Batten Sr., two others honored for dedication

By Denise Watson Batts
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 3, 2009

Frank Batten Sr. and two other state leaders in journalism are recipients of the Virginia Press Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

Batten, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Landmark Communications, now known as Landmark Media Enterprises, J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman of Media General Inc.; and George T. Crutchfield, a retired professor, will be recognized during the 2009 VPA/Associated Press News Conference and annual meeting in March.

The VPA presents the award for a lifetime of dedication to the Virginia newspaper industry.

Born in Norfolk, Batten started out as a reporter and advertising salesman for The Virginian-Pilot and the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch. In 1954, Batten became publisher, and in 1967, he became chairman of Landmark.

In 1998, Batten turned the company over to his son, Frank Batten Jr.

Batten Sr. is known for his philanthropy, particularly in the area of education. He has donated millions of dollars to colleges and universities such as Old Dominion University, Virginia Wesleyan College and the University of Virginia.

Bryan, of Richmond, was born into the family that owned the Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Richmond News Leader. Bryan worked in news, advertising, production and circulation at newspapers in Vermont and Florida, as well as at the Times-Dispatch, according to the VPA. In 1978, he became president and publisher of the Times-Dispatch and the News Leader. He later became president, chairman and CEO of Media General Inc., the newspapers' parent company.

Crutchfield was director of the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1970 to 1989. He remained on the faculty as a full professor until he retired in 1999.

Crutchfield directed a summer copy editing training program for the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund for 30 years.

Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com

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ccongradulations sir

Submitted by rainman on Tue, 02/03/2009 at 8:08 pm.

You have done many fine things in your life. It is nice to see someone get recognized for a lifetime of hard work.

Frank Batten

Submitted by wdjohnson on Tue, 02/03/2009 at 6:56 am.

As a minority businessman in this area for a long time,more than 35 years I have always recognize the Virginia Pilot Organization as a more than fair customer to deal with when it became awarding contracts and other services required. They were on the Regional Minority Purchasing Council and maintained representatives at council meeting every month for a decade. However, I am puzzled as to why Mr. Batten has never contributed anything or amounts of funds to Norfolk State University.

Just curious.