The Paley Center Will Honor Gordon Crawford as well as AMC Networks Inc. and Its CEO Josh Sapan at Its Los Angeles Annual Benefit on October 22
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Beverly Hills, Calif., July 24, 2012 – The Paley Center for Media will honor Capital Research & Management Senior Vice President and long time Paley Center for Media trustee Gordon Crawford as well as AMC Networks and its CEO Josh Sapan at its annual Los Angeles Benefit, Monday, October 22, at The Lot, it was announced today by Paley Center for Media President and CEO Pat Mitchell. The honorees will receive the Paley Prize for Innovation and Excellence: Mr. Crawford, for his groundbreaking work that has helped to shape the global media landscape for over four decades; and Mr. Sapan and AMC Networks for bringing television and film audiences worldwide content that consistently impacts the cultural conversation and has resulted in some of the most successful brands in entertainment – AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and IFC Films.
“Gordy Crawford’s extraordinary support and his thoughtful counsel are greatly valued, and we are privileged to have this opportunity to acknowledge his contributions to the Paley Center for Media and to the media and technology industry," says Pat Mitchell, president and CEO. “We are also excited to recognize AMC Networks, which under the innovative leadership of Josh Sapan, has evolved into one of today’s most influential entertainment companies.”
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Paley Center’s preservation and archival digitization efforts, and its ongoing mission to explore the significant impact of media on our culture and society. The Paley Center is home to one of the world’s foremost publically accessible archives of television, radio and new media content, some 160,000 hours spanning the history of media. In addition to its facilities in Los Angeles and New York, a selection of Paley Center public events have been made digitally available to libraries and universities across the United States via the educational resource, Proquest. The Paley Center has embarked on an ambitious preservation campaign to digitize and archive culturally significant programs.
In four decades of innovative leadership at Capital Research & Management, Gordon Crawford has established himself as one of the media industry’s most respected and influential investors having worked with major media companies, including Time Warner, Inc., News Corp, Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment and Liberty Media. A noted philanthropist, Crawford is a Vice Chair of the Paley Center’s Board of Trustees and Co-Chair of its Los Angeles Board of Governors, and is also Chairman of Southern California Public Radio, a Trustee of the United States Olympic Foundation and Vice-Chairman of the Nature Conservancy. He has announced his retirement from Capital Research & Management at the end of 2012.
Recognized by Fast Company as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” Josh Sapan has led AMC Networks to become a leading-edge force in entertainment with some of the most popular and award-winning brands in cable television and independent film: AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv, and IFC Films. With The Walking Dead, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad, AMC has some of the most-watched and most-acclaimed shows in television history, and reigns as the only cable network to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row for Mad Men. IFC is increasingly the go-to network for alternative comedy, with scripted series including the Peabody Award–winning and Emmy® nominated Portlandia. Sundance Channel showcases today’s creative icons and emerging talent, with recent hits including the critically-acclaimed mini-series Appropriate Adult, and docu-series Push Girls and All on the Line with Joe Zee. Through popular shows like Braxton Family Values and Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?, WE tv offers a view of the drama, chaos and humor of family life. IFC Films is a leading theatrical and on-demand distributor of quality, talent-driven, independent film.
Previous Paley Center for Media honorees include Tom Freston, Jeff Skoll and Participant Media, Frank Bennack, Jr., Al Michaels, Mary Hart, Alan Alda, Julie Andrews, Steven Bochco, Kevin S. Bright, David Brinkley, Tom Brokaw, Jerry Bruckheimer, Carol Burnett, James Burrows, Sid Caesar, Marcy Carsey, Peter Chernin, David Crane, Ted Danson, Dick Ebersol, the cast and writers of “Everybody Loves Raymond”, Kelsey Grammer, Merv Griffin, John S. Hendricks, Marta Kauffman, David E. Kelley, Leslie Moonves, Mary Tyler Moore, Jack Paar, Dan Rather, Sumner Redstone, Carl Reiner, the cast and writers of “Saturday Night Live,” Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling, Martin Sheen, Showtime Networks Inc., “The Simpsons,” Sony Corporation, Sir Howard Stringer, Barbara Walters, John Wells, Dick Wolf, Bob Wright and Jeff Zucker.
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The Paley Center for Media seeks to preserve the past, illuminate the present, and envision the future through the lens of media. With the nation’s foremost public archive of television, radio and Internet programming, the Paley Center produces programs and forums for the public, industry professionals, thought leaders, and the creative community to explore the evolving ways in which we create, consume, and share news and entertainment. In an era of unprecedented change, the Paley Center advances the understanding of media and its impact on our lives. The Paley Center was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry. For more information, please visit www.paleycenter.org.