Victor Whitman Knauth (10 June 1895 – 2 September 1977) was a journalist, publisher, and broadcasting executive. Knauth served as the editor-in-chief and an owner of ''The Bridgeport Times-Star'', a newspaper published in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

. He also owned two Northeastern radio stations.

Early life, education, and military service

Knauth was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on June 10, 1895. He graduated from

Morristown School Morristown may refer to: Places Canada * Morristown, Kings County, Nova Scotia * Morristown, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia United States * Morristown, Arizona * Morristown, Indiana ** Morristown station (Indiana) *Morristown, Minnesota **Morristo ...

(now Morristown-Beard School) in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, in 1914. Knauth then attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Cambridge, MA Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 U.S. census was 118, ...

as a member of the class of 1918. He left his studies at Harvard in 1917 to enlist with the

101st Field Artillery Regiment The 101st Field Artillery ("Boston Light Artillery") regiment is the oldest active field artillery regiment in the United States Army, with a lineage dating to 13 December 1636 when it was organized as the South Regiment. It is one of several N ...

of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

. Knauth served as a sergeant and then as a lieutenant in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He also served as an instructor in field communications at Camp de Souge in

Bordeaux, France Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. During his military service, Knauth participated in the

Chemin des Dames In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the eas ...

offensive.

Career in journalism and media

Knauth began his career in journalism as a reporter at ''The

Springfield Republican ''The Republican'' is a newspaper based in Springfield, Massachusetts, covering news in the Greater Springfield area, as well as national news and pieces from Boston, Worcester and northern Connecticut. It is owned by Newhouse Newspapers, a ...

'', a newspaper published in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. He then worked as a reporter at the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'', ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', and ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

''. In 1926, Knauth joined

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

as a foreign correspondent. He covered news at their bureau in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and then their

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

bureau. Returning to the U.S. in 1928, Knauth began working in the public relations field. He joined

Ivy Lee Ivy Ledbetter Lee (July 16, 1877 – November 9, 1934) was an American publicity expert and a founder of modern public relations. Lee is best known for his public relations work with the Rockefeller Family. His first major client was the Pennsy ...

, the firm that pioneered the field of

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

. Knauth wrote copy to promote the opening of the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

and the development of

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

. These experience with Ivy Lee led Knauth to co-found Keen, Simmons, & Knauth as a public relations firm headquartered in New York City. In 1938, Knauth acquired a controlling interest in ''The Bridgeport Times-Star''. He also served as vice president of the Select Printing Company, a publishing company, president of Round Table Press, and an owner of '' Omnibook Magazine''. Knauth purchased WAVZ-1300, an

AM station AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...

that aired in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

in 1949. Nine years later, he bought WTRY, an AM station that broadcast from

Troy, NY Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany. At the 2020 census, the ...

. (Troy lies in the

Albany, NY Albany ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldest city in New York, and the county seat of and most popu ...

Capital Region.)

Social service and philanthropy

Knauth served as president of the

Norwalk Hospital Norwalk Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute care community teaching hospital in the Hospital Hill section of Norwalk, Connecticut. The hospital serves a population of 250,000 in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut. The 366-bed hospital has more ...

Association in

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

. He also served on the Boards of Education,

Selectman The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three is the most common numb ...

, and Zoning for

Wilton, Connecticut Wilton is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,503. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Wester ...

Family

Knauth married medical doctor Marjorie Lord Strauss on January 21, 1931. They had two children: John and Mary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knauth, Victor American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American publishers (people) American radio executives The Atlanta Journal-Constitution people San Francisco Chronicle people The Harvard Lampoon alumni 1895 births 1977 deaths Morristown-Beard School alumni