Watching the movie, Talk to Me, influenced me to do some more research on Cathy Hughes and her company, Radio One. Although an ancilliary story to the movie, the movie really introduces us to the beginnings of an African-American radio empire, that many may not know anything about.
Radio One is the seventh largest radio broadcasting company in the country which targets African American and urban markets and owns 70 stations in 22 cities. It was the first African-American woman-owned company to be traded on the stock exchange. It is responsible for the syndicated Russ Parr Morning Show
Additionally, in a joint venture with Comcast Corporation, the company created TVOne with lifestyle and entertainment oriented programming for African American adults.
But all these amazing accomplishments underpin an impressive personal story. Cathy Hughes was born and grew up in a housing project in Omaha, Nebraska. Extremely smart and ingenuious, she was the first African-American to attend a pretegious catholic school in the area and had a job at the age of 14 with the local African-American newspaper selling classified ads. However, when she found herself pregnant at age 16, her dreams became derailed....temporarily. Fueled by the determination to provide a good life for her son, she turned her passion for urban owned media into a media empire. For more information on her inspiring life story, read this profile on the Nebraska State Education Association website.
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