Urban One’s Leader Paves The Way

There’s a celebration at the headquarters of Urban One. Ms. Cathy Hughes, Founder and Chairperson of the largest Black-owned multimedia conglomerate in the nation, was awarded the key to the city on July 15 — a long overdue recognition in Washington, D.C., where she has spoken truth to power for over 55 years and counting.

“I am always thinking in terms of what’s next,” she says inside Radio One offices. “What’s the next thing to be done? I never think in those terms — that we won this. I just try to keep on moving forward,” she says about her latest honor.

It’s that thinking that has landed Hughes ahead of the curve for decades. She has been a forward thinker and visionary, revolutionizing FM radio by creating and developing the Quiet Storm format — among many other firsts, including, but not limited to: the first woman vice president and general manager of a radio station in Washington, D.C.; the first woman to own a radio station that was ranked No. 1 in a major market; the first Black woman to head a publicly traded company; founder of the largest Black-owned broadcast company in the country; creator of the first 24-hour gospel radio show.

It’s no surprise that she is both thrilled to be granted the key to Washington, D.C., and still envisioning her next move.

Hughes cut her teeth in D.C. as an admin for Tony Brown at Howard University, where he was well known for his eponymous public affairs program, Tony Brown’s Journal — one of the most influential Black public affairs programs in the U.S.

Brown died two days after Hughes was awarded the key to the city. He witnessed her work ethic at Howard at WHUR, promoting her from admin to sales manager to general manager and vice president. 

As a general sales manager, she increased revenue by approximately $3 million. In 1976, as vice president and general manager, Hughes created the Quiet Storm along with then-Howard student Melvin Lindsey, who became the DJ playing slow jams, romantic ballads, and jazz in the evening, setting the mood for love. 

As WHUR’s station manager, Hughes conceptualized the show’s format—even suggesting the use of the Smokey Robinson song as its title—and the station rose from 20 in ratings to No. 3, boosting revenues. In 1977, within a year of Lindsey hosting, the groundbreaking program became No. 1 in its time slot.

With Hughes’ leadership, rooted in her love for Black people and serving as a cultural lighthouse, the Quiet Storm showed advertisers that Black consumers were a pivotal demographic for ratings and revenue.

But Hughes wasn’t satisfied yet. Her next goal? Ownership.

Information Is Power

Cathy Hughes sat in front of her microphone at a large street-facing picture window on the corner of 4th Street and H Street, broadcasting live in Washington, D.C. It’s the mid-’80s, and the media mogul is holding court with community members, young and old, saints and sinners alike. She acts as both the observer and narrator of the neighborhood’s daily life. She talks directly to her listeners on the street, sharing the news of the day – and the community would tell her about their latest neighborhood news.

Like Petey Green before her at WOL in D.C., Cathy Hughes believed in advocacy journalism. News coverage in the “Chocolate City” was often negative, stereotypical, and imbalanced for Black Washingtonians, who then made up 70 % of the population. When Cathy Hughes (then Cathy Liggins) and her husband Dewey Hughes (who had managed Petey Green’s career years before) planned to purchase WOL in 1980, she envisioned a 24-hour serious Black news talk show — including news, public affairs, religion, finance, among other topics.

Many other suitors competed to buy WOL, including Reggie Jackson, ESSENCE magazine, Johnson Publishing, and a group that included Muhammad Ali. Hughes and her husband won it for close to a million.

But while Dewey Hughes wasn’t sure if it was a sound investment, Cathy Hughes only saw an opportunity. The couple eventually divorced, and the radio pioneer continued with the station on her own, spending 18 months sleeping in her office with her young son, Alfred, and waking up every morning to host the radio show in the station’s morning slot for 11 years.        

“She was trying to engage the community because the crack era was coming in – people were getting shot,” DJ Konan remembers. “But Ms. Hughes wanted to change that whole corridor. She made sure we stayed in the community.” 

Hughes, whose slogan for the show was “information is power,” used her newfound ownership to learn every part of radio that she didn’t already know. Konan, Hughes, and her son Alfred read books to children in the community as part of the Reading is Fundamental program. 

“This kid grabbed my leg, and he said, ‘Konan, thanks for coming to read to us,’ “Konan recalled about the time he spent reading to kids with Hughes. I told Ms. H., “I want to do this for the rest of my life — she said, ‘If you believe it you will.’”

Hughes’ Legacy

Johnny “Porkchop” Doswell, a DJ for Radio One for Baltimore station 92 Q, remembered the first time he met Hughes. 

“She was the boss of a multimillion-dollar company, but I felt like I was talking to my mother,” Porkchop said in an interview with NewsOne. “She managed thousands of personalities. She knew the right thing to say to get us to do something. 

“To this day she still asks about my health and if I’m taking care of myself; that means so much to me. I am sure Jeff Bezos isn’t like, ‘What are your kids up to?’ But she would remember everyone’s name,” Porkchop remembered. 

“Cathy Hughes and Radio One will go down as the biggest radio influence of its time – with the number of stations (over 70), the people that worked there, and community impact,” Marc Clarke, formerly a DJ on the Big Phat Morning Show on 92 Q on Radio One in Baltimore, told NewsOne.

“She made millionaires – Russ Parr, Tom Joyner, Donnie Simpson, Melvin Lindsey, and she gave a lot of people their first start– Robin Holden, Bri Taylor, Bob Thomas,  Bernie McCain, and so many others,” Clarke added.

“Her legacy is to be the first Black woman in the U.S. to head a publicly traded company,” said Dyana Williams, a pioneering radio broadcaster and long-time friend of Hughes, told NewsOne.

Porkchop summed up her legacy and the culmination of  Hughes’ life-long journey succinctly.

“We don’t know what her legacy is yet, because she’s not done yet,” he said.

SEE ALSO:

Cathy Hughes Dedicates Key To Washington, D.C. To Urban One Employees

Urban One Turns 45