Richard William Jencks (1921 – June 30, 2014) was an American television executive, lawyer, former president of the CBS Broadcast Group, and former member of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. He retired from his position as Corporate Vice President of CBS in 1976. Jencks was also a former president of the Alliance of Television and Film Producers, or ATFP, which is now called the

Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is a trade association based in Sherman Oaks, California, that represents over 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotiations with entert ...

Early life and education

Jencks, a fourth generation Californian, was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, in 1921. As a child, he vacationed during the summer at Fallen Leaf Lake near

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

, where his family had opened a resort (present-day Stanford Sierra Camp). He initially enrolled at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, but left to join the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He served as a commanding officer for several harbor defense vessels, which placed

anti-submarine net An anti-submarine net or anti-submarine boom is a boom placed across the mouth of a harbour or a strait for protection against submarines. Examples of anti-submarine nets * Lake Macquarie anti-submarine boom *Indicator net * Naval operations in ...

s and

torpedo net Torpedo nets were a passive ship defensive device against torpedoes. They were in common use from the 1890s until the World War II, Second World War. They were superseded by the anti-torpedo bulge and torpedo belts. Origins With the introduction ...

throughout the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

during the war. He enrolled at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

after the war, where he earned both his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

(1946) and his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

(1948).

Career

Following law school, Jencks joined the

National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...

(NAB) in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as an associate

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

. He then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he became West Coast Resident Attorney for CBS, Inc. He later left CBS to become president of the

Alliance of Television and Film Producers The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is a trade association based in Sherman Oaks, California, that represents over 350 American television and film production companies in collective bargaining negotiations with enter ...

. While working in Los Angeles, Jencks became the first president of the West Pasadena Residents' Association, serving in 1962–1963. He also served on the

Pasadena City Council Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

. Jencks returned to CBS as the television network's general counsel and was later named president of the CBS Broadcast Group, which included

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

CBS Television Network CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

Cinema Center Films Cinema Center Films (CCF) was the theatrical film production company of the CBS Television Network from 1967 to 1972. Its films were distributed by National General Pictures. The production unit was located at CBS Studio Center in the Studio City ...

, and the television and radio stations owned by CBS. When CBS became the target of accusations of excessive depictions of sex and violence by the Nixon administration during the early 1970s, Jencks, who was a CBS corporate vice president at the time, flew to Washington to defend the broadcast network against the allegations. He remained in Washington, D.C. until his retirement in 1976. Jencks was appointed a

distinguished visiting professor Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" informally refers collectively to the academic ranks of assistant professor, asso ...

of communications at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

and was a founding member of the board of directors for the University of California at Berkeley Foundation. He served as well on the editorial board for the ''

Marin Independent Journal The ''Marin Independent Journal'' is the main newspaper of Marin County, California. The paper is owned by California Newspapers Partnership which is in turn mostly owned by MediaNews Group.

''. Jencks began appearing on a weekly radio opinion show called "2 Minutes with Richard" on KSCO when he was 85 years old and was frequently in demand as a speaker on broadcasting and other communication subjects.

Personal life

He and his wife, Mary, resided in

Stinson Beach, California Stinson Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located east-southeast of Bolinas, at an elevation of . The population of the Sti ...

, for fifteen years before moving to nearby

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. Jencks died on June 30, 2014, at the age of 93. He was survived by his wife; two children, Michael Reynolds Jencks and Nancy de Laguna Jencks and four step-children - Lynn Christopher Collins, Martha M. Barrett, Elizabeth B. Snyder, and George B. Barrett III.

Works

Remarks
to the National Association of Farm Directors, November 24, 1967 (regarding tobacco advertising and the

Fairness Doctrine The fairness doctrine of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, was a policy that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manne ...

)
''Sumner Redstone, William S. Paley, and Other Diversions: Media moguls, then and now''
A Talk for the CBS Alumni Club, New York City, January 15, 2002
"Richard W. Jencks: Internet's entertainment threat"
Marin Independent Journal, July 20, 2006
"Why Capitol Hill Needs a Churchill Reminder"
''The Wall Street Journal'', May 10, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jencks, Richard 1921 births 2014 deaths CBS executives American television executives California city council members Stanford Law School alumni Stanford University alumni San Diego State University faculty United States Navy personnel of World War II Lawyers from Pasadena, California People from Mill Valley, California People from Stinson Beach, California 20th-century American lawyers United States Navy officers Military personnel from California