Annenberg, Walter

By William Evans Britton Fowler

Graduate Student, Grand Valley State University

Biographical Highlights

Walter Annenberg, a media magnet, controlled important properties in the newspaper, television, and magazine industries. Perhaps most significantly, he was known for the creation of TV Guide, the largest circulation weekly magazine in the world, a magazine central to understanding television in America (Museum of Broadcast Communications). He was also very active in the arena of American politics and was a conservative supporter of political causes throughout the years. His efforts on behalf of Republicans were rewarded with his designation by President Richard Nixon as U. S. Ambassador to Great Britain in 1969, and served as United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James. In his later life, Annenberg became renowned for his substantial philanthropic activities, which included significant donations to educational institutions and public television. 

Annenberg's sympathy for educational causes was evident with his financial support of the Annenberg Schools of Communication at both the University of Pennsylvania and at the University of Southern California. His activities would grow even more pronounced in the years to come, particularly after his sale of TV Guide and Triangle Publications to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in 1988 for approximately $3 billion—at the time, the largest price ever commanded for a publishing property.

Annenberg continued to make news after his sale of Triangle Publications with his continued philanthropy in the educational arena.  He was also one of the country's foremost collectors of art; in 1991 he bequeathed his extensive collection—valued at more than $1 billion—to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. His post-Triangle era charitable activities in the areas of education, art, and television served to further assure Annenberg's lasting legacy to a wide spectrum of American culture (Museum of Broadcast Communications).

Historic Roots

Walter H. Annenberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the13th of March 1908. In 1920, he moved with his family to Great Neck, Long Island, New York.  After high school, he attended the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1928.

After college, Walter Annenberg joined his father, Moses Annenberg, a successful publisher, as an assistant in the bookkeeping office of Triangle Publications, Inc.  He married Veronica Dunkelman in 1938.  They divorced in 1950, but not before giving birth to their son Roger Wallis Annenberg who committed suicide in 1962.  His second wife Leonore Rosentiel stood by his side and followed in his philanthropic nature (Annenberg Foundation).  

With his father’s death in1942, Walter assumed leadership of the family business, Triangle Publications, Inc., and with it came the responsibility as Chairman of the Board. While serving as Editor and Publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Annenberg developed many new periodicals that would reach diverse audiences. In 1953, as a result of his belief that television's growth would create a demand for more information on the part of viewers, he established TV Guide as a national publication (Green 2002).

Under Annenberg’s leadership, Triangle Publications branched out into other media with the purchase of a radio station in Philadelphia, and built a VHF television station which was one of the first TV stations owned by a publishing house.  The radio-TV division of Triangle grew to such an extent that the Philadelphia station pioneered a number of broadcasting concepts among which was Annenberg’s decision to use television to present a series of educational programs that ran for more than a decade.  Leading the way in the area of education and television, Annenberg was awarded the prestigious Alfred I. Dupont Award for pioneering education via television, as well as was given the Marshall Field Award in 1958.  In 1983 he received the Ralph Lowell Medal for his "outstanding contribution to public television" (Wikipedia.org).  With his contributions, he became a champion of public television, gaining many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Reagan and the Linus Pauling Medal for Humanitarianism (Annenberg Foundation).

A man with a cavernous interest in education, Annenberg founded The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in 1958 and The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California in 1971.  In 1983, he established the Washington Program in Communications Policy Studies in response to growing awareness of government and industry problems in the telecommunications field.

By the late 1980's, having sold all of his publishing and broadcast enterprises, Walter Annenberg devoted his attention to philanthropy and public service (ibid.).

In 1998 Annenberg sold TV Guide and his publications to Australian publishing magnate Rupert Murdoch for $3 billion, announcing that he would devote the rest of his life to philanthropy. The Annenberg foundation has given away billions, mostly to educational institutions.  Education...” he once said, "holds civilization together” (University of Pennsylvania Almanac 2002).  School buildings, libraries, theaters, hospitals, and museums all over the country now bear Annenberg's name.

