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Frank Nicholas Stanton (March 20, 1908 – December 24, 2006) was an American
broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
executive who served as the president of CBS between 1946 and 1971 and then as vice chairman until 1973. He also served as the chairman of the
Rand Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
from 1961 until 1967.


Early life

Stanton was born March 20, 1908, in
Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the ex ...
, to Helen Josephine Schmidt and Frank Cooper Stanton. He attended Stivers School for the Arts (then called Stivers High School) in Dayton, Ohio. He then attended Ohio Wesleyan University in
Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus ...
, receiving a B.A. in 1930. He married his childhood sweetheart, Ruth Stephenson, in 1931. He taught for one year in the manual arts department of a high school in Dayton, then attended
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publi ...
, where he received his Ph.D. in 1935. He also held a diploma from the American Board of Professional Psychology. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''A Critique of Present Methods and a New Plan for Studying Radio Listening Behavior''; for his research, he invented a device that would make a reliable, automatic record of radio listening. Soon after earning his Ph.D., Stanton became the third employee in the CBS research department. By 1942 he was a vice president of CBS and a fellow of the American Association of Applied Psychology, as well as a member of the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It has ...
, the
American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuous ...
, and the
American Marketing Association The American Marketing Association (AMA) is a professional association for marketing professionals with 30,000 members as of 2012. It has 76 professional chapters and 250 collegiate chapters across the United States. The AMA was formed in from t ...
; he was on the editorial board of the journal '' Sociometry''. During World War II, he consulted for the
Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
, the
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of th ...
, and the Department of the Navy, while serving as a vice president at CBS. He was selected as the administrator-designate of the Emergency Communications Agency, part of a secret group created by President Eisenhower in 1958 that would serve in the event of a national emergency that became known as the
Eisenhower Ten Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory o ...
.


Color television

Stanton helped lead the fight for
color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
. By 1950 CBS had been working on its field-sequential system of color TV for a decade. On October 11, 1950 the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdi ...
(FCC) approved CBS's system as the first official color standard for commercial broadcasting in the U.S., although subsequent court challenges delayed actual commercial broadcasting until June 25, 1951. On that day, Stanton appeared on an hour-long special, ''Premiere'', with
Robert Alda Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo; February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an Italian-American theatrical and film actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in ...
, Faye Emerson, Ed Sullivan, Arthur Godfrey, William S. Paley and others to introduce the CBS color system. CBS color broadcasting only lasted for four months. CBS suspended it when the manufacture of color television receivers was halted by the US government as part of the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
effort. When the ban on color sets was rescinded in 1953, CBS announced that it had no plans to resume broadcasting using its field-sequential color system. A major problem with the CBS system was that the video was not "
compatible Compatibility may refer to: Computing * Backward compatibility, in which newer devices can understand data generated by older devices * Compatibility card, an expansion card for hardware emulation of another device * Compatibility layer, compo ...
" with existing black-and-white TV sets. A competing dot-sequential color system being developed by
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Com ...
was compatible, and in late 1953, the FCC switched its approval to an RCA-based system of broadcasting color TV.


