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Frank Batten (1927- ) is a communications entrepreneur who began his career when he assumed leadership of his uncle Samuel L. Slover's newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star in Norfolk, Virginia at age 27 in 1954. Batten grew his uncle's business by acquiring additional newspapers, radio stations, and television stations, as well as founding a new cable station The Weather Channel. These various businesses prompted the creation of Landmark Communications, a privately held media company known for its ethical conduct. The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper, serving the area around Norfolk, Virginia. ... Motto: Crescas (Latin for, Thou shalt grow. ... The Weather Channel (TWC) is a cable and satellite television network that broadcasts weather and weather-related news 24 hours a day. ... Landmark Communications is a privately-held media company specializing in cable television, broadcast television, print publishing, and internet publishing. ...

Early Life

Frank Batten attended the Culver Academies as a young man. He later received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his MBA from Harvard in 1952. The Culver Academies are independent college preparatory boarding schools, in particular Culver Military Academy and Culver Girls Academy in Culver, Indiana, USA. Henry Harrison Culver first founded Culver Military Academy in 1894 for the purpose of thoroughly preparing young men for the best colleges, scientific schools and businesses of America. ... The University of Virginia (also called U.Va. ... Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ...

The Virginian-Pilot

During his early days as Publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, Frank Batten championed desegregation, a position not often taken in the state of Virginia during the 1950's; Virginia, like much of the American South, was undergoing deep resistance to the movement. In 1960 The Virginian-Pilot received a Pulitzer Prize for articles written in support of desegregation. The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper, serving the area around Norfolk, Virginia. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ...

Media Acquisitions

In 1965 Batten acquired The Greensboro Daily News, adding another daily metro newspaper to his burgeoning media company, Landmark Communications. The Roanoke Times was added soon after, in 1969. Together with The Virginian-Pilot, these three papers make 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. Batten was also chairman of the Associated Press from 1982 to 1987. Landmark Communications is a privately-held media company specializing in cable television, broadcast television, print publishing, and internet publishing. ... The Roanoke Times is the main newspaper in Roanoke, Virginia. ... The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper, serving the area around Norfolk, Virginia. ...

Birth of The Weather Channel

Main Article: The Weather Channel (United States) The Weather Channel (TWC) is a cable and satellite television network that broadcasts weather and weather-related news 24 hours a day. ...

During his time with The Virginian-Pilot, Batten learned that many readers bought the newspaper with one of their main purposes being to find out about the weather. When the idea was broached to him about starting a 24-hour cable weather station by John Coleman, former WLS-TV Chicago chief meteorologist and Good Morning America forecaster, Batten jumped at the opportunity. John Coleman is an American meteorologist and the founder of The Weather Channel. ... WLS-TV abc Disney 7 is an American television station in Chicago, Illinois and thats owned and operated by the abc-TV Network & The Walt Disney Company. ... Good Morning America is a weekday morning news show that is broadcast on the ABC television network. ...

The Weather Channel was launched on May 2, 1982 after only 10 months from concept to being on air. Although this venture was met with widespread criticism, The Weather Channel thrived after an initial bumpy few years and now includes Weather.com, which receives more than 300 million hits per month. The Weather Channel (TWC) is a cable and satellite television network that broadcasts weather and weather-related news 24 hours a day. ...

Batten wrote a book on his experience founding The Weather Channel titled The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon (published in time for the channel's 20th anniversary year of 2002).

Philanthropy

With a strong commitment to education, Batten became the first Rector of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He has also served on the boards of the College of William and Mary and Hollins College, and was Vice Chairmain of Virginia's State Council of Higher Education. He continues to give generously to schools and institutions, including $32 million to the Harvard Business School, $60 million to the Darden Graduate School of Business in Virginia, and various scholarships such as the Batten Scholarship at the Culver Academies. On April 12, 2007, Batten made a gift of $100 million dollars to the University of Virginia, the largest gift in the University's history, to establish the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. ODU redirects here. ... Motto: Crescas (Latin for, Thou shalt grow. ... The College of William and Mary (also known as William & Mary, W&M or The College) is a small, selective, coeducational public university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. ... Hollins University is a four-year institution of higher education, a private university located on a 475-acre campus on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia and Botetourt County, Virginia. ... The Culver Academies are independent college preparatory boarding schools, in particular Culver Military Academy and Culver Girls Academy in Culver, Indiana, USA. Henry Harrison Culver first founded Culver Military Academy in 1894 for the purpose of thoroughly preparing young men for the best colleges, scientific schools and businesses of America. ... On April 12, 2007, former Landmark Communications CEO and University of Virginia alumnus Frank Batten made a gift of $100 million to establish this as the University of Virginias newest school. ...

Personal Life

Frank Batten resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia with his wife Jane. They have three children including Frank Batten, Jr., who succeeded his father's place as Chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications in 1998. Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ... Landmark Communications is a privately-held media company specializing in cable television, broadcast television, print publishing, and internet publishing. ...

In 2005 Frank Batten was listed as the 235th richest man in the United States, according to Forbes 400, with a net worth of approximately $1.4 billion.

External Links

• Weather.Com