Victor Whitman Knauth (10 June 1895 – 2 September 1977) was a journalist, publisher, and broadcasting executive. Knauth served as the editor-in-chief and an owner of ''The Bridgeport Times-Star'', a newspaper published in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He also owned two Northeastern radio stations.

Early life, education, and military service

Knauth was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on June 10, 1895. He graduated from Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1914. Knauth then attended

Harvard University 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 high ...

Cambridge, MA Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

as a member of the class of 1918. He left his studies at Harvard in 1917 to enlist with the

101st Field Artillery Regiment The 101st Field Artillery ("Boston Light Artillery") regiment is the oldest field artillery regiment in the United States Army with a lineage dating to 13 December 1636 when it was organized as the South Regiment. It is one of several National ...

of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

. Knauth served as a sergeant and then as a lieutenant in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He also served as an instructor in field communications at Camp de Souge in

Bordeaux, France Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

. During his military service, Knauth participated in the

Chemin des Dames In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the eas ...

offensive.

Career in journalism and media

Knauth began his career in journalism as a reporter at ''The

Springfield Republican ''The Republican'' is a newspaper based in Springfield, Massachusetts covering news in the Greater Springfield area, as well as national news and pieces from Boston, Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester and northern Connecticut. It is owned by ...

'', a newspaper published in Springfield, Massachusetts. He then worked as a reporter at the '' Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'', and ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

''. In 1926, Knauth joined

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

as a foreign correspondent. He covered news at their bureau in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and then their

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

bureau. Returning to the U.S. in 1928, Knauth began working in the public relations field. He joined

Ivy Lee Ivy Ledbetter Lee (July 16, 1877 – November 9, 1934) was an American publicity expert and a founder of modern public relations. Lee is best known for his public relations work with the Rockefeller Family. His first major client was the Penns ...

, the firm that pioneered the field of

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

. Knauth wrote copy to promote the opening of the Empire State Building and the development of

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

. These experience with Ivy Lee led Knauth to co-found Keen, Simmons, & Knauth as a public relations firm headquartered in New York City. In 1938, Knauth acquired a controlling interest in ''The Bridgeport Times-Star''. He also served as vice president of the Select Printing Company, a publishing company, president of Round Table Press, and an owner of ''

Omnibook Magazine ''Omnibook'' was a magazine published from 1938 until 1957 by Omnibook Inc. in New York. It was edited by Maxwell M. Geffen and Victor W. Knauth and featured "authorized abridgements of current best-selling books."�Omnibook (Overseas Edition)� ...

''. Knauth purchased

WAVZ WAVZ (1300 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. The station switched formats in time for Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007. WAVZ, as a news ...

-1300, an

AM station AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...

that aired in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

in 1949. Nine years later, he bought WTRY, an AM station that broadcast from

Troy, NY Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

. (Troy lies in the Albany, NY Capital Region.)

Social service and philanthropy

Knauth served as president of the

Norwalk Hospital Norwalk Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute care community teaching hospital in the Hospital Hill section of Norwalk, Connecticut. The hospital serves a population of 250,000 in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut. The 366-bed hospital has more ...

Association in Norwalk, Connecticut. He also served on the Boards of Education, Selectman, and Zoning for

Wilton, Connecticut Wilton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 18,503. In 2017, it was the sixth-wealthiest town per capita in Connecticut, the wealthiest U.S. state per capita. Officially reco ...

Family

Knauth married medical doctor Marjorie Lord Strauss on January 21, 1931. They had two children: John and Mary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knauth, Victor American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American publishers (people) American radio executives The Atlanta Journal-Constitution people San Francisco Chronicle people The Harvard Lampoon alumni 1895 births 1977 deaths Morristown-Beard School alumni