Radio Pioneer Raul Alarcon Sr. To Receive Hispanic Radio Industry's Biggest Award

Raul Alarcon Sr., founder and Director Emeritus of Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), will be honored as recipient of the Medallas de Cortez Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hispanic radio industry's most prestigious award. It will be presented at the annual Radio Ink Magazine Hispanic Radio Conference. The conference will be held May 19-20 at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami-Coral Gables.

West Palm Beach, FL (PRWEB) March 22, 2008 -- Raul Alarcon Sr., founder and Director Emeritus of Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), will be honored as recipient of the Medallas de Cortez Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hispanic radio industry's most prestigious award. It will be presented at the annual Radio Ink Magazine Hispanic Radio Conference. The conference will be held May 19-20 at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami-Coral Gables.

In making the announcement, B. Eric Rhoads, Publisher of Radio Ink, said, "When we look back on great companies that have become institutions, we often forget that someone had to give them life and battle the obstacles for years. Raul Alarcon had the incredible vision and unstoppable tenacity to do something unheard of at the time -- start a Hispanic media company. He faced resistance at every turn and had to deal with bigotry and advertisers who had never before considered Hispanic audiences. His perseverance not only built a company, it built an industry."

Mr. Alarcon left Cuba and the radio company he had founded following Fidel Castro's rise to power and the subsequent seizure of the media. Arriving in the United States, he re-established his radio career in New York as a newscaster and disc jockey. In 1983, he purchased his first station, also in New York. As he explains, "My first station had one million problems and cost me three million dollars."

But his hard work and persistence paid off, and, 25 years later, SBS owns 21 radio stations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, and Chicago and is one of the largest and most prominent broadcasting companies in America. Mr. Alarcon served as President of the board of directors of SBS until November 1999. Today, SBS is run by his son, Raul Alarcon Jr., who is on the Radio Ink list of the "40 Most Powerful People in Radio." Alarcon continues to serve as a member of the SBS board, and his voice can be heard on several of his stations, where he provides commentary on global issues and current affairs, especially those relating to Hispanic issues.

For all his success, Raul Alarcon Sr. still dreams and aspires. He would like to create an international radio station from Miami that would serve, via satellite, Spanish-language radio stations around the world, from Latin America to Europe and beyond.

The Medallas de Cortez awards ceremony, honoring excellence in Hispanic radio, will be held Tuesday, May 20, during the Hispanic Radio Conference. Nominations in sales, management, programming, and marketing categories are currently being accepted at

http://www.radioink.com/hispanicconference/HispanicAwardNominationForm.asp

Radio Ink Magazine is a bi-weekly publication that has been serving the radio broadcasting industry for over 20 years, with most of the radio broadcasters in America and 42 countries as subscribers. Radio Ink also produces free radio industry headlines at www.RadioInk.com and Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Weekly at http://www.radioink.com/hrw/. Radio Ink's Hispanic Radio Conference (www.radioink.com/hispanicconference ) is designed to serve the needs of the Hispanic radio community through education and the creation of unity among broadcasters for the good of their audiences and advertisers.

About Spanish Broadcasting System Inc.

Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. is the largest publicly traded Hispanic-controlled media and entertainment company in the United States. SBS owns and operates 21 radio stations located in the top Hispanic markets of New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and Puerto Rico, including the #1 Spanish-language radio station in America, WSKQ-FM in New York City, as well as four of the top seven rated radio stations airing the Tropical, Mexican Regional, Spanish Adult Contemporary, and Hurban format genres. The Company also owns and operates Mega TV, a television operation serving the South Florida market with national distribution through DirecTV Más. SBS also produces live concerts and events throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In addition, the Company operates www.LaMusica.com, a bilingual Spanish-English online site providing content related to Latin music, entertainment, news and culture. The Company's corporate Web site can be accessed at www.spanishbroadcasting.com.

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