Reuven Frank
Encyclopedia
Reuven Frank was an American
broadcast news pioneer.
Born in Montreal
, Quebec
, Israel Reuven Frank (he later dropped his first name) earned a bachelor's degree at City College of New York
and a graduate degree in journalism
from Columbia University
. He then worked a reporter at the Newark Evening News
in New Jersey
.
Frank was a key figure in bringing television news out of the shadow of radio news by emphasizing the importance of visuals in telling stories. His groundbreaking Huntley-Brinkley Report
teamed newscasters Chet Huntley
and David Brinkley
. The national catchphrase "Good night, David" "Good night, Chet" was credited to Frank.
Frank's documentaries
included Emmy Award
-winning report The Tunnel
(1962) about the escape of 59 Germans through a passage under the Berlin Wall
. It received the Emmy Award
for program of the year, the only documentary ever so honored. In the 1970s, he created and was executive producer of Weekend
, a news magazine hosted by Lloyd Dobyns
that originally aired one Saturday a month from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The program received a Peabody award. Linda Ellerbee
later joined as co-host.
Frank served two tenures as president of NBC News
, from 1968 to 1974 and from 1982 to 1984, and mentored such journalists as Tom Brokaw
, John Chancellor
, Linda Ellerbee
, and Andrea Mitchell
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
broadcast news pioneer.
Born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Israel Reuven Frank (he later dropped his first name) earned a bachelor's degree at City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
and a graduate degree in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He then worked a reporter at the Newark Evening News
Newark Evening News
The Newark Evening News was an American newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey. As New Jersey's largest city, Newark played a major role in New Jersey's journalistic history. At its apex, The News was widely regarded as the newspaper of record in New Jersey. It had bureaus in Montclair,...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Frank was a key figure in bringing television news out of the shadow of radio news by emphasizing the importance of visuals in telling stories. His groundbreaking Huntley-Brinkley Report
Huntley-Brinkley Report
The Huntley-Brinkley Report was the NBC television network's flagship evening news program from October 29, 1956 until July 31, 1970. It was anchored by Chet Huntley in New York City, and David Brinkley in Washington, D.C...
teamed newscasters Chet Huntley
Chet Huntley
Chester Robert "Chet" Huntley was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, for 14 years beginning in 1956.-Early life:...
and David Brinkley
David Brinkley
David McClure Brinkley was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997....
. The national catchphrase "Good night, David" "Good night, Chet" was credited to Frank.
Frank's documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
included Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning report The Tunnel
The Tunnel (NBC documentary)
The Tunnel was a 90-minute black-and-white documentary film that chronicled how three West Berlin university students organized the escape of 59 friends and family members by digging a tunnel underneath the Berlin Wall...
(1962) about the escape of 59 Germans through a passage under the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
. It received the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for program of the year, the only documentary ever so honored. In the 1970s, he created and was executive producer of Weekend
Weekend (news program)
Weekend was a television newsmagazine that ran on NBC from 1974 to 1979. It was originally aired in the same time slot as Saturday Night Live, rotating in on those weekends when the SNL cast was not producing a show, which averaged about once per month...
, a news magazine hosted by Lloyd Dobyns
Lloyd Dobyns
Lloyd Allen Dobyns, Jr. born is a former NBC news reporter and correspondent.Born in Newport News, Virginia, he graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1957. He started his broadcasting career in his hometown, eventually serving as an anchor at WAVY television in Portsmouth/Norfolk/Newport...
that originally aired one Saturday a month from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The program received a Peabody award. Linda Ellerbee
Linda Ellerbee
Linda Ellerbee is an American journalist who is most known for several jobs at NBC News, including Washington, DC correspondent, host of the Nickelodeon network's Nick News, and reporter and co-anchor of NBC News Overnight, which was recognized by the jurors of the duPont Columbia Awards as...
later joined as co-host.
Frank served two tenures as president of NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
, from 1968 to 1974 and from 1982 to 1984, and mentored such journalists as Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
, John Chancellor
John Chancellor
John William Chancellor was a well-known American journalist who spent most of his career with NBC News...
, Linda Ellerbee
Linda Ellerbee
Linda Ellerbee is an American journalist who is most known for several jobs at NBC News, including Washington, DC correspondent, host of the Nickelodeon network's Nick News, and reporter and co-anchor of NBC News Overnight, which was recognized by the jurors of the duPont Columbia Awards as...
, and Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell is an American television journalist, anchor, reporter, and commentator for NBC News based in Washington, D.C.. She is the NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, and has recently reported on the 2008 Race for the White House for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly...
.
Quotes
- "Sunshine is a weather report, a flood is news." Frank to Floyd Abrams.
- "The highest power of television journalism is not in the transmission of information but in the transmission of experience."