The Museum of Television & Radio Announces New Name - The Paley Center for Media

    NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Frank A. Bennack, Jr.,
 chairman of The Museum of Television & Radio (MTR), and Pat Mitchell,
 president and CEO, announced today that the thirty-one-year-old institution
 will be renamed The Paley Center for Media to better reflect MTR's
 evolution to a center that convenes media leaders and enthusiasts for
 programs that explore and illuminate the immense and growing impact of all
 media on our lives, culture, and society. The new name, approved by the
 board, is effective immediately.
     The name takes its inspiration from William S. Paley, the institution's
 founder, a pioneering innovator in the industry who built the CBS Network,
 launched an early foray into cable programming, and diversified the
 numerous elements of his broadcasting empire to include music, sports,
 entertainment, and other enterprises. Paley's legacies as an innovator and
 arbiter of quality content are the founding principles of the institution
 and are underscored even more strongly in the programmatic plans under the
 new name.
     In a world where media is all-pervasive and increasingly influential,
 The Paley Center for Media will continue to collect, preserve, and make
 available to the public a top-quality collection of radio and television
 programs. The Paley Center will also strengthen its work as a center where
 media executives, cultural thought leaders, and the public convene to
 discuss the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly evolving landscape of
 media technologies and businesses. Events and activities at the New York
 and Los Angeles locations leverage the collection, offering informative and
 entertaining evenings with casts and creative teams of current popular
 series, premieres of new and innovative work, and panel discussions that
 focus on media as a lens through which we see ourselves and the rest of the
 world.
     Going forward, the Paley Center will offer more of these discussions to
 the public through their redesigned website and through content
 partnerships with prominent Internet portals and broadband companies,
 including Yahoo! and Comcast, who will offer the content on their websites
 as well. Users will be able to access Paley Center events, such as cast
 discussions with some of the most recognized award-winning shows in
 contemporary television including 24, CSI, The Daily Show, Desperate
 Housewives, Entourage, Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy, House, Law & Order,
 Lost, Sex and the City, South Park, and Weeds.
     "The media world has changed dramatically since our founder, William
 Paley, created the Museum as a way to preserve our cultural heritage as
 expressed through television and radio," said Frank A. Bennack, Jr. "Today,
 while these media remain hugely important, media as a whole, across all
 platforms and national boundaries, has changed how we receive news and
 entertainment, and in the process, how we think about ourselves, our
 culture, and other societies. The new name reflects the reality of a more
 fully converged world."
     Pat Mitchell said, "We believe our role as a convener and community
 connecting point for industry leaders and the public is more essential than
 ever. In a society that is rapidly evolving, no industry is transforming
 faster. We're at the forefront of that change and uniquely well-positioned
 to analyze and interpret it."
     "William Paley stood for innovation and quality," Ms. Mitchell
 explained, "and so will the center that carries his name. When he
 established this institution in 1975, he said media 'has become so much a
 part of our daily experience that I think we often forget just how major an
 impact it has had on us in such a relatively short time.' He was speaking,
 of course, about media on your television and radio sets, but today he
 could have been talking just as easily about your cell phone, computer, mp3
 player, and any number of other platforms."
     The announcement of the new name follows a highly successful spring
 season for both the New York and Los Angeles locations, including the
 launch of a new initiative, Media as Lens, which brings together
 journalists, experts, and media executives from many countries to explore
 in depth the relationship between media and culture and the social,
 political, and economic significance of television, radio, and emerging
 platforms.
     The Paley Center for Media has also expanded its celebrated Media
 Council (formerly the Media Center) that brings together senior media
 executives from a variety of areas for discussions of issues impacting the
 media. The Paley Center's International Council, a worldwide media forum
 that connects industry leaders with their counterparts from other
 countries, will convene in Silicon Valley later this month, which
 underscores the institution's intensified focus on new media and the new
 technologies that fuel them. The 2007 International Council is hosted by
 Google, Sun Microsystems, and Yahoo!
     The Paley Center for Media will continue to preserve programming,
 providing a valuable tool for the public, students, and scholars who would
 otherwise not have access to these materials. With more than 140,000
 programs and advertisements covering almost 100 years of television and
 radio history, The Paley Center for Media will remain among the most
 important collections of original programming.
     Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio, and a vice chair of the
 board, said, "Ultimately the Paley Center will stand out in a very crowded
 media environment for the same reason MTR stood out -- the exceptional
 variety of quality programming that is thought-provoking and entertaining.
 What distinguishes the Paley Center is that it sits in Los Angeles and New
 York at the crossroads of media, with an unmatched ability to attract the
 most insightful and creative voices from around the world to explore what
 is cutting edge and entertaining as well as informative and inspiring."
     "In this digital era," Peter Chernin, a board member and the president
 and COO of News Corporation, said, "The Paley Center for Media is
 challenged -- just as the major media companies are -- to use digital
 technologies to expand and engage audiences in new ways. The new name
 reflects a shift in direction that increasingly will take the institution
 beyond its eight walls and keep it on the cutting edge of where media is
 going. No one would have appreciated the need to adapt and expand better
 than Bill Paley -- one of the most innovative media pioneers of the last
 century."
     Landor Associates, a strategic brand consulting firm, assisted The
 Paley Center for Media on the name change, as well as the design of a new
 logo and graphic identity.
     The Paley Center for Media, with locations in New York and Los Angeles,
 leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance
 of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community
 and media-interested public. Drawing upon its curatorial expertise, an
 international collection, and close relationships with the leaders of the
 media community, the Paley Center examines the intersections between media
 and society. The general public can access the collection and participate
 in programs that explore and celebrate the creativity, the innovations, the
 personalities, and the leaders who are shaping media. Through the global
 programs of its Media Council and International Council, the Paley Center
 also serves as a neutral setting where media professionals can engage in
 discussion and debate about the evolving media landscape. Previously known
 as The Museum of Television & Radio, the Paley Center was founded in 1975
 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry. For more
 information, please visit www.paleycenter.org.
 
 

SOURCE The Paley Center for Media