Ragan Henry

Inducted 2001

Deceased 

Ragan Henry is a Philadelphia lawyer who turned an investment in a broadcasting venture into a career as a broadcast entrepreneur and in so doing broke new ground for minority broadcasters. 

He is chief executive officer of MediaComm National, Inc.  Henry's first encounter with broadcasting came in 1971 when he invested in a new venture, Sheridan Broadcasting.  Three years later he sold his stock and formed his first broadcast company, Broadcast Enterprises National, Inc. (BENI). 

Over the next two decades, as his passion for broadcasting intensified, his financial and business expertise led him into subsequent broadcast groups.  In 1979 Henry's company became the first minority-controlled company to own a VHF TV station.  In 1996, he sold his company, U. S Radio, Inc, with 13 FM stations and 5 AM stations in eight markets to Clear Channel Communications. 

He is the owner of WYNS-AM in Lehighton.  Henry is a Harvard-educated attorney whose business expertise and leadership have helped to open new doors for other minority broadcasters. 

He has addressed many organizations and conferences concerning finance and communications, including the Minority Economic Development Conference, sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Urban Coalition; the National Conference of Black Lawyers Skill Development Course in Communications Law; the Federal Communications Commission Conference on Minority Ownership; and the National Black MEA Association.  He served as Visiting Professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Communications and as lecturer at LaSalle College. 

He served as president of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and was a member of the Board of the National Radio Broadcasters Association.  He is active in community affairs in Philadelphia and is on the Boards of Directors of several business corporations and educational institutions including Syracuse University, Elderhostel, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Liberty Museum, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Broadcasters Foundation, and WHYY. 

Henry has been honored as the Outstanding Businessman of 1978 by the Urban Bankers of Delaware Valley.  He was named Outstanding Broadcaster of the Year (1981) by the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters. 

He received the 1981 Human Relations Award presented by the National Association of Christians and Jews; the "One Nation" Award presented by the NAACP in 1983; the Alexis de Tocqueville National Society Award in 1990, and the American Broadcast Pioneer Award from the Broadcasters' Foundation in 1999.  Henry was named a charter member of the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by Broadcasting & Cable.