So said former Greater Media CEO Peter Smyth on Wednesday as he received Radio Ink‘s Lifetime Leadership Award at Forecast 2019 in New York. Radio Ink Chairman Eric Rhoads (l) and Publisher Deborah Parenti are seen here presenting Smith with the award, which honors outstanding long-term contributions and leadership in the radio industry.
Smyth said, “I was humbled and honored to receive the Lifetime Leadership Award. We live in the Golden Age of audio. I challenge everyone here today to bring in a new generation of leaders who can build the bridge to the 21st century of audio — that is leadership.”
Smyth ran Greater Media from 2000 until it was sold to Beasley Media Group in 2016; he joined the company in 1986, when he was hired to turn around Greater Media’s WMGK/Boston — at the time nicknamed “Tragic Magic.” He made the AC station a huge success and was eventually elevated to Greater Media CEO in 2000.
During his career, Smyth has served as Chairman of the RAB’s board of directors, as President of the New England Media Association, and as an elected member of the board of the NAB. An active philanthropist, Smyth has served on the boards of New England Baptist Hospital and the One Hundred Club of Massachusetts, an organization dedicated to enhancing the welfare and safety of the families of public safety officers and firefighters. He is a past member of the board of trustees of Emerson College and the United Way of Massachusetts.
Previous Lifetime Leadership Award recipients include Bruce Reese, Cathy Hughes, Dan Mason, Dick Clark, and Jerry Lee.
