ARLINGTON, VA; May 24, 2022 – PBS is proud to honor Beth Courtney, former CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB), with the Daniel K. Miller Award. This award recognizes managers in the public media system whose leadership, vision, courage and commitment to the mission of public media have inspired their colleagues and created a lasting impact in their communities.
PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger presented the award at the organization’s annual gathering of member stations.
“It is with deep admiration and gratitude that PBS honors Beth for her tireless commitment to public media’s mission to tell local stories, report on local issues and treat all Americans as lifelong learners,” said Kerger. “The public media system salutes Beth’s four decades of visionary leadership and fearless advocacy for Louisiana Public Broadcasting, her accomplishments as a pioneer among women in broadcasting, and her distinguished leadership at the national level.”
Throughout her 45 years in public media, all at LPB, Courtney has been a leading voice in the areas of education, local journalism, election coverage, and preserving Louisiana’s rich history. A journalist by trade, Courtney has also pioneered leadership roles for women in public media. In 1985, she became the first woman in the U.S. to lead a statewide public broadcasting network and later became the first woman to serve as Vice Chair of the PBS Board.
Courtney has given her time selflessly to public service, at both the local and national levels. She served two terms on the PBS Board of Directors where, in addition to serving as Vice Chair of the Board, she chaired the Education and Membership Committees and the Common Carriage Task Force.
In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Courtney to serve on the Board of Directors for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She served as Board Chair of the America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) and Chair of the Boards of the Organization of State Broadcasting Executives (OSBE) and the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA).
The Daniel K. Miller Station Leadership Award is named in honor of Dan Miller, a longtime executive director and general manager of Iowa Public Television who passed away in February 2018. Receiving the inaugural PBS Station Leadership Award in 2016, Miller was recognized for his outstanding contributions to public media as a leader at the local level as well as across the system as a whole.
Previous honorees include former executive director of Arkansas Educational Television Network Allen Weatherly (2017), Wisconsin Public Media director Malcolm Brett (2018), former President and Chief Executive Officer of Nine Network of Public Media Jack Galmiche (2019), Jim Pagliarini, Twin Cities Public Television former president and CEO (2020), Tom Axtell, Vegas PBS former General Manager (2021) and Don Boswell president and CEO of Buffalo Toronto Public Media (2021).
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