Abstract Barton L. Griffith (1926-1996) began his broadcasting career working for WIBW, KTOP, and WREN at Topeka, Kansas as an announcer, sales representative, and promotion director from 1947 to 1950. Five years later, he joined National Educational Television as the Director of Distribution and Station Relations. His professional career also included consulting work with various organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the National Association of Educational Broadcasters, the Malawi Broadcasting...

Abstract Paul Kenneth Taff's (1920-2013) participation in educational and public broadcasting focused primarily on children's programming. After working for various Midwest stations, he joined National Educational Television (NET) in 1960. There, he was assistant program director, director of program operations, and director of children's programming. Notably, Taff arranged for national distribution on NET of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and Julia Child's ...

Abstract Chalmers H. Marquis, Jr. (1927-2018), public television pioneer, began his career as a producer and director at CBS TV and WGN Chicago. In 1955, he joined Chicago's educational television station, WTTW, where he served as a Producer and Director in Promotion, Development, Fundraising, and as Director of Programming. In 1955, Chalmers joined Chicago's educational television station, WTTW. In 1965 he moved to Washington, D.C., first to work at the National Association of...

Abstract John C. Crabbe (1914-2001) was director of broadcasting at College of the Pacific from 1937 to 1958. He developed a campus radio station, KAEO, and initiated the first academic radio major west of the Mississippi. In 1947, KCVN-FM (now KUOP) made its debut under his direction. He resigned his professorship at Pacific in 1959 to become the first general manager of KVIE-TV, a position he held until 1969. He ended his career as general manager of KTSC-TV in Pueblo, Colorado, from 1976 to...

Abstract Patsy P. Layne (1938- ) began her professional career as an elementary classroom teacher in Kentucky. In 1958, her school district began using educational television to meet the teacher shortage needs in large classroom situations. In 1960, Layne was chosen to be an on-camera teacher and, in this position, wrote and produced 300 televised lessons for grades three and four and trained 200 classroom teachers.In 1964, Layne went to American Samoa as part of the first television...

Abstract Burt Harrison (1917-2004) spent most of his broadcasting career in the state of Washington. He was station manager of KWSU, Washington State University at Pullman's radio station from 1959 to 1976. During this time, he served on the boards of National Association Educational Broadcasters (NAEB), National Educational Radio (NER), and the Association of Public Radio Stations. In addition, Harrison lobbied for the inclusion of radio in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. In 1977, he received...

Abstract Frank Wesley Lloyd III (1941-2018) had a distinguished career in communications law. He was the General Counsel of the National Public Affairs Center for Television (NPACT) from 1971 to 1973. He then became president of the Citizens Communication Center, a public interest law firm focusing on broadcasting. From 1977 to 1981, Lloyd was the administrative assistant to Charles D. Ferris, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, and held various consulting and administrative jobs during...

Abstract Albert James Ebel (1913-1998), a Nebraska broadcasting pioneer, was vice president and general manager of KOLN/KGIN-TV from 1954 to 1985 and significantly broadened the station's reach. Previously, Ebel worked as the chief engineer for station WILL at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana from 1937 to 1946. There, he designed the station's first FM transmitter. Ebel taught as an assistant professor of Engineering and did work for a variety of stations ­– WMBD (Peoria), WDZ...

Abstract Robert Mott (1920-2019) began his public broadcasting career in 1956 at Washington State University as a writer and news director for KWSU-AM. For nine years, he wrote “Science in the News,” a fifteen-minute weekly radio program carried by more than 50 stations and the Voice of America radio network. He oversaw the creation of the studio for the university's KWSC-TV, which began broadcasting in 1962. From 1968 until 1970, Mott was executive director of National Educational Radio (NER), a...

Abstract Ellis James Robertson (1918-2009) began his noncommercial broadcasting career as program director at WTTW (Chicago, IL) from 1954 to 1959. Starting in 1959, he held various Educational Television positions, including director of station relations and vice president and later president for network affairs. He also served as vice president and general manager for Community Television of Southern California, where he planned, equipped and constructed KCET. In 1970, Robertson became the Director...