WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters said it will honor Ralph M. Oakley, former president and CEO of Quincy Media, with the Chuck Sherman Television Leadership Award.

Oakley, now owner of Sullivan’s Landing LLC, which owns WJMN-TV Marquette, Mich., will receive the award, which recognizes his distinguished career and enduring commitment to local television, at the NAB State Leadership Conference in Washington on March 3.

“Ralph Oakley exemplifies the spirit of local broadcasting through his steadfast leadership, deep community commitment and lifelong service to others,” NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said. “His work inside and outside of our industry has strengthened local journalism, expanded access to educational opportunities and advanced the values that define our industry. Ralph has long been a trusted voice and guiding force for broadcasters nationwide, and we are proud to honor him with this well-deserved recognition at the NAB State Leadership Conference.”

Oakley started in broadcasting in 1977 with Quincy Newspapers, later known as Quincy Media, at WGEM AM-FM-TV in Quincy, Ill., moving on to roles at WSJV-TV South Bend, Elkhart, Ind., and WVWA-TV Bluefield-Beckley, W.Va., before joining the Quincy corporate office.

He was named president and CEO of Quincy Media, a sixth-generation, family-owned firm operating TV stations in 16 states, as well as two newspapers and two radio stations, in 2009. Quincy sold its TV stations to Gray Media and its newspapers to Phillips Media in 2021.

He currently owns Sullivan’s Landing and WJMN, which serves the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with local programming under a shared sales and services agreement with Morgan Murphy Media.

Oakley is a former member of the NAB board and served on its executive committee; was a trustee and co-chair of NAB’s Political Action Committee and served on the NAB Leadership Foundation board, as well as on the TVB Board of Directors and the ABC Affiliate Board of Governors. He is also a former chair of the NBC Affiliates Association and the Illinois Broadcasters Association. He has been honored as the IBA’s broadcaster of the year.

His civic leadership roles include serving as a member and former chair of the Quincy University board of trustees; founding chair of the Community Foundation of West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri; chair of the United Way of Adams County annual campaign and as a board member of the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce and the Quincy Public Schools Foundation.

For more on NAB and the State Leadership Conference, visit NAB’s website.

WASHINGTON—Seven new members have been elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Leadership Foundation, NAB announced.

The NAB Leadership Foundation works with broadcast leaders and those who wish to be. It offers training programs, career development resources and awards aimed at strengthening the industry by developing the next generation of broadcast leaders, says the foundation’s website. 

The new board members are: Artie Altman, executive vice president of The Katz Television Group, Katz Media Group; Jan Goldstein, Gray Television’s senior vice president of Human Resources; Brian Lawlor, president of Local Media for The E.W. Scripps Company; DeDe Lea, executive vice president of Global Public Policy and Government Relations at ViacomCBS; Wendy McMahon, president of ABC Owned Television Stations Group; Ralph Oakley, president and CEO of Quincy Media Inc.; and Gayle Troberman, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of iHeartMedia.

More information is available on the NAB Foundation website.

WASHINGTON—NABPAC, NAB’s political action committee, is getting in on the election year spirit, announcing that Chris Cornelius and Ben Downs have been voted by the NABPAC Board of Trustees to serve as the group’s co-chairs.

Cornelius is the director of business development at Morgan Murphy Media and will take over the role of NABPAC TV chair from Ralph Oakley, CEO of Quincy Media Inc. Downs, the vice president and general manage of Bryan Broadcasting Corporation, will be the radio chair, assuming that role from William McElveen, the regional president of Alpha Media. Cornelius and Downs’ terms are effective immediately.

Cornelius also currently serves on the NAB Television Board of Directors. Downs was a previous member of the NAB Radio Board of Directors.

Oakley and McElveen served in their roles with NABPAC from 2014 to 2019. During that time, total dollar contributions to NABPAC rose by almost one-third, while the number of donors grew by more than 50%, according to NAB. They both will remain as trustees for NABPAC.

“NABPAC plays an important role in supporting broadcast champions in Congress, and Ralph and Bill deserve enormous credit for their work in growing NABPAC’s voice on Capitol Hill,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. “America’s radio and TV broadcasters thank Ralph and Bill for their steady leadership of NABPAC, and we look forward to benefiting from Chris and Ben’s guidance.”