Edmund
Blodgett Craney
(1905 - 1991) |
Ed founded
five Montana radio stations, two Montana television
stations, the Z-Bar Radio Network, the Montana Television
Network and the Montana Broadcasters Association.
He was a leader in adopting new technology for broadcasting.
He championed many broadcasters' causes, winning,
for example, an unprecedented battle with ASCAP
for per-play music licensing and being instrumental
in the establishment of Broadcast Music, Inc. Craney
passionately promoted over-the-air television for
small towns by his involvement in the National Translator
Association. He founded the Greater Montana Foundation
to provide rewards for broadcast excellence in Montana
and to encourage broadcast students to excel. Craney's
renowned unselfishness is evident in his view of
his vaunted lobbying prowess with powerful Senator
Burton K. Wheeler: "I never asked for anything
for me. I always asked for something for the industry." |
MBA
HALL OF FAME - Edmund Blodgett Craney (1905 - 1991)