Radio Ink - Radio's Premier Management & Marketing Magazine

March 8, 2010: American Women in Radio and Television has changed its name: From now on, the organization will be known as the Alliance for Women in Media. The name change was approved by what AWM said was an "overwhelming majority" of the membership in a vote earlier this year

2010 AWM Board Chair Sylvia Strobel tells Radio Ink, "As an organization, we've been discussing a name change for almost a decade. The industry has been evolving, our membership has been evolving -- it's not just local radio and TV folks. It's a lot of national people, it's new media."

She said, "Our name needs to reflect who we are now, and who we want to be, not who we were," and added that the new name is "more reflective of what our membership is doing in their day-to-day lives."

The name Alliance for Women in Media also emphasizes inclusiveness; Strobel said, "It's for women because we are by, for, and about women, but we do not exclude men. They are key to our organization and constitute 10 percent of our membership."

Strobel also hopes the name change will attract members from other areas in media who may not have realized they could join. She said, "The membership has been broad all along, but we think the name change will assist in growing our membership. Those who maybe don't work for a radio or TV station will now see that we're an organization that represents their interest as well."

The AWM's new name and logo will roll out for the national organization and its local chapters over the next year. Alliance for Women in Media was founded in 1951 to promotes progress and advancement for all women in media through education, advocacy, and outreach.