XM's Joe Madison to receive Freedom of Speech Award from Talkers Mag

The talk-radio industry pub Talkers Magazine will award its annual Freedom of Speech Award to XM host Joe Madison at the magazine's New Media Seminar in NYC, on June 7th.

Madison is the first African American broadcaster to receive the award. Past recipients include Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Al Franken, and Brian Lamb.

Madison, aka "The Black Eagle," is heard weekday mornings on XM's African American talk radio channel The Power (ch 169).

Talkers says Madison was chosen for the Freedom of Speech Award "for being one of the first major voices on radio to speak out about the [Sudan] crisis in Africa [and] for bravely putting his career, life and liberty on the line - including facing arrest - on many occasions throughout his illustrious career."

Madison has been named one of Talkers' Heavy 100 for "most important" radio talk show hosts nine times (he most recently ranked #18).

Of course, like many of radio industry trade pubs, Talkers has not exactly embraced satellite radio over the years, so that makes the award for Madison doubly satisfying.

[Talkers]