Lee Frischknecht
Born(1928-01-04)January 4, 1928
DiedDecember 29, 2004(2004-12-29) (aged 76)
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationUtah State University, Michigan State University
OccupationPresident of National Public Radio
Years active1973–1977
Spouse
Sara Jean McCulloch
​
​
(m. 1950⁠–⁠2004)​
Children4 daughters

Lee Conrad Frischknecht (January 4, 1928 – December 29, 2004) was a broadcast journalist and, from 1973 to 1977, was the second president of National Public Radio.[1][2]

Biography

Frischknecht was born in Brigham City, Utah to Carl and Geniel Frischknecht (née Lund), and after graduation from Logan High School, spent two years (1946-1948) in the army in Japan.[3][1] He graduated from Utah State University (USU) in 1951 with a degree in speech and radio.[1][2] He earned a master's degree in Radio-TV from Michigan State University in 1957.[1]

Career

After graduation, Frischknecht initially worked in Idaho and after earning a graduate degree in Michigan, later moved to New York City to work at PBS affiliate WNET.[1] As president he saw a shift from predominantly news coverage to more human interest reporting.[4]

Frischknecht returned to USU to work for a time and then moved to Washington, DC to work at National Public Radio under its first president, Don Quayle.[1] He joined the fledgling public radio enterprise as director of network affairs and later as vice president.[5] Frischknecht became president of NPR in 1973, and served in that capacity until 1977.[2] He returned to television at Arizona State University's KAET in 1980 and later helped found KBAQ.[3] He retired in 1993.[1]

Personal

Frischknecht was married for 54 years (until his death) to the former Sara Jean McCulloch and had four daughters.[1] He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Lee C. Frischknecht Papers". University of Maryland, College Park. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lee C. Frischknecht; National Public Radio President". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 2005-01-11. p. B06. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  3. 1 2 3 "Obituary: Lee Conrad Frischknecht". Deseret News. 2005-01-03. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
  4. ↑ Cowan, Edward. "National Public Radio Network Downplays News", The New York Times, 10 May 1976. Retrieved on 13 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Lee Conrad Frischknecht", The Herald Journal, 1 January 2005. Retrieved on 13 May 2021.
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