I noted this morning that the CBS Sunday Morning program, in its tribute to those passing in 2006, gave five seconds to Dr. Frank Stanton and about thirty seconds to Ed Bradley. Even Adolph Green got more.

Am sure Bradley was the better known. But the program, as did all CBS News, owes a lot to Stanton’s vision. And, considering the unique style and tone of the Sunday morning program, thought they could have done a lot more on him.

And, on ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopolous, they made no mention at all of Stanton on their In Memoriam segment. They did get Gerald Ford, James Brown and Saddam Hussein.

Two* big deaths in the news this past week. One you’ll hear a lot about, the other you may miss. Both are important.

One was the death on Christmas Day of the “godfather of soul”, James Brown. You’ll hear plenty about him, and justly so.

But the one you may miss is the death on Christmas Eve of Frank Stanton.

There probably aren’t many in my business who have heard of him or his importance to our industry. But he was the man who’s responsible for the growth of the CBS Television Network from its inception through the next quarter century. And for much of the model of broadcast television today.

A Midwesterner, Stanton hailed from Michigan and was educated in Ohio, earning a doctorate at the Ohio State University. His work there on a scientific method for measuring radio ratings attracted CBS, then a radio broadcaster, which snapped him up and moved him to New York to head a two-person research department.

Dr. Stanton, as he became known within the company and the industry, rose swiftly through the ranks, becoming president of CBS in 1946, when he was only 38 years old. He was the perfect complement to the company’s founder, the better known William S. Paley. (Although I’d bet very few in television today know who Paley was.)

Paley was restless, disorganized, unpredictable. Stanton was disciplined, systematic. Paley acted from the gut; Stanton from the brain. Yet their relationship worked.

Paley, a radio man, didn’t initially grasp the potential of television, thinking it would hurt radio. Stanton got it, signing untested talent like Jackie Gleason and stealing “I Love Lucy” before NBC could get hold of it.

As the head of CBS, Dr. Stanton oversaw varied enterprises that included Columbia Records, CBS Laboratories, Fender Guitars, Gabriel Toys and, for a brief time, the New York Yankees.

Luckily, Stanton never read “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff”. He was a micromanager before the phrase was coined. He oversaw every aspect of the company. One of his lasting accomplishments is the design of the legendary Black Rock headquarters on West 52nd Street in New York City. Stanton is said to have guided its design from the stone that inspired its nickname to the typography of the elevator numerals.

While he led CBS to leadership status among television viewers, Dr. Stanton also made a priority of journalistic excellence from CBS News. Former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite credited him with recruiting an “all-star cast” of broadcasters, producers, reporters and writers to the network, including Edward R. Murrow. You know that story.

In 1966, Dr. Stanton had counted on rising to chief executive as Paley’s retirement at age 65 was dictated by company policy. But Paley was the boss and, exempting himself from the mandatory retirement age, stayed on. In 1971, Dr. Stanton was forced to step down as president, then served as vice chairman until his retirement in 1973, at age 65. I guess Paley asked “what have you done for me lately?” He forgot about the previous 35 years.

Despite many changes and the best efforts at all the networks their long-time cultures linger on. NBC tries to channel Tartikoff and Tinker, ABC longs for the Fred Silverman days and CBS is haunted by its reputation as the “Tiffany Network”. They have Frank Stanton to thank for that. And well they should.

* actually three big deaths this week. This note added as a postscript to acknowledge the passing of Gerald Ford.

We were looking for a daring, bold new hotel to complement our expanding Convention Center and new stadium.  We got a bunch of boring boxes. 

The race was between the InterContinental and Marriott chains to add more capacity as the city’s tourism grows.  Only one would win.  A seven-member select panel made the choice.  And bland won. 

The Intercontinental folks proposed a bold, innovative design with 44 stories and sited on Pan Am Plaza across from the current RCA Dome.  The Marriott group, the winner, had another approach, several hotels of their various brands, situated around a current Marriott further west.  Hotels that will look like any other. Hotels that could be in Omaha.

Now, of course, the Marriott choice was safe – Hoosier safe.  And, they know how to run hotels.  Their various brands  have different price points that will fit our visitor’s pocketbooks. They’re proposing to build five hotels.  One will be a JW Marriott, a top of the line hotel.  And, all five will put thousands of tourists into the area of White River State Park, which could benefit.

But Indy missed a chance to add another piece to a distinctive skyline.  There really hasn’t been a lot of innovative design since the days of building the ArtsGarden and Conseco Fieldhouse.

Here’s hoping Indy’s leaders will push the Marriott folks to put a little imagination in their designs.  The city has a unique appeal with its older, historic buildings and monuments, the canal, Victory Field.  

So, throw away the standard blueprints for a Fairfield Inn, a Courtyard, a Springhill Suites, Fairfield Inn, a Renaissance Hotel.    Surprise us.  

You think high school football is big in Indiana?  Ask former Warren Central coach Kevin Wright about high school football in Oklahoma.

After only one year at Tulsa’s Union High School, Wright resigned as coach and athletic director.   Union High booster club members had “expressed concern about character issues within Wright’s Redskin program and the coaching staff’s treatment of senior players” according to the Tulsa World newspaper.

I grew up in Tulsa.  I went to high school there and college in the state.  I know what’s working here.

There may have been some “character issues”.  But, I’m betting the real issue was going 7-4 this year and losing in the first round of playoffs.  In Oklahoma, a lot of character issues seem to be overlooked when the team is winning. (Not to disrepect the University of Oklahoma Sooners).

Before Wright arrived, Union had won the Class 6A title three of the past four seasons.  The school has a huge stadium and facilities that would be the envy of many small colleges. 7-4 doesn’t cut it.

When I went to high school there, in the Dark Ages, Union didn’t exist and another perennial powerhouse, suburban Jenks High School, was just a small rural school.  I attended Will Rogers High School which was always in the state football finals.  A lot has changed.  Union and Jenks are in areas where the wealth has moved as the city spread south. And football is a big deal there.

So, maybe Wright learned a lesson.  The grass is not greener (that’s not a pun if you’ve ever been to Oklahoma) and maybe Indiana’s the place to be.  Warren Central did go 15-0 this year and won its fourth consecutive state title.

I’ve worked for the McGraw-Hill Companies coming up on 27 years.  It’s a place people stay, especially at WRTV.

Today, that hit me again.  Each year, during the holiday season, we have a luncheon for members of The McGraw-Hill Companies 25-Year Club, employees, current and past, who spent a quarter century (or more) at the company.  Our was today.

There are nearly 2,400 members worldwide.  WRTV has 48 of them.  We’re a small part of global company, but a large part of its heritage. 

It’s an active group.  Many of the folks there today still work at the station.  A lot of them still socialize with their retired colleagues.  Most of them meet the last Thursday of each month at the Speedway Motel restaurant to keep friendships going.  Some are 25-Year veterans, others for less time here, but all still have that bond.

There’s a lot of reminiscing about the good old days when it seemed less of a business and more of an avocation. 

Also, today we had the “ribbon cutting” on our newsroom remodel.  It had been a couple of decades since it got a redo. It was overdue and the result is spectacular.

Bill Morgan and his son Sean did most of the carpentry from an inspired designed by RTV6’s Dayne Tennell.  An employee committee, Linda Allen, Paul Chiodo and Kendra Redfield, made choices of colors, materials and carpet that ought to look as contemporary years from now as they do today.

Maybe not another 25 years, but who knows?