Importance

After his death in 2002, it was estimated that Walter Annenberg gave over $2 billion in his lifetime.  His collection of French impressionist art was valued at approximately $1 billion, and was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (The Foundation Center).
  
Annenberg's sympathy for educational causes was evidenced by his financial support of the Annenberg Schools of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California, as well as The Annenberg Challenge (see Related Non-profit Organizations).

Walter Annenberg’s wealth was spread near and far.  With his donation to the Philadelphia Orchestra, they were able to refurbish Philadelphia's Academy of Music plus had $10,000,000 to endow the chair of music director Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Annenberg’s vision for the future of humankind was all-inclusive.  This was shown with his donation of fifty million dollars to the United Negro College Fund.   Walter H. Annenberg is one of the most important and prominent philanthropists the world has ever known. 

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

Other than the numerous gifts given to educational institutions throughout the world, in 1994, Walter Annenberg stated that he intended to give away all the assets of his foundation before his death lest they be used in ways he had not intended.  Unfortunately, he did not manage to do so. The assets of his foundation stand at $2.6 billion (Greene 2002). 

In 1980, Annenberg announced a plan to provide the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with $150 million in funds over a fifteen year period to produce educational television programs through which viewers could obtain college credits.  Though, his best-known gift was a $500-million commitment made in 1993 to improve the public schools—a five-year reform effort—and the largest single gift ever made to American public education.  The donation produced more than $600-million in matching funds from foundations, businesses, governments and other sources; with this, he created the Annenberg Challenge.  Annenberg had a fierce belief in the power of education to change lives and to make a democracy stronger (Greene 2002).

Key Related Ideas

The Annenberg Challenge was announced by Walter Annenberg as a “Challenge to the Nation” in December 1993 with a $500 million grant to improve public schools. As the largest single gift ever made to public education, the Annenberg Challenge was designed to unite the resources and ideas of those committed to increasing the effectiveness of public schooling. Recognizing that no single gift could improve all schools, the Challenge served as a catalyst to energize and support educational reform efforts across the country.

Democracy is a government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.  Abraham Lincoln described democracy as "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Educational Reform involves changing the way America’s schools reach and teach children for the educational benefit of all.

Media is the form and technology used to communicate information. Multimedia presentations, for example, combine sound, pictures, and videos, all of which are different types of media.

Public Policy is the fundamental policy on which laws rest, especially, policy not yet enunciated in specific rules.

PBS—Public Broadcasting Service is a non-profit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. A trusted community resource, PBS uses the power of media to enrich the lives of all Americans through quality programs and educational services that inform, inspire and delight.  Available to 99 percent of American homes with televisions and to an increasing number of digital multimedia households, PBS serves nearly 100 million people each week.

Important People Related to the Topic

• Leonore Annenberg:  Leonore was Walter Annenberg’s second wife.  She was president of the Annenberg Foundation, and took over chairmanship at the death of her husband.
  
  
• Moses Annenberg (1877-1942):  Moses was the father of noted published and philanthropist Walter Annenberg.  Moses was a major U.S. newspaper publisher, purchasing the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1936. He plead guilty to tax evasion in 1939 and served three years in prison. He died in 1942 shortly after being released from prison.
  
  
• Wallis Annenberg (1940- ):  Wallis was Walter Annenberg’s only living child (daughter) and vice-president of the Annenberg Foundation.  She has been credited with continuing her fathers legacy of philanthropic giving. 
  
  
• Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994):  Nixon was the thirty-sixth (1953-1961) Vice President, and the thirty-seventh (1969-1974) President of the United States. 
  
  
• Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004): Reagan was the 40th (1981-1989) President of the United States. He was also an actor in films before entering politics. He is the longest-living person to have served as President, as well as the oldest elected President (69 years and 349 days).  He awarded Ambassador Annenberg the nation's highest civilian honor in 1986, The Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  
  
• Rupert Keith Murdoch (1931- ):  Murdoch was a media entrepreneur, major shareholder and managing director of the News Corporation.  He purchased Triangle Publications from Walter Annenberg in 1988 for approximately $3 billion—at the time, the largest price ever commanded for a publishing property.  

