Elizabeth Murphy Burns has been at the center of the broadcasting industry since she took the helm of her family-owned company in 1980. Looking back, television was a simple industry at that time but the winds of enormous change were not far away and have blown strong since. They continue to do so yet Liz retains her strong commitment to her business, the media industry and her family.
As owner and President of Morgan Murphy Media, Liz has shepherded her company through challenging times yet maintained leading stations in her markets. As a group, the company TV stations have been early adapters in everything from stereo broadcasting, to major investments in electronic newsgathering equipment and certainly through the transition to digital broadcasting. With the decline of newspaper readership, Liz oversaw the Morgan Murphy divestment of its newspaper properties in Minnesota and Wisconsin. As media consolidation began, Liz saw the need to grow the family broadcast portfolio. She did so initially with the purchase of the Young Broadcasting CBS affiliate in La Crosse, WI in 2003 and further expanded the company again in 2017 with the purchase of the Saga Communications stations in Joplin Mo/Pittsburg, KS and Victoria, TX markets. Liz also grasped the importance and the impact the Internet would have on media and invested early in journalistic web sites in Morgan Murphy markets. One of those sites, Channel 3000 in Madison, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018. As digital advertising has developed, Morgan Murphy Media started its own digital advertising entity, Phase 3 Digital Agency, which works with advertisers in all its markets as well as advertisers throughout the country.
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Liz has also given back with thousands of hours of volunteer work at the highest levels of the industry. Liz has served terms on the boards of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) and Maximum Service Television (MSTV) where she was chair of the board from 2005-2009. Liz has been a vocal advocate for greater women participation in the industry and was the first woman elected to the CBS Affiliates Board.
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A third generation family owner, Liz is making sure the next generation is prepared to keep Morgan Murphy Media as a family-based media business serving its local audiences. As her parents, Morgan and Elizabeth Murphy did with her, Liz has watched her step-son Brian Burns begin a career at the ground level (TV production crew) and grow into his current position as Chief Operating Officer responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company.
Liz Burns grew up in a media family. In 1875, her grandfather John T. Murphy received a typewriter as a Christmas gift and the family connection to media and journalism was established. In her more than fifty years in the broadcasting industry, Liz has seen many changes. The most transformative, though, has been the change from broadcasting being a family-owned local industry to one which now is driven by corporate-owned public entities operating, in many cases, hundreds of stations. What has not changed for Morgan Murphy Media and Liz Burns is that the company remains faithful to its family ownership, still local and with a strong commitment to those communities it serves.
Personal
1980-Present Owner, President & Chief Executive Officer, Morgan Murphy Media
1975-1980 Management Team, Morgan Murphy Stations
1971-75 Owner, KKAR Radio, Pomona, California
1968-71 KFMB-TV, San Diego, CA, Programming & Traffic Secretary
1967-68 KGUN-TV, Tucson, AZ, Promotion & Programming Secretary
1963-67 University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Served These Professional Organizations
National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Board of Directors
CBS Affiliates Board
First Women Member
Television Bureau of Advertising Board (TVB)
Association of Maximum Service Television Board (MSTV)
Including multiple terms as Chair
Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame
Inducted 2005
Recipient 2006 NAB Chuck Sherman TV Leadership Award
Recipient 2003 Pioneer Award from Broadcasters Foundation
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Civic Service
National Guardian Life Insurance Company Board of Directors (current)
Republic Bank, Duluth MN, Director
College of St. Scholastica, Duluth MN, Trustee
Northeast Midwest Institute, Washington DC, Chair of Board of Directors
Russian-American Media Entrepreneurship Dialogue
Recipient 2013 Alumna of Year, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona
Personal
Husband: Richard Burns, married 6/24/84
Children:
Brian Burns
Jennifer Kindle