1950s controversies

During the period of McCarthyism, Stanton created an office at CBS to review the political leanings of employees. Although right-wing journalists considered CBS left-leaning, branding it "the Red Network," CBS maintained a questionnaire inquiring about journalists' political affiliations. At Stanton's direction, employees were required to take an oath of loyalty to the US government.Mayer, Michael S. "Stanton, Frank." ''The Eisenhower Years.'' Facts on File library of American history. Infobase Publishing, 2009. p. 772 Stanton and Paley "found it expedient to hire only those who were politically neutral" as they wished to avoid taking a position against the FCC and Congress or to jeopardize profit by taking "a stand against the vigilantes." According to radio historian Jim Cox, "CBS and the blacklisting became synonymous." CBS, in response to the culture of blacklisting, instituted a "purge of its own," as had Hollywood and
President Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
. Paley was more responsible for policy setting, and Stanton was its main executor.Barnouw, Erik. ''Media Marathon: A Twentieth-century Memoir''. Duke University Press, 1996. pp. 175-176 Radio producer William N. Robson was one victim of the CBS purge; initially reassured by Stanton that his listing in the anticommunist ''
Red Channels ''Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television'' was an anti-Communist document published in the United States at the start of the 1950s. Issued by the right-wing journal ''Counterattack'' on June 22, 1950, the pamphle ...
'' pamphlet would not mean the end of his career with CBS, Robson eventually found the executive office of CBS nonresponsive to his inquiries, and his earnings collapsed. ''
Good Night, and Good Luck ''Good Night, and Good Luck'' (stylized as ''good night, and good luck.'') is a 2005 historical drama film about American television news directed by George Clooney, with the movie starring David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Ro ...
'', a 2005 film portraying this era, avoids mentioning Stanton, partly because Stanton was still living and could have objected to his portrayal. Stanton played a role in the infamous controversy involving Arthur Godfrey, CBS's top money-earner in the early 1950s. Godfrey insisted that the cast members of two of his three CBS shows, a group of singers known as the "Little Godfreys," refrain from hiring managers. When one singer,
Julius LaRosa Julius La Rosa (January 2, 1930 – May 12, 2016) was an American traditional popular music singer, who worked in both radio and television beginning in the 1950s. Early years La Rosa was born of Italian-immigrant parents in the Brooklyn borough ...
, hired a manager after a minor dispute with Godfrey, the star consulted with Stanton, who suggested that he fire the popular LaRosa, then a rising star, on the air, just as he had hired him on the air in 1951. Godfrey did so on October 19, 1953 without informing LaRosa before the airing. The move caused an enormous backlash against Godfrey. Stanton later told Godfrey biographer Arthur Singer, "Maybe (the recommendation) was a mistake."


Role in televising presidential debates

Stanton organized the first televised presidential debate in American history. After an eight-year effort, he convinced the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to suspend Section 315 of the
Communications Act of 1934 The Communications Act of 1934 is a United States federal law signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19, 1934 and codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code, et seq. The Act replaced the Federal Radio Commission wit ...
for the election in 1960, which stipulated the provision of equal air time to all candidates. Stanton thereby enabled the first two-candidate presidential television debate, which was held at and televised from the CBS studio in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, with candidates John F. Kennedy and
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. The debates, however, ceased after the 1960 election, as Lyndon B. Johnson avoided debating in 1964, and Nixon, widely perceived to have made a poor impression on television viewers in 1960, declined to debate in
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Jan ...
and in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
. Thus televised presidential debates did not resume until
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
, when incumbent president
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
, perceiving he was behind in the polls, agreed to debate challenger
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from ...
.


Quiz show scandals

While Edward R. Murrow's 1958 speech before the Radio and Television News Directors Association is often praised for its call for a deeper commitment among broadcasters to public service, Stanton in May 1959 (speaking before his graduate alma mater, Ohio State) also voiced his own commitment to public affairs. He promised that the following year, CBS would air a frequent prime-time public-affairs series, a series which later became ''CBS Reports''. A few months later, in an October 1959 speech before the same RTNDA that Murrow had addressed in 1958, Stanton promised there would be no repeat of the program deceptions embodied by the quiz show scandals.


Controversial documentary

As president of CBS, Stanton's greatest battle with the government occurred in 1971, and focused on just this parallel to print press rights. The controversy surrounded "The Selling of the Pentagon," a ''CBS Reports'' documentary, which exposed the huge expenditure of public funds, partly illegal, to promote
militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
. The confrontation raised the issue of whether television news programming deserved protection under the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. The program came under intense criticism from two men who appeared on the program, from the House of Representatives, other media and some prominent politicians. Daniel Henkins, Undersecretary of Defense for Public Relations, charged that statements from his interview with
Roger Mudd Roger Harrison Mudd (February 9, 1928 – March 9, 2021) was an American broadcast journalist who was a correspondent and anchor for CBS News and NBC News. He also worked as the primary anchor for The History Channel. Previously, Mudd was weeken ...
about his work had been doctored, as did Col. John MacNeil, who accused CBS of rearranging his comments in a speech he gave about the situation in Southeast Asia. The Investigations Subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee subpoenaed CBS's outtakes to determine whether or not distortion had taken place. Meanwhile, critics at the ''Washington Post'' and ''Time'' magazine, while not taking issue with the thesis of "Selling" that the Pentagon was engaging in propaganda, objected to the editing techniques employed in its production. The program was also criticized by Vice President
Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...
and Secretary of Defense
Melvin Laird Melvin Robert Laird Jr. (September 1, 1922 – November 16, 2016) was an American politician, writer and statesman. He was a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under Pres ...
. Against threat of jail, Stanton refused the subpoena from the House Commerce Committee ordering him to provide copies of the outtakes and scripts from the documentary. He claimed that such materials are protected by the freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment. Stanton observed that if such subpoena actions were allowed, there would be a "
chilling effect In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, the ...
" upon
broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
. For his efforts in that situation, Stanton was awarded one of three personal Peabody Awards (the others coming in 1959 and 1960). He also shared two other Peabodys that were awarded to CBS as a network.


