David J. Barrett

David J. Barrett is the Chairman and CEO of Hearst Corporation, a trustee of the Hearst Family Trust established under the will of William Randolph Hearst, and a director of the Hearst Foundations. He also serves as the chairman of the Center for Communication, Inc.

Barrett joined Hearst in 1984 as general manager of the company’s Baltimore radio stations, later assuming general management responsibility for the Hearst Radio Group, and then for WBAL-TV in Baltimore. He relocated to New York in 1991 as a vice president of the Hearst Corporation and deputy general manager of Broadcasting, with operating oversight for the company’s television and radio stations. In 1997, Hearst Broadcasting merged with Argyle Television to form Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., and Barrett was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of the new entity. He was named president and chief executive officer in 2001. Hearst-Argyle Television was publicly traded on the NYSE from 1998 until 2009, when it was taken private by Hearst Corporation and re-named Hearst Television. From 2012 to 2014, Barrett served as chairman and chief executive officer of Hearst Television Inc.

Barrett previously served on the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), as well as its executive committee, and the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF). He also served on the boards of the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Security and Reliability Council (MSRC II), the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Foundation, the Advertising Council, the Emma L. Bowen Foundation, and the Broadcasters Foundation of America. He is a past chairman of the Board of Governors for the ABC Television Affiliates Association and the Television Operators Caucus.

Barrett has been the recipient of numerous industry honors. In 2004 he was named Broadcasting & Cable magazine’s “Broadcaster of the Year.” He was the recipient of The Media Institute’s American Horizon Award in 2005 and was also inducted into The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Management (NATAS) Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he received the First Amendment Leadership Award from the Radio Television Digital News Foundation (RTDNF). Barrett received the Broadcasters Foundation of America 2013 Golden Mike Award, and in 2014 The Library of American Broadcasting honored him as one of their “Giants of Broadcasting.”