Richard N. Hughes
Encyclopedia
Richard Norman Hughes was an American
television
executive and television station
editorial
ist.
advertising agency
. Over the years, he moved up the ranks to Radio and Television Director, supervising all broadcasting
aspect for agency clients, and working as a writer
, producer
, director
and commercial
spokesman
. He wrote over 100 music
al commercials for his clients over his ten years with the firm.
In 1960, Hughes left the advertising field and became involved in the start-up of Detroit classical music station
WQRS (now WMGC-FM). During his time there, he won award
s from the Associated Press
for news commentary
, and from the University of Detroit
for program excellence.
as Director of Advertising and Community Affairs. While at the station, he produced and narrated two major sales presentations which won successive sales promotion
awards from the National Association of Broadcasters
. They also attracted the notice of WPIX
in New York City
, which he first joined in 1968 as Director of Sales Development.
, "What's your opinion? We'd like to know," became familiar to generations of New Yorkers, as well as becoming a permanent part of the lexicon
. He also read letter
s from viewers on various editorials, under the heading of "WPIX Editorial Feedback." After finishing each letter, he would conclude with, "And that ends that (comment/excerpt/opinion/quote)."
During the 1970s, at a time when WPIX was fighting for its very survival in the face of a long and costly license
challenge, Hughes' editorials reached a peak at which they were shown 28 times a week, including 10 prime time
spots a week, and were seen by an average of more than 1½ million viewers. Several of his editorials were reprinted in such publications as the Congressional Record
, The Christian Science Monitor
and other local newspaper
s and magazine
s. One editorial even served as the basis for an Op-Ed column in The New York Times
, and another was cited in a brief
before the U.S. Supreme Court
. Hughes won several Emmy Award
s for his editorials, as well as numerous awards from such organizations as the New York State Broadcasters Association and San Francisco State University
. He served for several years as a trustee of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
.
Hughes also produced and narrated hour-long documentaries
for WPIX, called Editorial Report. One of them, "The Lifer's Group: I Am My Brother's Keeper", won a Peabody Award
in 1977. It was the first television program to introduce the public to the work of the Lifer's Group at Rahway State Prison (now East Jersey State Prison) with juvenile offenders; one year later, the subject was picked up and made famous nationwide through an unaffiliated production company's "Scared Straight!"
In addition to his editorials, Hughes delivered a Christmas
message that aired prior to the start of The Yule Log
. Two versions of the message were recorded, both of them depicting Hughes surrounded by a wreath of holly, and backed by an instrumental version of Silent Night
. The messages were recorded in 1974 and 1979; the latter version aired until WPIX dropped The Yule Log in 1989.
Hughes retired from active station management in 1982, though he continued to deliver editorials for channel 11 until his final retirement
from the station in 1995, with his last editorial airing on December 31 of that year.
ministry
called The Church of One-at-a-Time. He also taught Bible study
and Scripture at Duke University
and other places. In 2001, he wrote a book called The Book of Genesis, and had his own web magazine called The Blockhead Journal.
He continued to be involved in the public affairs
side of television, both contemporaneous with his WPIX editorial duties and after his final departure from that station. He hosted public affairs shows for WLFL
and documentaries for WTVD
. Hughes was married twice to the former Margo Rundles. After remarrying, he quipped, "We were divorced, but it just didn't work out." He also was father to two daughters from a previous marriage, one an artist and author and the other an ordained minister.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
executive and television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
ist.
Early career
Hughes began his career in 1950 as an assistant account executive in a DetroitDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
. Over the years, he moved up the ranks to Radio and Television Director, supervising all broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
aspect for agency clients, and working as a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
spokesman
Spokesman
A spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
. He wrote over 100 music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al commercials for his clients over his ten years with the firm.
In 1960, Hughes left the advertising field and became involved in the start-up of Detroit classical music station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
WQRS (now WMGC-FM). During his time there, he won award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
s from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
for news commentary
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
, and from the University of Detroit
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Detroit Mercy is a private, Roman Catholic co-educational university in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with the Society of Jesus and the Sisters of Mercy. Antoine M. Garibaldi is the president. With origins dating from 1877, it is the largest Roman Catholic university...
for program excellence.
To television
In 1963, Hughes moved to the television side of the business when he joined WXYZ-TVWXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
as Director of Advertising and Community Affairs. While at the station, he produced and narrated two major sales presentations which won successive sales promotion
Sales management
Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and servicess and resulting profit drive most commercial...
awards from the National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
. They also attracted the notice of WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which he first joined in 1968 as Director of Sales Development.
"What's your opinion? We'd like to know."
