Morgan Murphy Media announces with profound sadness the passing of Elizabeth Murphy Burns, the company’s longtime president and CEO who led the family-owned media company for 43 years. She was 79. Murphy Burns, who just last month stepped down as CEO to become Chair of the company’s Board of Directors, was a pioneering figure in American broadcasting who transformed her family’s business into a multi-platform media company while breaking barriers for women in
the industry.
“Elizabeth Murphy Burns was a visionary leader whose influence extended far beyond our company,” said Brian Burns, who was appointed by Murphy Burns as president and CEO last month. “Her commitment to journalistic integrity, technological innovation, and community service shaped not only Morgan Murphy Media but the entire broadcasting industry. Her legacy will continue to guide us as we move forward.”
Born into a family of media pioneers, Murphy Burns began her career at just 14 years old selling classified ads for her family’s newspaper. After attending the University of Arizona, she entered broadcasting and owned and operated a radio station by age 25 before rejoining her family’s management team. In 1982, she became vice president of what would later become Morgan Murphy Media, leading the company with her brother John Murphy.
Under her stewardship and partnership with her brother, the newspaper business her grandfather founded in 1890 and her father expanded grew to include broadcast television stations in eight markets with affiliations with all major networks, 17 radio stations, a monthly magazine, and a digital agency.
Murphy Burns was a trailblazer for women in the broadcasting industry. Her major professional accomplishments and milestones include:
• First woman elected to the CBS affiliates advisory board
• One of the first women elected to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) board of directors
• Inducted into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2005, joining her father Morgan Murphy as an inductee
• 2006 honoree of the NAB’s Chuck Sherman Television Leadership Award
• Designated as a “Giant of Broadcasting” by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation in 2018
• Served on Board of Trustees for Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Endowment
• Longstanding trustee for NABPAC, working to inform members of Congress on critical broadcasting issues
Her influence extended beyond company leadership into technological innovation and policy. In 1998, she testified before a Senate congressional hearing advocating that cable companies should be required to carry digital broadcast signals, helping to advance the transition to high-definition television. Her impact reached international levels when she participated in a delegation for the George W. Bush administration to promote independent news media in Russia, collaborating with
Russian media executives to foster journalistic integrity.
In recent years, Murphy Burns and her husband Richard spent time in Arizona, helping shape the next generation of journalists at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The couple’s contributions led to the dedication of the school’s largest teaching space in their honor—a 141-seat technologically-advanced classroom. Murphy Burns often reminded employees their duty was to “inform, educate and entertain.” Despite trends toward corporate consolidation at all levels of media, she believed being family-owned and operated allowed the local properties to be more closely connected to the
communities they serve.
“This industry has been very good to me and my family. And you need to give back, and you need to set an example. Because what you’re doing is what should be focused on. It’s the act, not the person,” Murphy Burns once said.
Last month, Murphy Burns secured a fourth generation of leadership at Morgan Murphy Media with the appointment of her stepson Brian Burns as president and CEO. Her niece Kate Murphy Doty continues to serve as a senior executive leading human resources at the company. Elizabeth Murphy Burns leaves behind a legacy of innovation, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to public service and to her family, especially her five grandchildren.
Information regarding memorial services will be announced at a later date.
