Sir Robert Fraser (1904–1985) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

who, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, worked as a journalist, civil servant and as the first Director General of the British

Independent Television Authority The Independent Television Authority (ITA) was an agency created by the Television Act 1954 to supervise the creation of "Independent Television" (ITV (TV network), ITV), the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The ITA exi ...

(ITA).

Biography

Born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, Australia, Fraser graduated BA from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

, where he was resident at Trinity College from 1924 to 1926. Whilst in college, he was elected Secretary of the Trinity College Dialectic Society, and won numerous prizes, including the Wigram Allen Essay Prize (1924), the Leeper Debating Prize (1924 and 1925), and the President's Medal for Oratory (1925). He left with his parents, Mr and Mrs Reginald Fraser of Mt Lofty,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, for the United Kingdom in 1927 for further study at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

. He worked as a writer for the '' Daily Herald'' newspaper before unsuccessfully attempting to get elected to Parliament in 1935, standing for the Labour Party in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Fraser joined the Ministry of Information where he became Head of Publications, launching a successful series of informative booklets about the war effort, and eventually Director-General of the Central Office of Information. For his war-time service, he was appointed OBE in 1944 and knighted in 1949.In Other States—Two Knighthoods for Victoria
, ''The West Australian'', 9 June 1949, p. 2. However, Fraser is probably best known for his contribution to the ITV system through his work with the Independent Television Authority. He took the post of Director General at the ITA's inauguration in 1954, having been encouraged to do so by his friend

Norman Collins Norman Richard Collins (3 October 1907 – 6 September 1982) was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television (ITV) network in the ...

and the ITA Chairman

Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director, and broadcaster. After running two important art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television ...

. Fraser continued in the post until 1970, supervising most of the initial construction and development of ITV.

References

* Sendall, Bernard ''Independent Television in Britain: Volume 1 - Origin and Foundation 1946-62'' London: The Macmillan Press Ltd 1982 (reprinted 1984) 1904 births 1985 deaths People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) ITV people Alumni of the London School of Economics Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates {{UK-tv-bio-stub