College of the Arts to Present 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award to Al Prieto ’84

The College of the Arts will be presenting the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award at its annual Convocation on May 18 to alumnus Al Prieto.

Prieto graduated from Montclair State as a broadcasting major in 1984 and currently serves on the College’s Advisory Board as well as the Board for the School of Communication and Media.

Following his graduation, Prieto went on to enjoy a 28-year career with the ABC network beginning in 1987 as a researcher, booker and production assistant for Good Morning America.  At present, he is a vice president at ABC News, managing NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News. Prieto’s responsibilities include managing the editorial, operational and financial aspects of NewsOne, managing the international sales of ABC News content and managing the over 200 affiliates and international partners.

Prieto’s professional accomplishments at NewsOne are extensive. Prior to his current position, he was executive director of NewsOne from 1997-2008. As executive director, Prieto managed operations, special events and sports for the affiliate news feed service. Prior to this, Prieto was managing editor of NewsOne where he managed all editorial coverage, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the TWA Flight 800 explosion, and the 1996 presidential election. His professional credits also include an “Outstanding Achievement” nomination from the Writers Guild of America for Spot News. In addition, Prieto is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalism.

The Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Prieto by President Susan A. Cole and Dean Daniel Gurskis in conjunction with recognition of this year’s graduating class. The event will take place on Sprague Field of the University campus.