Andrew Heyward to receive RTDNA’s John F. Hogan Award at RTDNA24

Andrew Heyward, the former president of CBS News and vocal champion of local TV news, will be the 2024 recipient of the prestigious John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association. 

Named for the founder and first president of RTDNA, the John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual's contributions to the journalism profession and freedom of the press. Heyward will be honored at RTDNA24 in Milwaukee. 

Heyward is a nationally known news executive, award-winning broadcast news producer, and expert on the changing media landscape.

“Andrew has been a true leader in broadcasting for decades and remains committed to helping local news thrive,” said RTDNA Chair Tim Scheld. “It is a true honor to be able to recognize his contributions to our industry.”

Heyward currently advises local TV stations on digital strategy and video storytelling. He is also a Research Professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where he completed a 3½ year project writing about innovation in local television news for the Knight-Cronkite News Lab. He then published “Beyond Objectivity: Producing Trustworthy News in Today’s Newsrooms,” a research paper co-written with former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr., featuring guidelines to restore and strengthen journalism’s credibility.

Heyward is also a senior advisor at the Center for Constructive Communication at MIT, where he works at the intersection of technology, including generative AI, and journalism.

“John F. Hogan was a visionary leader who helped set the standard for so many in broadcast news,” said RTDNA President and CEO Dan Shelley. “Andrew Heyward is a natural choice to receive an award bearing John F. Hogan’s name.”

Heyward was president of CBS News from January 1996 to November 2005. Before that, he was executive producer of The CBS Evening News, developed and launched the weekly primetime program 48 Hours, and held other positions at CBS News. He started out in broadcast journalism right out of college, working his way up over nine years at two local TV newsrooms in New York City. 

Heyward is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard with a degree in History and Literature.