Ryan Murphy to Be Honored with PaleyFest Icon Award, 2/27

As part of its 30th annual celebration of great television, PaleyFest: The William S. Paley Television Festival today announced Ryan Murphy as the recipient of the Festival's inaugural PaleyFest Icon Award. Additionally two of Murphy's series, American Horror Story: Asylum and The New Normal will join the PaleyFest lineup of honorees during the Festival's two-week run, which was recently announced to take place at the Saban Theatre, March 1-15, 2013.

The PaleyFest Icon Award, the first such honor in the Festival's 30-year history, is named for William S. Paley, the pioneering media titan and founder of The Paley Center for Media, and recognizes individual creative achievements in television. Murphy, whose series Glee, Nip/Tuck, and American Horror Story have been previous PaleyFest honorees, will receive the award at a celebration slated for Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, which will serve as PaleyFest's kickoff event.

"Ryan Murphy is a true innovator and one of the most original creators working in television today," said Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of The Paley Center for Media. "Each of his series has been a game changer in the medium, and continues to inform the cultural conversation. We can't imagine a more fitting PaleyFest Icon for the Festival's 30th anniversary."

"I have loved the lively Paley Festival evenings I've participated in over the years, which are a unique opportunity for creators, actors and viewers to come together and discuss the work that we spend so much time creating in isolation," commented Ryan Murphy. "I couldn't be more honored to be recognized by this organization for which I have so much professional respect and personal gratitude."

Additionally, PaleyFest reveals two of Murphy's series American Horror Story: Asylum and The New Normal will join the previously announced honorees The Newsroom, Revolution and Once Upon A Time, as part of the PaleyFest slate. The full festival lineup will be revealed January 9, 2013.

As previously announced, Hulu, who first partnered with PaleyFest for its spring 2012 event, expands its relationship with the Festival, and is the Premier Sponsor for PaleyFest 2013. Hulu will stream full-length panel content and short form clips, exclusively on-demand from each PaleyFest panel on the free ad-supported Hulu, and the Hulu Plus subscription service at www.hulu.com.

PaleyFest.org, the Festival's official website, will continue to serve as the official destination for ongoing PaleyFest announcements, content including photos and video clips from Festival events both current and classic, Festival merchandise, and ticket sales. New PaleyFest Showrunner Passes, including guaranteed admission to each Festival event at the Saban Theatre, are now on sale, and the new Studio Pass will be available to Paley Center Members on Wednesday, January 9, and to the general public on Thursday, January 10. Individual event tickets will go on sale to Paley Center Members on Friday, January 11, and to the general public on Sunday, January 13 via www.paleyfest.org and the Festival's ticket provider: www.ticketweb.com.

Fans are invited to follow @paleycenter and #PaleyFest on Twitter for immediate announcements and live tweeting from the events. PaleyFest: The William S. Paley Television Festival benefits The Paley Center for Media's preservation and archival digitization efforts, and its ongoing mission to explore the significant impact of media on our culture and society. The Paley Center for Media is home to one of the world's foremost publically accessible archives of television, radio, and new media content, nearly 150,000 programs and advertisements spanning the history of media. In addition to its facilities in Los Angeles and New York, a selection of Paley Center public events have been made digitally available to libraries and universities across the United States via the educational resource, Proquest.

The Paley Center for Media, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public. For more information, please visit www.paleycenter.org.

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