MBA Celebrates 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees and MBA Award Winners

The Missouri Broadcasters Association presented its 2022 Awards on Saturday, June 11th.

“Our broadcasters continue the proud tradition of serving the citizens of our great state with immediate, trusted, local sports, news and entertainment. We are honored to be able to recognize their achievements,” said Mark Gordon, Missouri Broadcasters Association President and CEO. 

This year, for the first time ever, we held a separate ceremony and banquet for our five 2022 Hall of Fame inductees on Friday, June 10^th. The inductees include:

• Oscar Hirsch: Oscar was a true broadcast pioneer in both radio and television. He launched KFVS-AM in 1925 out of his living room, which drew an in-person crowd of hundreds. In 1954, he launched southeast Missouri’s first television station, KFVS-TV. Six years later, the station’s new 1,676-foot tower was the tallest man-made structure in the world. Oscar passed away in 1992 at the age of 96.
• Arlen Diamond: Arlen was broadcasting by the age of 16, serving as an announcer. He attained his Masters in 1967, allowing him to teach Broadcast Programming and Management at Missouri State University. In 2001, Arlen oversaw the merger of community licensed KOZK/KOZJ into the University, which received national attention as a model for success. His broadcast career spanned 51 years until his retirement in 2010.
• Derry Brownfield: Derry partnered with Clyde Lear to create Learfield Communications, which launched the Brownfield Network: once the nation’s largest agricultural radio network. In 1994, Derry started his own radio show, helping him become one of the most popular radio talk show hosts in America. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 79, and was later honored by Learfield Communications, which named a studio after him.
• Art Holliday: Art is the first black news director in St. Louis, whose broadcast career has spanned 45 years. He’s served as an executive producer, managing editor, sports and news anchor on television, as well as a radio talk show co-host. Art has won multiple awards including three Emmys, and he has added documentary filmmaking to his resume.
• Mitch Holthus: Mitch has been the play-by-play voice of the Kansas City Chiefs for the past 29 years, making him the longest in team history. He’s been featured on the ESPN family of networks, FOX Sports, and other national outlets. Mitch has four Emmys, along with multiple Sportscaster of the Year awards in both Missouri and Kansas.

On Saturday night, more than two hundred awards were presented to radio and TV stations during the MBA Awards ceremony, including Station of the Year presentations to KFKF-FM in Kansas City, and KMBC-TV, also in Kansas City.