Tonight we gather to celebrate a very special event — the 32nd class of the B+C Hall of Fame, recognized for unique contributions to our industry.
In 1991, at the 60th anniversary of Broadcasting magazine, the Hall of Fame was created to honor 60 significant contributors to TV and electronic media. The original class included industry legends ranging from Guglielmo Marconi to William S. Paley, Lucille Ball, cable pioneers Bill Daniels and Dr. John Malone and C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb, to name but a few.
In the ensuing years, we’ve inducted Hall of Famers as much for their impact in the community that watches TV as we have for their influence on the medium. This year is no exception, as exemplified by both Service to the Community Award winner Phil Beuth and Humanitarian Award winner Dick Vitale. Phil was the very first person hired by Capital Cities Communications founder Tom Murphy in 1955 and, alongside Dan Burke, he helped direct the growth of ABC from when CapCities acquired it in a landmark 1985 merger until his 1997 retirement. The broadcaster affectionately known as “Dickie V” needs no introduction to sports fans — he’s been ESPN’s lead college basketball analyst since 1979. Just as noteworthy as his Hall of Fame broadcasting career is his effort to fight pediatric cancer as his annual Dick Vitale Gala in Sarasota, Florida, raised some $24 million for research this past May. His efforts are all the more poignant as he battles cancer himself.
Arthur Wagner, Active International executive chairman of the board and founder, receives the Lifetime Achievement Award for helping establish the barter market in television advertising. Gabelli Funds chief investment officer Mario J. Gabelli, the Chairman’s Award winner, has been an influential investor for more than 50 years.
Rounding out the notables in this year’s class are Janice Arouh, president, network distribution at Allen Media Group; Bob Bakish, president and CEO at Paramount Global until earlier this year; Valari Dobson Staab, chairman, NBCUniversal Local; Karen Dougherty Buchholz, executive VP of administration at Comcast; Marianne Gambelli, who recently retired as president of advertising sales, marketing & brand partnerships at Fox; Scott Herman, a retired CBS Radio executive who now chairs the Broadcasters Foundation of America; Douglas V. Holloway, who helped build the cable business at USA Networks and NBCUniversal and is now president of Homewood Media; Steve Lanzano, president and CEO of the TVB; B+C Hall of Fame chairman Bill McGorry, a 40-year industry publishing veteran; Debra OConnell, president, news group and networks, Disney Entertainmment Television; and George Stephanopolous, co-anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America and anchor of This Week With George Stephanopolous.
As always, this year’s gala will support the Broadcasters Foundation, which provides support to men and women in the TV and radio industry who find themselves in acute financial need due to a critical illness, severe accident or other serious misfortune, along with the Paley Center for Media.
We thank tonight’s co-hosts, Brian Custer of ESPN’s SportsCenter; actor, producer, TV/radio host and New York Times best-selling author Mario Lopez; and ABC News correspondent, 20/20 co-anchor (and B+C Hall of Famer) Deborah Roberts. Thanks also to our in-house editorial and sales staffs at B+C; the marketing and production teams; and Future B2B events leader Cassandra Grant. And, of course, our event producers at Live Star Entertainment, Eric Drath and Danielle Naassana; as well as Alan Winnikoff and Carina Sayles, our PR team; and especially our sales team, led by Dena Malouf, Jessica Wolin and Jo Stanley. Finally, thanks to you, our inductees and company sponsors, alumni and attendees, for your support and generosity. Thank you all!
The 32nd B+C Hall of Fame Class
- Janice Arouh
- Bob Bakish
- Philip R. Beuth (Service to the Community Award)
- Karen Dougherty Buchholz
- Mario J. Gabelli (Chairman’s Award)
- Marianne Gambelli
- Scott Herman
- Douglas V. Holloway
- Steve Lanzano
- William McGorry
- Debra OConnell
- Valari Dobson Staab
- George Stephanopoulos
- Dick Vitale (Humanitarian Award)
- Arthur Wagner (Lifetime Achievement Award)
