Preserving the history, heritage and works
of electronic media
Pictured: Over the years, NBC has poked fun at just about everything, including itself and its corporate masters with its award-winning sitcom 30 Rock. It ran from 2006 to 2013.
Our principal mission is supporting the Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland. Through its collections, the LAB tells the extraordinary story of electronic media’s first century and lights the way into the second.
We encourage all efforts to preserve, explore and document the history of electronic media and to enrich the public’s understanding of the media and how it impacts the world.
And each year we salute the giants of electronic media — leading business people, journalists, performers, technologists and program producers, past and present — who have made it all possible.
Preservation Grants: $2,500!
The LABF is now offering up to four $2,500 competitive grants to individuals or organizations working to preserve and share historically significant radio and television materials — from recordings and documents to oral histories and ephemera.
The grants, administered by the Broadcast Education Association, are open to a broad range of applicants — media companies, libraries, museums, archives, educational institutions, and nonprofits. Among the grant requirements is that preserved material be made available to the public.
Click here for complete guidelines and details on how to apply. The deadline is Jan. 15, 2026.
Giants: Class of 2025
The LABF each year recognizes as Giants business executives, innovators, journalists, performers, producers and others who have excelled in the world of electronic media. The presentation luncheon is the foundation’s principal fundraiser.
Photo: Wendy Moger Bross
The class of 2025 was inducted at LABF’s annual awards luncheon at Gotham Hall in New York on Nov. 14. The seven newcomers are now part of the honor roll of 262 Giants. The seven (shown in bold, l-r); Gary Sandy, TV, stage and film actor; Peter Alexander, NBC News (he accepted LABF’s salute to NBC’s 100th anniversary year); David Muir, ABC News; Lesley Visser, sports correspondent; Rick Dees, entertainer and entrepreneur; Lynn Beall, TV station executive; John Feore, communications attorney; Dick Ferguson, radio executive. The 2025 Giants Digital Journal contains bios and tributes to the honorees and recognizes the luncheon’s many generous sponsors. See earlier classes of Giants here.
Relive the Celebration
And Make a Date to Join Us Next Year: Tuesday, Nov. 17
Portnoy: A Passion For Preservation
ABC News Radio National Correspondent Steven Portnoy (c) received the 2025 LABF Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award for his outstanding dedication and commitment to promoting awareness to the importance of collection and preservation of broadcast history. The award was presented at the Giants luncheon in New York on Nov. 14. He is flanked here by LABF co-chairs Jack Goodman and Heidi Raphael.
Denes, Parenti Elected LABF Co-Chairs
By vote of the LABF board, Dave “Chachi” Denes and Deborah Parenti will succeed communications attorney Jack Goodman and Beasley Media Group executive Heidi Raphael as co-chairs at the end of this year. Denes is president and co-founder of Benztown, a leader in radio imaging, production libraries, jingles, voiceover, and podcasting services. Parenti is publisher of Radio Ink and Radio + Television Business Report. For more on them and other board changes, click here.
Insight Honoree for 2025: Delilah
Legendary syndicated radio personality Delilah (center) received the fourth annual Insight Award from the LABF during the NAB Show on April 7 in Las Vegas. She was joined at the presentation ceremony by LABF board members (l-r): Co-Chair Heidi Raphael, Julie Talbott, Chandra Clark, Deborah Parenti, Co-Chair Jack Goodman, Wally Podrazik, Chachi Denes and April Carty-Sipp. Delilah, whose radio show is syndicated by Premiere Networks, is the most-listened-to woman on radio in the U.S. with more than eight million weekly listeners on approximately 160 radio stations.
Reflective of LABF’s purpose, the Insight Award recognizes an individual or organization for an outstanding artistic or journalistic work or body of work that enhances the public’s understanding of the role, operation, history or impact of media in our society. Past recipients include actor, director and educator LeVar Burton, CBS News’ 60 Minutes and award-winning producer and journalist Soledad O’Brien.
LABF Sponsors Career Fair at NAB
The LABF was among top industry trade groups that supported the Broadcast Education Association’s career fair at the annual NAB Convention in Las Vegas in April.
Some 400 students and professional attended the four-hour event, where they met face-to-face with recruiters and representatives of 25 leading broadcasting companies and graduate schools.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be a part of it,” said LABF Co-Chairs Heidi Raphael and Jack Goodman.
“BEA’s mission underscores our commitment to fostering the next generation of talent in broadcasting and media while promoting the rich history of broadcasting.”
Other supporters of the fair included the National Association of Broadcasters, the NAB Leadership Foundation, RAB, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and SMPTE.
Representing LABF at the fair (l-r): Co-Chair Heidi Raphael and board members Chandra Clark and Heather Birks. Birks is also executive director of the BEA.
“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows
to the world and inspire us
to explore and achieve.”
— Sidney Sheldon, TV producer and author