Related Nonprofit Organizations

• The Annenberg Center for Health Sciences was founded in 1981 as a distinguished forum for the examination of health care issues and the advancement of science and medicine. The Center creates and delivers health education programs and, over the years, it has reached hundreds of thousands of health care professionals around the world through its unique conference and telecommunication facilities (http://www.annenberg.net/pages/start/index.html?pg=home).
  
  
• Annenberg Institute for School Reform was founded as the National Institute for School Reform at Brown University, the Institute received a $50 million naming grant in 1994 to expand its scope and mission. The grant was one of the first to be announced as part of the $500 million Annenberg Challenge, a major initiative designed to revive and inspire K-12 public education efforts throughout the nation. The Institute works to develop, share and act on knowledge that improves the conditions and outcomes of schooling in America, especially in urban communities and in schools with underserved children (http://www.annenberginstitute.org).
  
  
• The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania  was established in 1994. Through offices in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., it conducts and disseminates research, hosts lectures and conferences, and convenes discussions on the critical intersection of media, communication, and public policy (http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org).
  
  
• The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1958.  It offers students a firm grounding in various approaches to the study of communication and its methods, drawn from both the humanities and the social sciences. The School also houses the Annenberg Public Policy Center. (http://www.asc.upenn.edu/asc/application/default.asp).
  
  
• The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, founded in 1971 as a small graduate institution, later becoming a center of study for graduate and undergraduates. The School for Communication prepares students to study, understand and manage important communication in education, politics, management, marketing, government and non-governmental institutions (http://ascweb.usc.edu/home.php).

Related Web Sites

The Annenberg/CPB Web site, at http://www.learner.org,  “uses media and telecommunications to advance excellent teaching in American schools. This mandate is carried out chiefly by the funding and broad distribution of educational video programs with coordinated web and print materials for the professional development of K-12 teachers. Annenberg/CPB's multimedia resources help teachers increase their expertise in their fields and assist them in improving their teaching methods. Many programs are also intended for students in the classroom and viewers at home. All Annenberg/CPB videos exemplify excellent teaching.” 

The Annenberg Foundation Web site, at http://www.whannenberg.org, provides general information and news relating to the foundation.  The site also offers grant information relating to the foundation’s major program areas that include education and youth, arts and culture, community and civic, and health.  A grants database is also available to view recently approved grants.

The Center for Education Reform [CER] Web site, at http://www.edreform.com, is a national voice for more choices in education and more rigors in education programs, both of which are instrumental to more effective schooling. It delivers practical, research-based information and assistance to a diverse audience—including Parents, policy makers, and education reform groups—in taking actions to ensure that US schools are delivering a high quality education for all children in grades K-12.

Bibliography and Internet Sources

The Annenberg Foundation. The Annenberg Foundation.  Accessed 22nd September 2004.  http://www.annenbergfoundation.org.

The Foundation Center.  Walter H. Annenberg.  Accessed 6th October 2004. 
http://fdncenter.org/newyork/gitn/ny_gitn_120102.html.

Greene, Elizabeth. “Philanthropist Walter Annenberg Dies.” The Chronicle 1st October 2002. Cited 15th September 2004. Available from http://philanthropy.com/free/update/2002/10/2002100101.htm.

Museum of Broadcast Communications.  Walter H. Annenberg.  Accessed 12th
September 2004.
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/annenbergwa/annenbergwa.htm.
 
University of Pennsylvania Almanac. “The Honorable W.H. Annenberg.”  Vol. 49, No 7. Cited 2nd October 2004.  http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v49/n07/death_annenberg.html.

Wikipedia, The Free Dictionary.  Walter H. Annenberg.  Accessed 10th September 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Annenberg.