Black History: Cathy Hughes

Catherine Hughes: A pioneer radio entrepreneur
Copyright © 2008 by Jean Sanders

During her journey from teenaged mother to corporate executive, Catherine Hughes has proven that determination, hard work and reliance on inner strength can create success. Founder of the African-American radio network, Radio One, Hughes has been called the most powerful woman in radio. She is the first woman owner of a radio station ranked #1 in any major market and is the first African-American woman to head a publicly traded company.

Catherine Elizabeth Woods (later Hughes) was born April 22, 1947, in Omaha, Nebraska, the oldest of four children. Her father, William Alfred Woods, an accountant, and her mother, Helen Jones Woods, a registered nurse, lived modestly in a public housing project. When she was nine, her parents gave her a transistor radio. Her incessant listening was a portent of things to come.

Smart and studious, she was the first African-American to attend Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, a prestigious Catholic girls' school in Omaha. At age fourteen, she sold classified ads for the African-American-owned Omaha Star. She has credited that experience as shaping her philosophy about "the responsibility of black-owned media." She has also attributed part of her success to her Omaha upbringing, emphasizing black pride, and a Midwestern work ethic.

Surprised at sixteen to learn she was pregnant, she was depressed and in denial. She dropped out of school and married the baby's father. Two years later they divorced, making her another sad statistic--single black teenaged mother with an unfinished education and few prospects.

Today she emphasizes the value of having vision, which she defines as a combination of imagination and preparation. Her vision then inspired her to secure a good future for her son, Alfred Liggins. She returned to Duchesne Academy and graduated in 1964.

Her formal education continued sporadically thereafter. She attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the fall semester of 1968 and records reveal she took some additional courses there and one course at Creighton University in 1972.

Her principal education, however, was in the "School of Experience." Among several jobs, she worked for Reverend Leon H. Sullivan at the Opportunities in Industrialization Center in Omaha and, in the early 1970s, helped an African-American group buy and manage an Omaha radio station, which the Ford Foundation helped fund.

Her work ethic was rewarded in 1972 when Tony Brown, Dean of Howard University's new School of Communications in Washington, DC, hired her to lecture there.

In 1973 Hughes was appointed general sales manager of its radio station, WHUR-FM. In 1975 she became vice president and general manager, the first woman to attain that rank in the Washington, DC area. She created The Quiet Storm, a variation on rhythm and blues that featured romantic, sultry sounds. She asked Howard University to license the format but was refused with the reasoning that it wasn't "commercially viable." Ironically, due to The Quiet Storm, ratings and revenue rose dramatically. Today it is standard nationwide.

In 1978 she left WHUR-FM to become general manager at WYCB-AM in Washington, DC. Six months later, frustrated at being stifled creatively, she decided to pursue owning her own station. By that time she had married television producer Dewey Hughes.



In 1979, WOL-AM was a small station with a big problem. It was undergoing a federal investigation and being forced into sale. Hughes and her husband decided to buy it. They found investors who guaranteed $450,000. They put up $100,000 of their own money and tried to secure a bank loan for the remainder of the $950,000 asking price. Thirty-two banks turned them down, but persistence paid off. Thanks to a Puerto Rican female loan officer new on her job, they purchased the station in 1980. It was the genesis of Radio One. Their slogan was "Where information is power."

Upon arriving in Washington, DC, Hughes had been astonished to discover there was no black-owned radio station, or any that targeted black listeners in the area, so she instituted an all news and talk format presenting issues from a black perspective. The station was moved from Georgetown to a black neighborhood. A glass booth was installed so the public could observe. Money for additional staff was unavailable, so Hughes became the talk show host, outspoken in her advocacy for black issues. She was accused of racism and prejudice.

The station lost money. Debt and marital tension rose. Dewey Hughes moved to California to further his career. Catherine Hughes refused to go. They divorced and she bought his share of the station. Faltering finances forced Catherine and her son to lose their house and car. They lived in the station with sleeping bags for beds and a hot plate for cooking.

Eventually they fashioned an apartment out of office space. Hughes sold a precious heirloom that had belonged to her great-grandmother--a rare white-gold pocket watch made by slaves--and received $50,000. She contacted her creditors to update them regularly, and paid them a little at a time. Almost seven years later, the station began to show a profit.

Early in 1982 the bank's loan officers threatened to cut off funds unless she included music in the format. She compromised by keeping talk in the morning and playing music the rest of the day. Ratings dropped, proving once again that Hughes knew her core audience. After a year and a half, she was able to return WOL to all talk, and ratings rose.

In 1986 the Washington Post published what Hughes considered to be a biased and insensitive story about a rap artist accused of murder. Using her talk show as a platform for protest, for thirteen weeks she demanded reform in reporting. Finally, both the publisher and editor of the powerful Post appeared on her program to apologize.

Another instance of controversy ensued when, in 1990, Hughes held a fund-raiser for Mayor Marion Barry. Barry was convicted on drug-related charges, and Hughes later regretted her stance which, originally, she had perceived as support for the black community.

By 1987 it was time to expand. FM had become the dominant venue for music and was deemed essential to any radio owner's survival. To provide that tie-in, Hughes purchased WMMJ-FM. A new federal law in 1992 made it possible to expand her burgeoning radio empire across the country. Her pattern was to buy troubled stations and turn them around.

In 1994 a challenging incident occurred when Hughes' remarks about Hispanics working in black neighborhoods were misconstrued. She explained that she had intended to compliment Hispanics for their initiative and cooperation with the black community.

In 1995 she quit hosting her talk show. In 1998, she returned a $500,000 loan from the state of Maryland and denounced the state legislature because they had expelled Larry Young, a black state senator, for alleged ethics violations.

Hughes' dream of providing a good life for her son has become a reality. Alfred Liggins began working for Radio One full time when he was twenty-one. Today he is president and chief executive officer of the network based at Lanham, Maryland.

The pinnacle of their success was reached when, in 1999, Radio One, with an estimated value of $924 million, was traded publicly for the first time, making Catherine Hughes the first African-American woman with a company on the stock exchange. Radio One now has over sixty stations in urban areas and is still growing.

One of Hughes' hallmarks is her willingness to take big risks. There is no doubt that BET dominates--almost monopolizes--black television broadcasting. Still, Hughes believes there is room for another network aimed at African-Americans.

Radio One, Inc., partnering with Comcast Corporation, started the subsidiary TV One early in 2004, targeting a slightly older demographic. Some market analysts are skeptical, but Hughes has proven repeatedly that her ventures can survive and thrive.

Hughes' commitment to community involvement has been unwavering. Foremost is her sponsorship of the Piney Woods Summer Camp, where inner-city youths can attend an African-American boarding school in Mississippi.

She has received much national recognition. In 1995 she received an honorary doctorate from Sojourner-Douglass College in Baltimore, and in 1998 was the first woman to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Achievement in Radio Awards. Other honors include the first annual Black History Hall of Fame Award and the Prudential Media Black Woman on Wall Street Award. She has also been named by Essence as one of "100 Who Have Changed the World."

Hughes advises young people to persevere, be willing to do any job asked of them, believe in God and work hard.

Among several published accounts of her career are entries in Current Biography (2000) and Notable Black American Women, Vol. 3 (2003) See also Omaha World Herald, February 4, 2008 and Who's Who in America, Vol 1 (2008).

Taken from NSEA.com!