Weather Channel Founder Frank Batten Dies At 82

Condolences to family and friends of former LANDMARK COMMUNICATIONS Chairman and THE WEATHER CHANNEL founder FRANK BATTEN, who died TODAY (9/10) after a long illness in NORFOLK, VA at 82. 

BATTEN went to work for his uncle's newspapers as a reporter and ad salesman, eventually becoming publisher of the NORFOLK LEDGER-DISPATCH and VIRGINIAN-PILOT in 1954.  He built the papers and cable operator TELECABLE into LANDMARK COMMUNICATIONS in 1967, serving as chairman of the company through his 1998 retirement.  He launched THE WEATHER CHANNEL in 1982, spawning a radio weather report service as well as the cable channel before LANDMARK sold it to NBC UNIVERSAL for $3.5 billion last year.

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