Frank Batten (February 11, 1927 – September 10, 2009) was a co-founder of the first nationwide, 24-hour cable weather channel,
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecas ...
.
His media company,
Landmark Media Enterprises, once owned nine daily newspapers, more than 50 weekly newspapers, television stations in Las Vegas and Nashville, and a national chain of
classified advertising
Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used ...
publications.
Batten assumed leadership in 1954 of two newspapers, ''
The Virginian-Pilot
''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...
'' and ''The Ledger-Star'' in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, parlaying those papers into a media conglomerate by acquiring other newspapers, radio stations, and television stations and establishing a cable outlet as well as the national cable weather channel. Until 2008, the company, Landmark Communications, now
Landmark Media Enterprises, was one of the country’s largest privately held media companies.
Batten sold TeleCable (a multi-system cable TV company) in 1995 to
TCI for $1 billion
and the Weather Channel in 2008 to
NBC Universal
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and two private equity firms for nearly $3.5 billion.
Batten served as chairman of the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
from 1982 to 1987.
Early life
Batten was born on February 11, 1927 to Frank Batten, a bank auditor,
and Dorothy Martin Batten, the daughter of a wealthy
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
family.
After the death of his father the following year, Batten and his mother moved in with his aunt and uncle, Fay and Samuel L. Slover.
A Jewish native of Tennessee, Slover had taken ownership of a newspaper in
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...
, which he sold in 1907 to buy what would become the ''Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch''.
Themselves childless, the Slovers raised young Frank as their own son.
Batten attended the
Culver Academies
Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culve ...
, a boarding school in Indiana, to graduate in 1945
and later attend the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
He received his undergraduate degree from the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, where he was a member of
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
fraternity. He then received his MBA from
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1952.
''The Virginian-Pilot''
Batten professionalized the newspaper he inherited in 1954 at age 27,
and went on to acquire the ''Portsmouth Star'', which he later merged with the ''Ledger-Dispatch'' to form the ''Ledger-Star''.
During his early days as publisher of ''
The Virginian-Pilot
''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...
'', Batten championed
desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...
, a position not often taken in the state of Virginia during the 1950s;
Virginia, like much of the American South, was undergoing deep resistance to the movement. In 1960 ''The Virginian-Pilot'' received a
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for articles written in support of racial desegregation.
Media acquisitions
In 1965, Batten acquired ''
The Greensboro Daily News
The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensbo ...
'' and ''
The Greensboro Record
The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensbo ...
'', adding ''
The Roanoke Times
''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...
'' in 1969. Together with ''The Virginian-Pilot'', these papers made up the core of the Landmark Publishing business. Under Landmark Publishing many other papers were started and acquired, including dailies, weeklies, community papers, and military papers across the southern and western parts of the United States.
Birth of The Weather Channel
When
John Coleman, former
WLS-TV
WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North State S ...
Chicago chief meteorologist and ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' forecaster, suggested creating a 24-hour cable weather station,
the idea confirmed what Batten had learned at ''The Virginian-Pilot'', that readers prioritized weather information as a primary reason for purchasing the daily paper.
The
Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecast ...
debuted on May 2, 1982, after 10 months in development. Although initially criticized, The Weather Channel ultimately thrived and expanded to include its sister web site,
Weather.com
The Weather Company is a weather forecasting and information technology company that owns and operates weather.com and Weather Underground. The Weather Company has been a subsidiary of the Watson & Cloud Platform business unit of IBM since 2016. ...
, which receives more than 300 million visits per month.
In 2002, on its 20th anniversary, Batten co-authored ''The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon'', recounting the creation of The Weather Channel.
Philanthropy
Batten became the first Rector of
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...
in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, served on the boards of the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
and
Hollins University
Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...
, and served as Vice Chairman of the
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the Commonwealth's coordinating body for higher education. SCHEV was established by the Governor and General Assembly in 1956. Its mission, which is outlined in the Code of Virginia§2 ...
.
His gifts to schools and institutions include $32 million to the Harvard Business School, $60 million to the
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. The school was founded ...
at the University of Virginia, $32 million to Old Dominion University, and various scholarships, such as the Batten Scholarship at the
Culver Academies
Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culve ...
. On April 12, 2007, Batten made a gift of $100 million to the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
, the largest gift in the University's history, to establish the
Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy (also known as the Batten School) is one of the University of Virginia's thirteen schools. The school offers classes and degree programs in Public Policy and Leadership. The school, establish ...
,
and in 2006, $2 million to Hollins University.
Frank Batten made a $20 million gift to
Virginia Wesleyan University
Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) is a private university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university is nonsectarian but historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church. It enrolls 1,607 students annually in undergraduate and graduate ...
to construct the Jane P. Batten Student Center in honor of his wife. Jane P. Batten joined the VWU Board of Trustees in 1981, served as chair of the board from 1995-1998, and was named trustee emerita in 2015. In 2017, Mrs. Batten made a donation to found the Batten Honors College of VWU (including a later $80.2 million endowment) and a 44,000-square-foot academic building to support the BHC mission of environmental stewardship. Additionally, Mrs. Batten made a lead gift in 2003 to the VWU ''Key to the Future Campaign,'' which has funded a number of significant endowments at the university, among them the Batten Professorship, the Frank and Jane P. Batten Distinguished Scholar Award, which recognizes scholarship achievements among VWU faculty since 2004, and the Jane and Frank Batten Endowed Scholarships, which laid the foundation for the Batten Honors College full tuition scholarships.
Frank Batten donated to the
Norfolk Academy
Norfolk Academy (NA) is an independent co-educational day school in Norfolk, Virginia. Chartered in 1728, it is the oldest private school in Virginia and the eighth oldest school in the United States. In 1966, Norfolk Academy merged with Country D ...
, for the school's library, as well as to the City of Norfolk for a new downtown library.
In 2009, he also started the $50 million Batten Challenge at the Culver Academies, where he would match every dollar donated to the school during 2009-2010 with a dollar of his own.
Personal life
Batten lived in
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
with his wife Jane Parke Batten. They had two daughters, Mary Elizabeth and Dorothy, and son Frank Batten, Jr., who succeeded his father as Chairman and CEO of
Landmark Communications
Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC (a spinoff of Landmark Communications, Inc.) is a privately held media company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia specializing in newspaper publishing, Internet publishing and software.
History
Norfolk Newspape ...
on January 1, 1998, and has been leading Sunday night Bible study group at Tabernacle Church of Norfolk.
In 2007, Batten was listed as the 190th richest person in the United States, according to Forbes 400, with a net worth of approximately $2.3 billion.
Batten owned one of the Chesapeake Bay's largest racing yachts, the ''Shadow''.
References
External links
AP Obituary Legacy.com
Legacy.com is a United States-based website founded in 1998, the world's largest commercial provider of online memorials. The Web site hosts obituaries and memorials for more than 70 percent of all U.S. deaths.Keagle, Lauri Harvey"Death in the D ...
Weather.com- Harvard Business School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batten, Frank
1927 births
2009 deaths
American billionaires
American newspaper chain founders
20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
American television company founders
Harvard Business School alumni
People from Norfolk, Virginia
University of Virginia alumni
Journalists from Virginia
Culver Academies alumni
20th-century American journalists
American male journalists