William H. Siemering

"As a founding member of the Board of Directors of National Public Radio, William Siemering wrote the mission and goals of NPR and was subsequently was hired to make the vision a reality. He hired the initial staff and with them developed the news and information program ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Later he served on the NPR Board and participated in policy-making decisions over a ten year period. He brings over 30 years of experience in public radio station management, program development, fundraising and program evaluation.

"Since 1993, he has used this knowledge to assist in developing independent media in new democracies. His work with the Open Society Institute has taken him to South Africa, Mozambique, Moldova, Macedonia, Sierra Leone and Mongolia, among other countries.

"Previous work includes nine years as Vice President and Station Manager of WHYY-FM, Philadelphia. He established a seven person news staff, and helped develop FRESH AIR, a popular culture interview program with Terry Gross, into a national program.

"In the 1960′s, while manager of WBFO-FM at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he established the first store-front broadcast facility in the African-American community, enabling residents to originate 25 hours a week of programs.

"In 1993, Siemering was awarded a five year MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. In 2000, National Public Radio gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award for his "countless contributions to journalism and public radio." In 2001, the State University of New York presented him with an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters."

• Media Commission, American Institutions of Democracy