Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
April 27, 2004
Appreciation to Burt Harrison
Des Moines, Iowa
RESOLVED,
That the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Expresses Its Deep Appreciation for the Life and Work of
BURT HARRISON
Architect of Public Broadcasting
Teacher and Leader
First Winner of Edward R. Murrow Award
The Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting recognizes the extraordinary contributions of Burt Harrison, who worked to lay the foundations of public radio and whose legacy endures in every broadcast.
Mr. Harrison's long association with public broadcasting began in 1949, when he joined KWSU in Pullman, Washington, where he spent the next 27 years. Mr. Harrison was instrumental in the successful effort to pass the Public Broadcasting Act, establish the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and develop the legislative and financial structure for the creation of National Public Radio. In 1977, CPB recognized his lasting contributions to public radio by making him the first-ever recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award.
A colleague has noted that "Many public radio professionals were born after Burt Harrison retired as KWSU's station manager in 1976, but what we have today is traceable to the work that he and a very few other visionaries accomplished." The Board expresses its gratitude for Mr. Harrison's dedication to public broadcasting and extends its deepest sympathy to the Harrison family.