American Women in Radio and Television – Launch ‘AWRT Empowering America’.

The Foundation of AWRT, the philanthropic arm of American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) has launched AWRT Empowering America, an inspiring series of 60 second Radio Public Service Announcements (PSA) that honor some of America’s greatest women and spotlight their historical contributions. The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) is officially endorsing the campaign by providing Web site, direct mail and technical support.

Narrated by Entertainment Tonight Anchor, Mary Hart, each PSA relates the personal story of one of America’s greatest women and focuses on their tale of empowerment and success. The campaign features vignettes on a wide variety of American women including soccer star Mia Hamm, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, poet Maya Angelou, and jazz singer Sarah Vaughan.

Conceived by AWRT, the campaign has been underwritten by AT&T and will be distributed by the RAB and other media outlets. The AWRT Foundation has also secured an agreement with Metro/Shadow Traffic, which reaches 60 million listeners and covers 14 major markets, to provide drive-time “billboards” for key corporate sponsors of the campaign. An initial slate of eight PSAs has just been released on CD and has been distributed to RAB member stations in the May Sales & Marketing Kit. Vignettes are also available for download from RAB’s web site at www.rab.com and at the AWRT national website at www.awrt.org. A new CD will be produced and distributed every six months.

Joan E. Gerberding, AWRT President and President of Nassau Media Partners remarked, “We could not have launched this PSA campaign saluting American heroes at a better time. Mary Hart and her Entertainment Tonight team were at the forefront of this project, and they made a deliberate commitment of their passion and grace to turn this idea into a reality.”

“I am honored to be collaborating with AWRT on this project,” said Mary Hart. “I truly believe that the work we do as women to nurture, educate and inspire others plays a crucial role in the positive development of our future.”

RAB President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Fries added, “I encourage every Radio station in America to support the campaign by incorporating the AWRT Empowering America vignettes into their PSA rotation.”

“The RAB is proud to be working with AWRT to deliver an important message about women and their role in the development of our country and culture,” noted Christa Dahlander, Vice President Communications, RAB.

For more information about this project or for corporate underwriting opportunities, please contact AWRT Executive Director, Maria Brennan, at 703/506-3290.

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