Emily Barr named Broadcaster of the Year

Emily Barr

Emily Barr

Emily Barr, former president and general manager of ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7, will be honored as Broadcaster of the Year Wednesday by the Illinois Broadcasters Association.

Barr, who stepped down after 15 years at ABC 7 in 2012 to become president and CEO of Post-Newsweek Stations, twice served as board chairman of the state broadcast trade association. She later was elected to the lifetime board position of director emeritus.

“There is no broadcaster more deserving of this award than Emily,” Dennis Lyle, president and CEO of the IBA, said in a statement. “She clearly defines what local broadcasting means to the community it serves, and does so with unmatched enthusiasm and dedication for an industry she so loves.”

Throughout Barr’s tenure at ABC 7, it was the most successful television station in Chicago.

The award, named for the late Vincent T. Wasilewski, an Illinois attorney who served as president of the National Association of Broadcasters, will be presented at a luncheon Wednesday during the IBA’s summer conference in Champaign/Urbana.

“I am truly touched and honored to have been singled out for this award,” Barr said in a statement. “There are so many talented and committed broadcasters in Illinois, and I am grateful to each of them for what they continue to teach me about the importance of community involvement and their commitment to localism.”

Barr heads Post–Newsweek Stations, the television broadcasting division of Graham Holdings Company, from offices in Chicago.