of the Public Radio Future Fund. Madden served as first director of the fund designed to support initiatives to increase the industrys non-governmental financial support and to achieve increased productivity and new operating efficiencies that result in significant savings. The 1998 review led to a realignment of the grant programs and also a multipart strategy for increasing the financial stability of CPB-funded rural stations.

In addition to being CPBs first Program Fund and Future Fund director, Madden also was the first director of the CPB System Development Fund, which financed training, development, and other non-production radio and television activities.

Prior to joining CPB, Madden held the following posts: assistant director, later associate director, the Ohio University Telecommunications Center, Athens, Ohio (1975-1983), director of educational broadcasting and assistant professor of education, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, West Virginia (1972-1975), and tenured instructor, Learning Resources and Mass Media Department, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania (1969-1972).

Madden earned a Master of Arts in Speech (Radio and Television) at the Ohio State University in 1968 and a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame in 1967.

About CPB

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.