The founder of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, John H. Battison, P.E., CPBE, passed away on August. 28 at the age of 96.
John’s dream to form an organization devoted solely to the professional development of broadcast engineers and the field of broadcast engineering was realized far beyond what he had imagined. For more than 48 years, the organization, which was fueled in its early days by his vision and passion, has positively affected the lives and careers of thousands of men and women who have made broadcast engineering their career.
Battison was born in Wembley, England on Sept. 11, 1915 and grew up in London. At a young age, Battison constructed a mechanical television receiver in order to view John Logie Baird’s 30-line images being transmitted then by the BBC.
Battison decided to seek a career in American broadcasting, immigrating to this country in 1946. He was initially employed at KMBC in Kansas City and later moved to CBS Television, where he worked with Dr. Peter Goldmark in that network’s color television development program.
Later, Battison was employed by the American Broadcasting Company to help plan and design a number of that network’s owned-and-operated radio and television stations. In 1968, he traveled to Saudi Arabia where he served as the chief engineer of Saudi Television. Battison later returned to the United States where he became director of engineering at Ohio State University’s broadcast center.
Not pleased with a decision made in the early 1960s to merge the Institute of Radio Engineers with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, Battison initiated a movement that lead to the creation of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. With the help of his family, he sent membership invitation letters to nearly 5,000 radio and television chief engineers. His actions led to the founding of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, with Battison becoming its first member. The organization has now more than 5,500 members worldwide.
Battison is being memorialized by SBE with the creation of a scholarship in his name. The John H. Battison SBE Founder’s Scholarship will be presented to an applicant who seeks to enter or advance in the field of broadcast engineering. The announcement of the scholarship was made on September 11, which would have been Battison’s 97th birthday.
The Ennes Educational Foundation Trust, the non-profit, charitable arm of the SBE, is adding the scholarship to several others it already awards annually. The new scholarship recognizes the instrumental role Battison played in the formation of the SBE. It was Battison’s vision for a professional organization dedicated solely to the broadcast engineer and his personal efforts to invite station engineers from across the U.S. and Canada to join, that resulted in the organization of the SBE in 1964. Battison served as the new organization’s steering committee chairman and then as its first president.
