T Howard To Honor Turner, Comcast At Annual Dinner

The T Howard Foundation will honor Turner Broadcasting System and Comcast/NBC Universal for their commitment to diversity during the organization’s March 26 fundraising dinner in New York.

Turner will receive the diversity organization’s Corporate Excellence Award for its commitment to presenting quality programming and content that reflects and respects the diversity of its global audience, said organization officials.

Comcast will be honored with T Howard's Innovative Program Award for its Internet Essentials broadband adoption program, which provides low income families with children the chance to purchase low-cost Internet service and computer, as well as the opportunity to participate in digital literacy training.   

Former Style president Salaam Coleman will receive T Howard’s Champion Award for her work in developing Style into a “prominent cable destination” for young diverse female audiences. Style was re-branded into the Esquire Network this past September.

Chairmen for the T Howard Foundation Diversity Awards dinner, which will be held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, include Coleman Breland, President, Turner Network Sales; Jacqueline Hernandez, COO, Telemundo Media; Ray Hopkins, President, Television Networks Distribution, CBS Corporation; and Charisse R. Lillie, Vice President, Community Investment, Comcast Corporation and President, Comcast Foundation.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.