NYS Broadcasters Association To Welcome King Into 2008 Hall Of Fame

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ALBANY, NY (05/19/2008)(readMedia)-- The New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) today announced that legendary television executive Roger King - the "father of modern TV syndication" - has been named to NYSBA's 2008 Hall of Fame.

A former resident of Boca Raton, Fla., King, who died unexpectedly in 2007, will be inducted posthumously during the Tony Malara Awards Dinner at NYSBA's 47th Executive Conference slated for June 24 at the picturesque Sagamore Resort Hotel in Bolton Landing.

"Roger, more than anybody else in this business, changed the way U.S. television was sold and programmed," said NYSBA President Joseph A. Reilly. "He was a true visionary. Even when he was just 21 and working for me at a small radio station in New Jersey, the world wasn't big enough. He'd say to me, ` Why don't we buy this station? Why are we only taking 15 percent when we could take 85 percent?' He had tremendous vision and saw things that other people never saw."

In his leadership roles at King World Productions and CBS, King is credited with launching the careers of such noted television stars as Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray and Alex Trebek. He became chairman of the board of King World Productions in 1977, and under his management King World became a leading distributor of popular syndicated television programming.

King is also credited with launching the syndicated news magazine, Inside Edition, and Wheel of Fortune which, according to CBS, has been the number one-rated syndicated TV show for the past 23 years. In addition, Jeopardy, which he also created at King World, has been one of the top three syndicated shows for more than two decades.

In 2000, King joined CBS following the merger of King World Productions with the broadcast network, serving as the CEO of CBS Television Distribution from 2000 until his death in 2007. During that time, he was responsible for the syndicated sale of reruns of several major CBS prime time shows, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Everybody Loves Raymond and America's Next Top Model.

King, who was officially inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 1992 and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2004, joins fellow Hall of Fame-bound nominees, including: acclaimed radio general manager Bob Bruno; veteran Capital Region radio manager John Kelly; legendary Buffalo Bills play-by-play announcer Van Miller; and, Edward F. McLaughlin, former president of ABC Radio Network and the man who discovered Rush Limbaugh.

King is survived by his wife, Raemali and three daughters, Kellie, Anna Rose and Lucinda.

For more information on NYSBA's 47th Annual Executive Conference, call (518) 456-8888, or go to www.nysbroadcasters.org.

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Founded in 1955, the NYS Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) represents the interests of more than 500 television and radio stations in the NYS Assembly, the US Congress, and various other legislative bodies. NYSBA also offers a variety of services to help the broadcasters of New York State better serve their communities. For more information, call (518) 456-8888 or go to www.nysbroadcasters.org.