WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced today that Richard Chernock, chief science officer at Triveni Digital, and Andrew Laird, former vice president and chief technology officer at Journal Broadcast Group, have been named the 2016 recipients of the NAB Engineering Achievement Awards. Additionally, the Digital Leadership Award will be presented to Adam Symson, senior vice president and chief digital officer at The E.W. Scripps Company. The recipients will be honored at the NAB Technology Luncheon on Wednesday, April 20 in Las Vegas.
Established in 1959, the Engineering Achievement Awards are given to individuals who are nominated by their peers for significant contributions to advancing the state of the art in broadcast engineering. In 2015, the Digital Leadership Award was established to honor an individual at a broadcast station, group or network who has had a significant role in transforming a traditional broadcast business to succeed on digital media platforms.
The 2016 NAB Television Engineering Achievement Award
Richard Chernock is the chief science officer for Triveni Digital, where he has been employed since 2002, following a 20-plus year career with IBM. Chernock has been heavily involved with industry activities regarding digital television broadcasting and currently serves as chairman of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Technology Group on ATSC 3.0. The group is overseeing the creation of the next-generation broadcast transmission standard. He is also a prolific evangelist and educator on ATSC 3.0, publishing papers and making presentations at many conferences and tradeshows worldwide. Chernock previously served as chairman of the ATSC Technology Group that oversaw the development of enhancements to the DTV standard, including the ATSC Mobile and ATSC 2.0 suite of standards, the recommended practice on audio loudness and numerous others.
The 2016 NAB Radio Engineering Achievement Award
Andrew Laird recently retired as vice president and chief technology officer for Journal Broadcast Group. Laird began his career in the 1960s developing audio processors and designing and building radio facilities. He worked in the 1970s and 1980s as a studio design consultant and chief engineer for a variety of customers and radio groups. Throughout his career, Laird participated in important industry activities and played a crucial role in the evaluation and standardization of the system for digital AM and FM radio broadcasting in the U.S. through his work with the NAB co-sponsored National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC), where he most recently served as the co-chair of the Digital Radio Broadcasting (DRB) subcommittee.
The 2016 Digital Leadership Award
Adam Symson is senior vice president and chief digital officer at The E.W. Scripps Company. He oversees the strategy and execution across product development, content, revenue and marketing for Scripps' portfolio of web, mobile and over-the-top businesses. He is responsible for leading the company’s efforts to develop new businesses in emerging media through investment and acquisition. Under his leadership, the company has sustained consistent growth of its digital properties through bolstering sales and content teams, introducing consumer-friendly digital apps and other products for local and national markets, launching the nation’s first membership-based service on a local TV station website and furthering national investigative reporting. Symson spearheaded the acquisitions and growth of Midroll Media, a leading podcasting company, and Newsy, Scripps’ millennial-focused over-the-top video news service. Both companies have contributed to Scripps’ efforts to evolve and transform to meet the needs of the next generation of media consumers.
Recipients of the NAB Technology Innovation Award and NAB Best Paper Award will also be announced at the Technology Luncheon.
News media registration is available here.
About NAB Show
NAB Show, held April 16-21, 2016 in Las Vegas, is the world's largest electronic media show covering the creation, management and delivery of content across all platforms. With 103,000 attendees from 166 countries and 1,700+ exhibitors, NAB Show is the ultimate marketplace for digital media and entertainment. From creation to consumption, across multiple platforms and countless nationalities, NAB Show is home to the solutions that transcend traditional broadcasting and embrace content delivery to new screens in new ways. For complete details, visit www.nabshow.com.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.
