THE MOUTH, JUNE 3RD, 2023 –– Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc. (MIW), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of female leadership in radio broadcasting, is delighted to announce Dana Cortez, of the Skyview Networks syndicated Dana Cortez Show as the recipient of the 8th annual 2023 MIW Airblazer Award. Corez is joined on the show by her husband and executive producer DJ Automatic, and comedian Anthony A.
The MIW Airblazer Award stems from an alliance formed in 2015 between MIW and Morning Show Boot Camp (MSBC). The recipient was carefully selected, as is tradition, by the previous year’s recipient, Patty Steele, and is recognized for her dedication and contributions to the broadcast industry and to the communities she serves. The 2023 Airblazer Award will be presented to Cortez, during the Morning Show Boot Camp, on Friday, August 11, 2023 at the Marriott Uptown Hotel in Dallas, TX. Get tickets HERE.
Dana Cortez is a nationally syndicated radio host who has time after time shattered the glass ceiling. When it comes to an industry where diverse female voices struggle to be heard and women rarely occupy the lead role in a multicast show, Dana has illuminated and excelled in that role. A second generation Mexican American, Cortez grew up in poverty in West Texas and brings her experience and the perspective of many disenfranchised Americans to her show every day. On The Dana Cortez Show she “creates a room of her own,” using the airwaves to elevate topics of importance and interest often lost in the 24-hour news cycle.
Cortez commented on the announcement, “I didn’t know what to say when I first found out I’d been selected and then I remembered how far I’ve come and I feel so grateful. The women who’ve received this incredible award before me are all outstanding and it’s an honor to be recognized amongst them. That being said, I would like to dedicate this to my Nana Lupe and my Mom Sandra; because of these strong, hardworking, courageous women blazing trails I am who I am today.”
In addition to Patty Steele, previous MIW Airblazers include: DeDe McGuire (2021), Angela Yee (2020), Kellie Rasberry (2019), Mercedes Martinez (2018), Roula Christie (2017), Angie Martinez (2016) and Ellen K (2015).
MIW Board President Ruth Presslaff adds, “The Airblazer award is the very definition of paying it forward. Each year the prior year’s recipient names her successor, creating one long string of respect and admiration. Dana is beyond a worthy recipient and I could not be more delighted to welcome her into the MIW family. A very deserved congratulations to her and an honor to share this award with Dana, her Nana Lupe and Mom, Sandra. May we all celebrate the strong generations of women that paved the way before us and for us!”
For more information, please visit: www.RadioMIW.com
2022 MIW Airblazer Patty Steele, longtime co-host on the former “Scott Shannon In the Morning with Patty Steele” show on WCBS-FM. said, “I’m so delighted to choose Dana Cortez as the recipient of this year’s Airblazer Award from Mentoring and Inspiring Women In Radio. Listening to Dana at last year’s Gracie Awards I felt her authenticity represented where she’d been and at the same time excluded no one. Her intelligence, strength, and kindness is an inspiration and a road map to a healthy future for our beautiful business.”
In 2018, Dana Cortez became the first Latina host of a nationally syndicated morning show and has received several awards including a Gracie for Nationally Syndicated Radio Personality, Medallas de Cortez Syndicated Personality of the Year, MAAD Volunteer of the Year and the Anita Salas Fund Award for Outstanding Volunteerism.
For over 30 years, Morning Show Boot Camp has been recognized as the first and foremost annual gathering of top shows, producers, talent specialists, content providers and the radio executives behind them. Attendees arrive from throughout the U.S., Canada and abroad. For more information, visit: radiomsbc.com