Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

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ILLINOIS our respects to KENNETH WHIPPLE BILBY REALIZATION that the sensitive field of broadcasting must put its "best face forward" to the public prompted NBC in September 1954 to create the post of vice president for public relations as a top-level policy function, with enlarged responsibility over national advertising and promotion, continuity acceptance, as well as press and publicity. The man chosen to supervise the efforts of the various "opinion-molding" units at NBC was Kenneth Whipple Bilby, relatively unknown in broadcasting but fortified with a solid background in public relations and newspaper work. Then 35, Mr. Bilby already had left behind him a distinctive career that included service as assistant city editor and foreign correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune and 2'/2 years of public relations work with Carl Byoir Assoc., New York, on the RCA and NBC accounts. After 18 months as vice president for public relations at NBC, Ken Bilby regards his job as "a great challenge," adding: "This is the most exciting business I have ever been in. In many ways it is a composite of all the other things I've done. It reminds me of the newspaper business in its irregular hours. It reminds me of the agency business in the number of its daily crises. It reminds me of the Army in that you're always being 'fired at' — but this time by people inside and outside the company demanding more promotion. I really enjoy it." Mr. Bilby's association with broadcasting began indirectly many years ago, because his father, Ralph W. Bilby, an Arizona attorney, was at one time a part owner of KTUC Tucson, Ariz. Ken Bilby was born Oct. 7, 1918, in Salt Lake City, attended Tucson High School and the U. of Arizona. In 1938 he moved to New York to become a copy boy for the H erald Tribune. He worked for three years on the Tribune as copy boy, Columbia correspondent and staff reporter, all the while studying part-time at Columbia U. In 1941, while awaiting his draft call to the U. S. Army, he returned to his home and completed his studies for a B.A. degree at the U. of Arizona. He was drafted into the Army in late 1941 as a private and served for 5Vz years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel in command of an infantry battalion in the European Theatre. He won a total of six combat decorations from the U. S. and French armies, including the Silver Star and Croix de Guerre. One pleasurable phase of his Army career, Mr. Bilby recalls, was a tour of occupation duty as commandant of tactical forces in Kassel, Germany, during which he lived in a mountain-top villa. Mr. Bilby returned to the Herald Tribune after the war and was assigned to cover the United Nations. Subsequently, he served as assistant city editor of the newspaper. Tabbed by Herald Tribune executives as "a comer," Mr. Bilby was handed the choice assignment of covering the Arab-Jewish conflict in 1948. He remained abroad for more than two years, covering news developments from such spots as Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey and Greece. In 1950, on leave of absence from the Herald Tribune, Mr. Bilby set down his experiences in a book, New Star in the Near East. Mr. Bilby describes his overseas newspaper experience as "a wonderful education" and will prescribe living abroad at least two years for his son when he comes of age. Nonetheless, in late 1951 he decided to seek a job that would keep him anchored in one place, and was pleased when Carl Byoir Assoc. offered him the post of account executive for RCA Victor at Camden, N. J. Later, from early 1954 until he was chosen for his present position, Mr. Bilby was the Byoir representative at NBC. Tall and ruggedly built, Mr. Bilby is regarded by his associates as a taskmaster, but by no means a stern one. He has accomplished the unification of the sundry promotional arms of NBC with a minimum of fuss, and is credited with having played a significant part in one major public relations tactic: having top-level NBC executives readily accessible to newsmen. Associates say that it was Mr. Bilby who impressed upon Board Chairman Sylvester L. (Pat) Weaver Jr. and President Robert W. Sarnoff that newspapermen should have the opportunity of meeting and talking with them, whenever feasible. Mr. Bilby can pinpoint one roadblock to effective promotion in broadcasting that is difficult to remove: the tremendous increase in the number of spectaculars and special events programs makes it difficult to plan sustained promotion campaigns in advance. Mr. Bilby married the former Helen Owen Meeker March 6, 1948. She is a great granddaughter of the late William Jennings Bryan. They have two children, Barbara Windsor, 5, and Kenneth Mansfield, VA. The family makes its home in Mamaroneck, N. Y. Mr. Bilby is an outdoor enthusiast — a throwback to his Arizona background. He likes to golf, hunt, fish and swim. He belongs to the Appawamis Country Club in Rye, N. Y., and the Oriental Point Beach Club in Mamaroneck. His professional associations include membership in the Radio & Television Executives Society and work for the Brand Names Foundation. An avid reader, Mr. Bilby says he has read his favorite book. War and Peace, at least six times. He is a fan of Earle Stanley Gardner and buys every new Perry Mason book as soon as it is available. Page 20 © March 5, 1956 Broadcasting Telecasting