THE 43RD annual STANTON AWARD
Honoring Bill Koenigsberg, Founder and CEO, Horizon Media
The Center for Communication will honor Bill Koenigsberg, Founder and CEO of Horizon Media Holdings, with its 43rd annual Frank N. Stanton Award for Excellence in Communication. All proceeds from the celebration support the Center's year-round career education programs, which serve more than 10,000 students and recent graduates annually.
Bill founded Horizon Media Holdings in 1989 on the belief that business is personal — and built it into the nation's largest media agency and the largest independent media agency in the world. Among the most decorated executives in the industry, he is a member of both the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, and the only two-time recipient of the Advertising Age Media Maven Award. He has been recognized by the IRTS Foundation with its Hall of Mentorship Award for his longstanding commitment to developing industry talent.
His selection as the 2026 Stanton honoree celebrates a career defined not just by building a remarkable company, but by how he built it — with integrity, generosity, and a deep belief in the people around him.
Thursday, September 24, 2026
6:00 — 9:00 PM
583 Park Avenue
Premier Sponsor
Chairman’s Circle
Champion
FOX Corporation
Hearst
Warner Bros. Discovery
Leadership
McKinsey & Company
Publicis Media
Patron
NBCUniversal
Paramount
Benefactor
A+E Global Media
AMC Networks
Amazon Advertising
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Index Exchange
Magnite
Netflix Ads
Nielsen
Roku
Sphere Entertainment
Stanton Chair
Rita Ferro Disney
Stanton Co-Chairs
David J. Barrett Hearst
Marc Brodherson McKinsey & Company
Jeff Collins FOX Corporation
Sean Downey Google
Mark Dugan Warner Bros. Discovery
Marianne Gambelli
Jennifer Koester Sphere
Katherine Oliver Bloomberg Associates
Amilcar Perez Nielsen
Shane Peros Google
Tim Sims
Hilary Smith NBCUniversal
Radha Subramanyam CBS Corporation
Steven R. Swartz Hearst
About our
Stanton Award
The Stanton Award honors those individuals who not only achieve great success in the business, but who are also passionate about mentoring the next generation of media leaders. Your support of the Stanton Award sustains the Center’s year-round career education programs, providing our talented and motivated community of students with the access and skills they need to launch their careers in media. The award is named after the Center’s founder, broadcasting pioneer and longtime CBS president Dr. Frank Stanton, who established the nonprofit in 1980.
Contact Erin Gromen with any sponsorship or event questions.
Past Honorees
2025
Shelby Saville
CEO, Starcom US
2024
Charlie Collier
President, Roku Media
2023
James Pitaro
Chairman, ESPN
2022
Jo Ann Ross
Chairman, Paramount Advertising
2021
Tina Perry
President, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
2020
Soledad O’Brien
CEO, Soledad O'Brien Productions
2019
Rita Ferro
President, Advertising Sales, Direct-to-Consumer and International, The Walt Disney Company
2018
David Nevins
Chief Creative Officer, CBS Corporation, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Showtime Networks Inc.
2017
Cesar Conde
Chairman of NBCUniversal International Group & NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
2014
Ken Lowe
Chairman, President and CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive
2013
Matthew C. Blank
Chairman and CEO, Showtime Networks
2012
Dan Doctoroff
CEO and President, Bloomberg L.P.
2011
Josh Sapan
President and CEO, AMC Networks
2010
Jeff Zucker
President and CEO, NBC Universal
2008
Debra L. Lee
Chairman and CEO, BET Networks
1997
Frank A. Bennack Jr.
The Hearst Corporation
1996
Roone Arledge
ABC News
2015
Shane Smith
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, VICE
2016
John Landgraf
CEO, FX Networks & FX Productions
2006
Tom Freston
President and CEO, Viacom
2007
Randy Falco
Chairman and CEO, AOL
2004
Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr.
Chairman, The New York Times Co.
2005
Richard Parsons
Chairman and CEO, Time Warner, Inc.
2002
Bob Wright
Chairman and CEO, NBC; Vice Chairman, GE
2003
Peter Chernin
President and COO, The News Corporation
2000
Sir Howard Stringer
Sony Corporation
2001
Mel Karmazin
Viacom
1998
Michael R. Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
1999
John C. Malone
Liberty Media Corporation
1994
R.E. “Ted” Turner
Turner Broadcasting
1995
John H. Johnson
Johnson Publishing Co.
1993
Johnny Carson
NBC
1992
Otis Chandler
Times Mirror Company
1990
Thomas S. Murphy
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.
1991
J. Richard Munro
Time Warner Inc.
1988
Warren H. Phillips
Dow Jones & Company
1989
Grant A. Tinker
GTG Entertainment
1987
Katharine Graham
The Washington Post Company
1986
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger
The New York Times Company
1984
Allen H. Neuharth
Gannett Co., Inc.
1985
William S. Paley
CBS Inc.