|
Archives of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting:
Donald R. Quayle Files
Processed by: Shana Visser, August 1996
Revised by: Karen E. King, December 1996
7.5 lin. ft.
Biography | Scope and Content | Provenance | Series Description
Donald R. Quayle completed his undergraduate work in 1952, after founding the first educational radio station in the state of Utah. He spent several years in the armed services, including a one year tour in Korea. He received his masters degree in theater from Utah State University before moving on to Ohio State University for graduate work. While there, he worked as a booth announcer for WOSU Television. After Quayle moved up to manager, he attended various national seminars and developed an interest in the concept of interconnection and networking for educational radio and television. He also met Hartford Gunn, previously the general manager of WGBH radio and television in Boston, Massachusetts. This association later led to Quayle's accepting a position as general manager at WGBH radio from 1960 to 1962. From 1962 to 1964, Quayle was employed by National Educational Television (NET), first as director of the Educational Radio Network, then as a field services associate in the station relations department.
In 1968, Quayle returned to Boston as executive director of the Eastern Educational Network (EEN), where he interconnected stations from Syracuse, Albany, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. He left EEN in November of 1968 to function as a networking consultant for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Here he helped establish a television interconnection system, which opened on January 5, 1969. In July of 1970, Quayle went back to radio as the first president of National Public Radio (NPR). Three years later, in July of 1973, he rejoined CPB as Senior Vice President for Broadcasting, where he worked under Henry Loomis. Quayle created CPB's education department in addition to being involved in all aspects of programming. He remained there for four years.
Subsequently, Quayle spent approximately eighteen months consulting for WETA, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and various stations around the country. In 1979, he became Vice President for Administration at WETA, where he remained until his retirment in 1989.
Throughout his career, Quayle advocated interconnection and networking among both television and radio stations. In addition, he was an outspoken advocate of decentralization and increasing the power of individual stations to make programming decisions.
The Archives of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Donald R. Quayle Files cover the years 1972 to 1979 and also contains some undated material. The bulk of the material ranges from 1975 to 1977. Correspondence, contracts, proposals, and memoranda concentrate primarily on Quayle's work in programming and station relations.
The collection consists of one series:
The Archives of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Donald R. Quayle Files were donated to the National Public Broadcasting Archives, University of Maryland Libraries by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of a larger donation.in April of 1991.
Series 1: Subject Files 1972-1979 (7.5 lin. ft.)
This series documents Quayle's work as the Senior Vice President for Broadcasting at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Materials include correspondence, programming information from various stations, contracts, financial reports, project proposals, and project updates. The files are arranged alphabetically by folder title and then chronologically.
A complete guide in Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf) format can be downloaded here.
