The Radio Ink Medallas de Cortez award committee has announced this year's recipients of its Lifetime Leadership award. For the first time, this prestigious award will recognize three Hispanic radio pioneers, the Liberman brothers: Elias, Jose and Julio.
Deborah Parenti, EVP/Radio of Streamline Publications, parent company of Radio Ink, said "The path that led the Liberman brothers to radio mirrors that of Raoul Cortez, for whom the awards were named. Raoul was selling eggs and the Liberman brothers, pharmaceuticals. In both instances, incredible vision and ingenuity were the characteristics that helped make these gentlemen trail blazers and outstanding leaders deserving of all our admiration."
The Liberman brothers got into the radio industry in the 1960's after finding themselves buying so much radio time to move products from their pharmaceutical company that they decided to make radio their career. They initially purchased XEGM in Tijuana and in 1974 purchased KLVE in L.A. for $2 million. They flipped that station?s format to make it the first Spanish-language FM in the city and the second in the United States. The company added KTNQ-AM a few years later. Today, Elias and Julio are retired. Jose and his son Lenard started and continue to operate Liberman Broadcasting. Jose's son, Jeffery Liberman, also followed his father's footsteps and serves as the COO of Entravision Communications.
The Medallas de Cortez awards will also be awarded in twelve categories, recognizing outstanding achievements and leadership in the Hispanic radio marketplace.
The awards were created by Radio Ink magazine to recognize outstanding achievements and leadership in the Hispanic radio marketplace. They were named after Raoul Cortez, a pioneer in Hispanic radio in America; his image appears on the medal presented to winners in each category.
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