PBS Annual Meeting, Miami Beach, Fl., May 16, 2013 – PBS today announced that Alberto Ibargüen, CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is the recipient of the ninth annual PBS “Be More” Award, which celebrates individuals in public television who embody the spirit of helping Americans to discover more, to experience more and to “Be More.” The award was presented to Mr. Ibargüen by PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger at the PBS Annual Meeting in Miami Beach.
As CEO of the Knight Foundation, Mr. Ibargüen leads the foundation’s efforts to support transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts.
“Alberto truly embodies the spirit of the ‘Be More’ award,” said Kerger. “PBS applauds his commitment to informed and engaged communities, integrity and independence in journalism, and helping people reach their highest potential by ensuring that everyone has access to information that helps them understand more and be more.”
Prior to joining the Knight Foundation in 2005, Mr. Ibargüen served as the publisher of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. During his tenure, The Miami Herald won three Pulitzer Prizes and El Nuevo Herald won Spain’s Ortega y Gasset Prize for excellence in journalism.
He studied at Wesleyan University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Between college and law school, he served in the Peace Corps in Venezuela’s Amazon Territory and was the Peace Corps Programming and Training Officer in Colombia, based in Bogotá. He practiced law in Hartford, Connecticut until he joined The Hartford Courant, then Newsday in New York, before moving to Miami.
A former Chairman of the PBS Board of Directors, Ibargüen serves as a member of the boards of PepsiCo, AMR Corp. (American Airlines), AOL, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former chair of the World Wide Web Foundation, founded by Web inventor Sir Tim BernersLee to promote a free and universal Web. Over time, he has served on the boards of arts, education and journalism organizations, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Wesleyan University, Smith College and the University of Miami. He is trustee emeritus of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., where he served as board chair. He also served on the boards of the Committee to Protect Journalists and ProPublica. For his work to protect journalists in Latin America, he received a Maria Moors Cabot citation from Columbia University. In addition, Wesleyan University, The George Washington University, Mercer University and Stephens College have awarded him honorary degrees.
The PBS "Be More" Award is an annual award that recognizes extraordinary individuals who inspire public television viewers to expand their horizons, to experience growth and adventure, to explore new ideas and to be more. Based on PBS' award-winning “Be More” brand campaign, the award’s previous recipients are Ken Burns, Joan Ganz Cooney, Rebecca Eaton, Jim Lehrer, Bill Moyers, Fred Rogers, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Gwen Ifill.
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