How Cathy Hughes Turned WOL Into The Beginning Of A Media Empire
Urban One founder and chairwoman Cathy Hughes looked back on the Washington radio roots that helped her launch one of the nation’s largest Black-owned media companies. In an interview with WAMU (88.5), Hughes discussed recently receiving a key to the city from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and recalled purchasing WOL (1450) in 1980, the station that became the foundation for what would eventually grow into Urban One.
Hughes told WAMU that her original vision for WOL was to provide a voice for residents of Washington and the surrounding region, something she felt was missing from local media at the time. Before buying the station, Hughes was General Manager of WHUR (96.3) and later WYCB (1340). Getting financing for WOL was no easy task. Hughes said 32 banks turned her down before a 33rd lender approved a $1 million loan allowing her to move forward with the purchase of WOL.
Today, Silver Spring-based Urban One reaches an estimated 80 million people each month through its radio, television and digital properties. Hughes told WAMU that seeing successful Black professionals throughout Washington helped shape her belief that Black-owned media needed to tell the community’s stories from its own perspective. Hughes is reportedly the only woman among the six people who have received a key to the city during Muriel Bowser’s three terms as mayor. You can read the article at WAMU.org.
