Robert E. Kintner


Robert E. Kintner was an American journalist and television executive who served as president of both the National Broadcasting Company and the American Broadcasting Company.

Early life

A native of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Kintner graduated from Swarthmore College in 1931. Two years later, the New York Herald Tribune hired him as its White House correspondent. From 1938 to 1941, he paired with Joseph Alsop to write a nationally syndicated column called "Capital Parade".

Military service

During World War II, Kintner served in the U.S. Army Air Force, leaving the service in 1944 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Network executive

After the war, Kintner was hired by ABC to do public relations work. He rose rapidly at the then-small network, and served as its president from 1949 to 1956. Kintner is credited with making ABC more competitive with the older and better-established networks NBC and CBS. ABC cut deals with Warner Bros. and Walt Disney to provide programming, it aired the bulk of the Army-McCarthy hearings and televised two hit shows, Disneyland and Cheyenne, that influenced television programming.
Kintner then led NBC from 1958 to 1965. His NBC tenure was marked by his aggressive effort to push NBC News past CBS News in rankings and prestige. The news department was given more money, leading to notable coverage of the 1960 presidential election campaign and the prominence of the Huntley-Brinkley Report.

Quiz-show scandals

Kintner was forced to defend NBC at the height of the quiz-show scandal of 1959–60, testifying to the United States Congress that NBC and the other networks were victims of the quiz-show rigging just as viewers were, and that the networks were working to wrest production control of programming from advertisers, whose pressure had been seen as a key influence driving the scandals.

Cabinet Secretary

Kintner returned to Washington, D.C. in 1966 after President Lyndon B. Johnson named him to be his Cabinet Secretary. However, Kintner's failing eyesight forced him to resign the following year.

Private life

Kintner was married twice and had three children.

Cultural references

Kintner was portrayed by Allan Rich in Quiz Show, the 1994 film about the quiz-show scandal.