Radio
listeners around the country can thank Cathy Hughes for creating the "Quiet
Storm," the most listened to nighttime radio format in the country and
currently heard in more than 50 markets across the nation.
Like this popular format, Ms. Hughes
has taken the radio industry by storm. She is the founder and chairperson of
Radio One, Inc., the largest African-American owned and operated broadcast company
in the United States.
The Radio One properties consist
of 20 FM stations and seven AM stations in nine of the top 20 African-American
radio markets, including Richmond. With its stations reaching over two million
black listeners on a daily basis, Radio One is often recognized as the "voice
of black America."
"With God as
your partner, there’re no limits on what you can achieve."
The Omaha, Nebraska, native
began her radio career in 1973 as general sales manager at Howard University’s
station, where she created the "Quiet Storm" format. Seven years later,
Ms. Hughes purchased her first radio station.
Active community involvement is
a trademark of Radio One and Ms. Hughes herself. Her major community service
projects include her sponsorship of the Piney Woods Summer Camp, which allows
inner city youth to spend the summer at a highly-successful African-American
boarding school in Mississippi. In addition, she sponsors "Dream Feast,"
where celebrity servers feed and fellowship with the homeless.
Ms. Hughes has been recognized by
the Capitol Press Club, the Washington, D.C. Chamber of Commerce, and Impact
a nd Billboard magazines. Essence magazine recognized her as one of 100 who
have "changed the world," and she has been profiled in Emerge, Broadcast
& Cable and Forbes magazines.
In May 1999, Ms. Hughes and her
son, Alfred Liggins, took Radio One public and joined the ranks of only a few
black-owned companies on the stock market. This venture made Ms. Hughes the
first African-American woman with a company on the stock exchange and boosted
Radio One’s reported value to more than $1 billion.
The radio extraordinaire shares
her heart-felt advice: "Always put God first in all things, and then you
can embrace the God Spirit that is in all of us. With God as your partner, there
are no limits on what you can achieve and receive."
