2007 Prism Award Recipient Announced

NEW YORK, May 9, 2007 — Cathleen Black, president of Hearst Magazines, has been named the recipient of the 2007 Prism Award presented annually by New York University in recognition of distinguished leadership in the graphic arts and communications industry.

Sponsored by NYU's Master of Arts in Graphic Communications Management and Technology Program, the 2007 Prism Award will be presented to Ms. Black during the 22nd Annual Prism Award Luncheon on Wednesday, November 14th at The Pierre in New York City.

Previous NYU Prism Award recipients include Richard M. Smith, chairman, editor-in-chief and CEO for editorial and business operations of Newsweek; Antonio M. Perez, president and CEO of Eastman Kodak Company; Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation; William L. Davis, chairman, CEO and president of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company; Henri Dyner, president and CEO of Sun Chemical Corporation; Janet L. Robinson, president and general manager of The New York Times; and Katharine Graham, chairman and CEO of The Washington Post.

Diane Romano, president and COO of HudsonYards and Terry A. Tevis, president of  T.A. Tevis & Co. LLC., are co-chairpersons of the Program’s board of directors, an advisory body comprised of industry executives from leading companies in the graphic communications field.

The proceeds of the Prism Award Luncheon help to fund student scholarships as well as student and program support for New York University’s internationally renowned Graphic Communications graduate program, which offers curricula to develop the next generation of industry leaders. Since its inception, the Prism Award Luncheon has raised millions of dollars for education.

The Graphic Communications graduate program is based within the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies. As one of the University’s 14 colleges and schools, NYU SCPS has for the past 70 years focused on creating applied professional programs for people who are already in the workforce. In addition to the Graphic Communications Management and Technology program, the school offers industry-focused Master’s degrees in areas such as publishing, direct marketing, public relations, fundraising, human resources management, real estate, construction management, hospitality industry studies, tourism and travel management, and sports management.

Tickets for the November 14th Prism Award Luncheon are available from $750 per person to $6,000 for a Sponsor’s Table of eight, and $10,000 for a Co-Chairmanship (which includes a dais seat as well as a table of eight). Reservations and additional information are available from the NYU SCPS’s Office of Special Events. Please contact Anna Condoulis at 212 998 7003, by fax at 212 995 4130, or by e-mail at ac5@nyu.edu.



Described as "The First Lady of American Magazines" and "one of the leading figures in American publishing over the past two decades" by the Financial Times, Ms. Black heads Hearst Magazines, a division of Hearst Corporation and one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines. She manages the financial performance and development of some of the industry's best-known titles: Cosmopolitan; Esquire; Good Housekeeping; Harper's BAZAAR; Marie Claire; O, The Oprah Magazine; Popular Mechanics; Redbook; and Town & Country – 19 magazines in all. She also oversees nearly 200 international editions of those magazines in more than 100 countries. Most recently, she oversaw the launch of Quick & Simple, Hearst's first weekly magazine in the U.S.

Aggressive international development worldwide as well as significant digital expansion are two key priority areas for Ms. Black, with all magazines having new websites in 2007.

Having begun her career in advertising sales with several magazines, including Holiday and Ms., she made publishing history in 1979 when she became the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine: New York.

Ms. Black is widely credited for the success of USA Today, where for eight years starting in 1983, she was first president, then publisher, as well as a board member and executive vice president/marketing of Gannett, its parent company. In 1991 she became president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, the industry's largest trade group, where she served for five years before joining Hearst.

She serves as a member of the boards of IBM and the Coca-Cola Company, and held a two-year term as chairman of the Magazine Publishers of America. She is also a board member of the Advertising Council, a trustee of The University of Notre Dame and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2006, she made Forbes magazine's list of "The 100 Most Powerful Women"  and was listed among Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women in American Business" for the seventh consecutive year. In 2006, she was named "Corporate Publisher of the Year" by The Delaney Report.

Ms. Black is a graduate of Trinity College, Washington, D.C., and holds eight honorary degrees.

Related News

• November 1, 2007
  Jerry D'Elia, Vice President at Hearst Magazines, to Chair NYU's Prism Award Luncheon

Helpful Links

• M.A. in Graphic Communications Management and Technology program
• Prism Award and Fellowship Information
• 22nd Annual Prism Award Luncheon Announcement