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Contacts:
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Wendy Leopold
Medill School of Journalism
w-leopold@northwestern.edu

 June 14, 2004

TELEMUNDO CHIEF WINS IDA B. WELLS
AWARD FOR DIVERSITY EFFORTS

EVANSTON, Ill. – Don Browne, chief operating officer of the Spanish-language television network Telemundo, is the 2004 winner of the Ida B. Wells Award, NABJ President Herbert Lowe and Lynnell Burkett, president of the National Conference of Editorial Writers, announced today.

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» Learn more about the Ida B. Wells Award » 2005 nomination form (requires Acrobat Reader) » Past Ida B. Wells Award winners » National Conference of Editorial Writers » Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University

Bestowed annually by NABJ and NCEW, the Wells Award recognizes media executives who have made outstanding efforts to ensure newsrooms more accurately reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. It is named for the 19th century journalist who crusaded against lynching and is administered by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

“Don deserves this award for his initiatives in the recruitment and career development of women and journalists of color,” said Lowe, a courts reporter at Newsday in New York. “A longtime advocate of the Spanish-language TV market, he personifies what we mean when we say that neither race in America nor journalism diversity can simply be viewed in black-and-white terms.”

Browne, who previously served as president and general manager of WTVJ, NBC's owned-and-operated station in Miami, is a charter member of the NBC News Task Force on Women and Minorities. He currently serves as a member of NBC's Task Force on Diversity and was a key member of the NBC team that arranged the purchase of the Telemundo network.

Browne was involved in the creation of “Dateline,” NBC's first successful prime-time newsmagazine, and the launch of the weekend edition of “The Today Show.” As NBC's Miami bureau chief from 1979-89, he directed news coverage of Central and South America.

“Although this nation’s print and broadcast media still have much work ahead to reflect the nation’s diversity, people such as Don Browne have made great contributions to the effort,” said Burkett, editorial page editor of the San Antonio Express-News. “NCEW is pleased to join with NABJ each year to recognize executives who understand how critically important the effort is.”

Browne will receive the Wells award on Oct. 1 at NCEW’s annual convention in Chicago.

Medill School Associate Dean Ava Greenwell and Assistant Professor Charles Whitaker, both longtime NABJ members, administer the award. They, along with Lowe and Burkett, were among the eight individuals who helped judge this year’s competition.

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