Emily Barr, GMG President and CEO, to receive 2018 Golden Mike Award

Graham Media Group is proud to announce that company President and Chief Executive Officer Emily L. Barr will receive the 2018 Golden Mike Award.

Barr will be presented with the award at an annual black-tie gala set for March 5 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, officials with the Broadcasters Foundation of America said this week.

The event serves as a major fundraiser for the Broadcasters Foundation, the only charity devoted exclusively to helping broadcasters in need.

“It is an honor to receive this award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and I am grateful to the board for their commitment to our colleagues in need,” Barr said. “This year, the Broadcasters Foundation rose to the challenge of helping so many of our colleagues who were impacted by hurricanes, floods and wildfires. With the generous support of broadcasters across the country, the foundation can continue to make a difference in the lives of those who find themselves in devastating circumstances.”

Barr has sat at the helm of the broadcast TV division of Graham Holdings since 2012. Graham’s seven stations are known as news leaders in Top-70 markets – including Houston, Detroit, San Antonio, Orlando, Jacksonville and Roanoke.

Graham Media Group was named 2016 Station Group of the Year by Broadcasting and Cable Magazine, under Barr’s leadership.

Before coming to Graham, Barr served as president and general manager of ABC-owned stations in Chicago and Raleigh-Durham. She is also on the boards of the Associated Press and the Television Bureau of Advertising.

“Emily is a consummate broadcaster whose leadership and service to the industry and the communities that the Graham stations serve are commendable,” said Dan Mason, chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation, in a statement online. “We are proud to honor her and recognize her accomplishments.”

Barr is also the first vice chair for television for the National Association of Broadcasters and has been the chairman of the board for the Illinois Broadcasters Association. Barr was inducted into the 2016 Silver Circle of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 

She was awarded the 2014 Vincent T. Wasilewski Broadcaster of the Year by the Illinois Broadcasters Association and received the 2010 Westbury Leadership Award from the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago for her involvement in a citywide media effort to raise funds for the Haitian earthquake relief effort, the BFOA statement said.

The Golden Mike Award dinner attracts a who’s-who of media executives and celebrities. For more than 70 years, the Broadcasters Foundation, a 501(c)-3 charity, has distributed millions of dollars to broadcasters who have lost their careers through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease or other unforeseen tragedy.