Retirement from CBS

Stanton was required to retire from CBS at 65 by a policy he had established. Although he said he "wasn't about to break" his own policy, it is often speculated that he wanted to stay on longer but was prevented from doing so by Paley. The two men had a bitter relationship by the time of Stanton's retirement: Stanton resented being forced to retire and being denied the chairmanship of CBS, while Paley thought Stanton ungrateful for Paley's contribution to his career.Metz, Robert. "The Biggest Man in Broadcasting." ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
'', July 21, 1975. p. 50
Stanton continued his relationship with CBS, contractually receiving at least $100,000 per year for consulting until 1988, plus office space, secretarial support, and other expenses. In 1975 Stanton held about 355,000 shares in CBS, then worth more than $18 million. After CBS Stanton made numerous investments in start-ups and other companies.


Philanthropy

Stanton served for many years as a
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
volunteer, concentrating on public information and fundraising. After retiring from CBS, he was appointed Chairman of the American National Red Cross by President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
in 1973, serving in that capacity until 1979. From 1969 to 1970, while still president of CBS, Stanton served on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 100th Anniversary Committee.


Death and legacy

Stanton died in his sleep at his home in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...
on December 24, 2006, at the age of 98. The Center for Communication in New York, founded by Stanton in 1980, presents a Frank Stanton Award annually to "individuals who exemplify achievement and excellence in any genre of mass communication". The Center's mission is to connect students of media to professionals in the industry. Stanton cofounded with Andrew Heiskell the Center for Public Policy in Telecommunication at the
City University of New York , mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind , budget = $3.6 billion , established = , type = Public university system , chancellor = Fél ...
. The Frank Stanton Studios in Los Angeles house American Public Media's Marketplace Productions. The Harvard School of Public Health established the Frank Stanton Directorship of the Center for Health Communication, with Dr. Jay Winsten as the incumbent. The philanthropic
Stanton Foundation The Stanton Foundation is a private foundation established by Frank Stanton, a long-time president of Columbia Broadcasting System ("CBS"). The Foundation focuses primarily on three areas in which Stanton was unable to complete his philanthro ...
was created upon his death. On October 5, 2011 the Stanton Foundation awarded the Wikimedia Foundation $3.6 million, the foundation's largest-ever grant.


Accolades

* 1957: Paul White Award,
Radio Television Digital News Association The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dire ...
* 1971: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association * 1984:
Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism The Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism is an annual award presented by Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 ...
. * 1986: Television Hall of Fame * 1990:
National Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicatio ...


References


Further reading

* Buxton, William J., and Charles R. Acland. "Interview with Dr. Frank N. Stanton: Radio research pioneer." ''Journal of Radio Studies'' (2001) 8#1 pp: 191-229. * Dunham, Corydon B. ''Fighting for the first amendment: Stanton of CBS vs. Congress and the Nixon White House'' (Praeger Publishers, 1997) * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Frank 1908 births 2006 deaths American television executives Ohio State University alumni Ohio Wesleyan University alumni Peabody Award winners People from Muskegon, Michigan CBS executives Presidents of CBS, Inc. International Emmy Directorate Award Businesspeople from Dayton, Ohio 20th-century American businesspeople