Nashville, Tenn. (TN) — Sharon Kay, a trailblazing media professional with over four decades of experience, will be inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, Class of 2024, in the Career Category. The induction ceremony and banquet will take place on July 27 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro.
“I’m super excited and totally grateful for being inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, Class of 2024 Career Category,” Kay said. “My name has been in nomination for the last five years and finally the Lord said so, and it will be. This is a statewide vote by the members of the Hall of Fame, by my fellow broadcasters across the state. I do believe I’m the first Nashville Black woman who has been inducted into this Career Category.”
Candidates for this honor must be living and have made a significant contribution to radio in Tennessee, as well as worked in radio in any state for a minimum of ten years.
Kay’s career is marked by numerous historic achievements. She is the first woman to serve as General Manager at WFSK, formerly WRFN, in the station’s history. WFSK at Fisk University, which signed on the air in 1973, is one of the oldest historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) licensed stations in the nation.
In 2009, Kay was named Nashville’s Best Radio Station General Manager at the 13th Annual Achievement in Radio Awards, making her the first African American to receive this award.
Kay is also the host and creator of “What’s the 411? with Sharon Kay.” The popular radio talk show airs from the studios of JAZZY 88 WFSK at historic Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
With a career spanning over 40 years, Kay has worked in radio, television, newspaper, and web-based services. She began her radio career at AM1250 WREN Radio in Topeka, Kansas, in the late 1970s, breaking color and gender barriers at the station. Since moving to Nashville in the mid-1980s, she has served as a news anchor and talk show host for WLAC-AM 1510 Radio and 92Q Cumulus Media, as well as a weekend associate producer at WSMV-TV and a writer and photographer for several news groups.
Kay has been an active community advocate, serving on and chairing numerous local, national, and international boards and volunteering with dozens of organizations throughout her media career.
The official 20th anniversary of “What’s the 411? with Sharon Kay” was celebrated on December 9, 2021.
