Piers Morgan, host of CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight and a judge on NBC’s
America’s Got Talent, will cohost the 21st annual Broadcasting & Cable Hall of
Fame awards dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on Oct. 26.
Morgan joins previously announced Entertainment Tonight coanchor Nancy O’Dell
to cohost the event, a black-tie evening that pays tribute to pioneers, innovators and
stars of the electronic arts. B&C has honored more than 300 industry luminaries since
founding the Hall of Fame in 1990. Included in this year’s Hall of Fame class are the
Emmy Award-winning Fox series American Idol; actress/comedian Betty White, who
will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award; and Johnson & Johnson, which will be
recognized for its long history of sponsoring outstanding television programming.
“The Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame is the undisputed standard in recognizing
the best of the best,” Morgan said. “Those being honored this year are a testament to
the enormously positive contributions made by the leaders in our industry.”
Following a successful journalism career in the U.K. as a newspaper editor and TV host, Morgan became known
in the U.S. as a judge on NBC’s highly rated America’s Got Talent, which completed its sixth season Sept. 14. He was
also the winner of the reality competition series Celebrity Apprentice in 2008. In January Morgan joined CNN as host
of Piers Morgan Tonight, an in-depth newsmaker interview program on the network that also airs in more than 200
countries worldwide on CNN International. Previously he was editor-in-chief of the U.K.’s The Daily Mirror, which
won numerous journalistic awards during his nine-year tenure (1995-2004), including Newspaper of the Year at the
2002 British Press Awards for its coverage of 9/11. He also developed the U.K. talk show Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.
The 2011 Hall of Fame inductees also include (in alphabetical order): Joe Abruzzese, president, advertising sales,
Discovery Communications; Ed Goren, vice chairman, Fox Sports Media Group; Ted Harbert, chairman, NBC
Broadcasting, NBCUniversal; Andrew T. Heller, vice chairman, Turner Broadcasting System; Michael L. LaJoie,
executive VP and chief technology officer, Time Warner Cable; John S. Muszynski, chief investment officer, SMG
Exchange (SMGX); Tom Rutledge, chief operating officer, Cablevision Systems Corp.; Nina Tassler, president, CBS
Entertainment; and K. James Yager, CEO and co-founder, Barrington Broadcasting Group LLC.
