Thursday, May 03, 2001 10:35 PM
One of broadcasting’s most successful and acclaimed executives, Les Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Television, will be on hand to present the Joseph M. Quinn Award for Journalistic Excellence and Distinction to Dan Rather and CBS News during the 43rd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards presented by the Los Angeles Press Club.
This year’s gala dinner will take place on Saturday evening, June 9, 2001, in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Universal Hotel, in Universal City. In addition to the Quinn Award, winners will be announced in the annual awards competition for distinguished editorial coverage in 2000, which includes categories covering television, newspapers, magazines, radio, online, corporate and student journalism. There will also be the presentation of the President’s Award by L.A. Press Club President Mary Moore.
Moonve’s presence is especially appropriate, as the dinner is also shaping up as a reunion for past and current CBS news people, from the era of Edward R. Murrow through today. The award, according to the L.A. Press Club hoard, celebrates all the hard working journalists who have made CBS a force in news for seven decades.
Rather has been singled out because of his focus on “hard” news stories, at a time when many others have turned to soft.
Les Moonves has been President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Television since April 1998. Before that, he was President of CBS Television, and President of the CBS Entertainment Division.
A former actor who trained at the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse in his native New York City, Moonves was previously President of Warner Bros. Television, where he was instrumental in the creations of shows like “Friends” and “E.R.” and President of Lorimar Television.
Since joining CBS in July 1995, Moonves has played a key role in restoring the network to its days of glory. A hands-on executive known for his strong relationships with talent, Moonves is well liked and highly respected by his fellow broadcasters, and others in Hollywood.
“These days CBS is the hottest of the networks,” wrote Business Week magazine not long ago. “CBS shows) are getting healthy ratings boosts over last season’s already-strong numbers. All this makes Moonves the closest thing the network TV business has to a miracle worker.”
While his acting days are behind him, Moonves does occasionally make a special appearance on TV. He has been seen as himself in recent years, as a guest, on “Chicago Hope,” “The Nanny” and HBO’s “Arliss.”
Moonves, who has also been active in a number of charities, makes his home in Los Angeles with his wife Nancy and their three children.