In 1969, less than a year into his stint with WPIX, he began delivering on-air editorials for the station. Over the next 26 years — serving at various points as Vice President of Community Affairs, Vice President/General Manager, and Senior Vice President — Hughes essentially became the face and voice of WPIX, and was dubbed "The Dean of Television Editorialists in New York City." His closing catch phraseCatch phrase
A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...
, "What's your opinion? We'd like to know," became familiar to generations of New Yorkers, as well as becoming a permanent part of the lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
. He also read letter
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
s from viewers on various editorials, under the heading of "WPIX Editorial Feedback." After finishing each letter, he would conclude with, "And that ends that (comment/excerpt/opinion/quote)."
During the 1970s, at a time when WPIX was fighting for its very survival in the face of a long and costly license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
challenge, Hughes' editorials reached a peak at which they were shown 28 times a week, including 10 prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
spots a week, and were seen by an average of more than 1½ million viewers. Several of his editorials were reprinted in such publications as the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
and other local newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s and magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s. One editorial even served as the basis for an Op-Ed column in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and another was cited in a brief
Brief (law)
A brief is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why the party to the case should prevail....
before the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. Hughes won several Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for his editorials, as well as numerous awards from such organizations as the New York State Broadcasters Association and San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. He served for several years as a trustee of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....
.
Hughes also produced and narrated hour-long documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
for WPIX, called Editorial Report. One of them, "The Lifer's Group: I Am My Brother's Keeper", won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
in 1977. It was the first television program to introduce the public to the work of the Lifer's Group at Rahway State Prison (now East Jersey State Prison) with juvenile offenders; one year later, the subject was picked up and made famous nationwide through an unaffiliated production company's "Scared Straight!"
In addition to his editorials, Hughes delivered a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
message that aired prior to the start of The Yule Log
Yule Log (TV program)
The Yule Log is a television program which is broadcast traditionally on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning , originally by New York City television station WPIX but now by many other Tribune Company-owned television stations, including WGN America, and by Antenna TV starting in 2011...
. Two versions of the message were recorded, both of them depicting Hughes surrounded by a wreath of holly, and backed by an instrumental version of Silent Night
Silent Night
"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
. The messages were recorded in 1974 and 1979; the latter version aired until WPIX dropped The Yule Log in 1989.
Hughes retired from active station management in 1982, though he continued to deliver editorials for channel 11 until his final retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
from the station in 1995, with his last editorial airing on December 31 of that year.
Later years
After retiring from active management at WPIX, Hughes moved to Durham, North Carolina, and founded a telephoneTelephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
ministry
Christian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
called The Church of One-at-a-Time. He also taught Bible study
Bible study (Christian)
In Christianity, Bible study is the study of the Bible by ordinary people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. Some denominations may call this devotion or devotional acts; however in other denominations devotion has other meanings...
and Scripture at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and other places. In 2001, he wrote a book called The Book of Genesis, and had his own web magazine called The Blockhead Journal.
He continued to be involved in the public affairs
Public affairs (broadcasting)
Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term, refers to television programs which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time...
side of television, both contemporaneous with his WPIX editorial duties and after his final departure from that station. He hosted public affairs shows for WLFL
WLFL
WLFL is the CW-affiliated television station for North Carolina's Triangle licensed to Raleigh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter located in Auburn, North Carolina. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable channel 2 and in high definition...
and documentaries for WTVD
WTVD
WTVD, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Durham, North Carolina. The station serves the areas of Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Fayetteville, known as the Triangle...
. Hughes was married twice to the former Margo Rundles. After remarrying, he quipped, "We were divorced, but it just didn't work out." He also was father to two daughters from a previous marriage, one an artist and author and the other an ordained minister.
Books
- The Book of Genesis. Published by Xlibris Corporation, 2001.
Other sources
- Meet the Blockhead (Biographical information from The Blockhead Journal; cached by ZoomInfo.com)
- ZoomInfo Web Profile
External links
- The Yule Log.com video page, with 1974 and 1979 versions of "Christmas Message" by Richard N. Hughes (for broadband users)
- Video clip with 1987 WPIX Editorial by Richard N. Hughes
- Video clip of 1981 WPIX Editorial Feedback by Richard N. Hughes
- Text of WPIX Christmas Message by Richard N. Hughes. Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
(originally published in AM New YorkAM New YorkamNewYork is a morning free daily newspaper , published in New York City by Cablevision. According to the company, average daily distribution as of December 2008 was 345,053, according to MondoNewspapers.com. When the newspaper launched October 10, 2003, amNewYork was the first newspaper of its...
), December 22, 2006. Retrieved on June 14, 2008.