Ben Blank
Encyclopedia
Ben Blank was an American
innovator in television graphics, working for both CBS
and the American Broadcasting Company
, who has been credited with creating the first news graphic and the first use of a logo displayed over a news anchor's shoulder, winning an Emmy Award
for his work.
. He moved with his family to Union City, New Jersey
, where he won an art contest sponsored by the Hudson Dispatch
for his sketches, which he would often make on butcher paper at the grocery store his father operated. Blank attended Cooper Union
in New York City
, which was interrupted by his service in the United States Army
during World War II
.
in October 1957, following the launch of the Sputnik 1
by the Soviet Union
, Blank attached a golf ball to a bent coat hanger which was attached to a turntable that rotated the ball around a globe. Blank described how "We filmed it for a minute, edited it into a loop, and it led the evening news", in a clip that has been described as the first newscast graphic. He was also credited with being the first to have a graphic design placed over the shoulder of the news anchor. He served as the graphics director at CBS News until 1962. CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite
described Blank as "a pioneer of television graphics at a time when his artistry and genius were all we had to demonstrate a complicated story".
In a 1961 visit to West Germany
, Blank visited the state television network's graphic department, discovering that they were using methods under which the staff took eight days to prepare an on-screen graphic as they were sending drawings to outside processors for photo processing and type house work. Blank introduced rapid photo processing and the use of pre-printed letters in captions that were described as having "advanced German graphics knowledge 10 years".
Blank moved to ABC News
in 1962, and spent three decades there, retiring as managing director of graphics for the network. In 1963, Blank created a graphic for a story on the Vietnam War
in which a map of Vietnam was lit on fire on camera "to suggest the intensity of the conflict". After Gordon Cooper
flew aboard Mercury-Atlas 9
on the last mission of Project Mercury
in May 1963, Blank obtained a Mercury capsule model from the office of science correspondent Jules Bergman
, placed it in a pail of water and had a camera zoom in tight while a stagehand jiggled the bucket. During a 1963 visit to New York City by President John F. Kennedy
, Blank had his graphic artists prepare a map of the city with the motorcade route cut out, using colored cardboard to show the president's progress. In 1990, Blank was honored with an Emmy Award
for his work on Primetime Live
, ABC's prime time news magazine program.
John Hockenberry
, in his 2006 book, Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, called Blank the "television graphic artist's equivalent of Homer
, Marshall McLuhan
and Edward R. Murrow
rolled into one."
for 55 years, Blank died at age 87 on February 3, 2009. He was survived by his wife Miriam, to whom he had been married for 60 years, two daughters, a son and four grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
innovator in television graphics, working for both CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, who has been credited with creating the first news graphic and the first use of a logo displayed over a news anchor's shoulder, winning an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his work.
Early life
Blank was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He moved with his family to Union City, New Jersey
Union City, New Jersey
Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...
, where he won an art contest sponsored by the Hudson Dispatch
Hudson Dispatch
The Hudson Dispatch was a newspaper covering events in Hudson and Bergen counties in Northern New Jersey. It published continuously from 1874 until 1991, when it was purchased by Newhouse Newspapers...
for his sketches, which he would often make on butcher paper at the grocery store his father operated. Blank attended Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which was interrupted by his service in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Television career
While at CBS NewsCBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
in October 1957, following the launch of the Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Blank attached a golf ball to a bent coat hanger which was attached to a turntable that rotated the ball around a globe. Blank described how "We filmed it for a minute, edited it into a loop, and it led the evening news", in a clip that has been described as the first newscast graphic. He was also credited with being the first to have a graphic design placed over the shoulder of the news anchor. He served as the graphics director at CBS News until 1962. CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
described Blank as "a pioneer of television graphics at a time when his artistry and genius were all we had to demonstrate a complicated story".
In a 1961 visit to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Blank visited the state television network's graphic department, discovering that they were using methods under which the staff took eight days to prepare an on-screen graphic as they were sending drawings to outside processors for photo processing and type house work. Blank introduced rapid photo processing and the use of pre-printed letters in captions that were described as having "advanced German graphics knowledge 10 years".
Blank moved to ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
in 1962, and spent three decades there, retiring as managing director of graphics for the network. In 1963, Blank created a graphic for a story on the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
in which a map of Vietnam was lit on fire on camera "to suggest the intensity of the conflict". After Gordon Cooper
Gordon Cooper
Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. , also known as Gordon Cooper, was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot and NASA astronaut. Cooper was one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned space effort by the United States...
flew aboard Mercury-Atlas 9
Mercury-Atlas 9
Mercury-Atlas 9 was the final manned space mission of the U.S. Mercury program, launched on May 15, 1963 from Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft, named Faith 7, completed 22 Earth orbits before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, piloted by astronaut Gordon Cooper, then...
on the last mission of Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
in May 1963, Blank obtained a Mercury capsule model from the office of science correspondent Jules Bergman
Jules Bergman
Jules Bergman , a broadcast writer and journalist, served as Science Editor for ABC News from 1961 until his death in 1987. He is most remembered for his coverage of the American space program....
, placed it in a pail of water and had a camera zoom in tight while a stagehand jiggled the bucket. During a 1963 visit to New York City by President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Blank had his graphic artists prepare a map of the city with the motorcade route cut out, using colored cardboard to show the president's progress. In 1990, Blank was honored with an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his work on Primetime Live
Primetime (TV series)
Primetime is an American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live.-Early history:...
, ABC's prime time news magazine program.
John Hockenberry
John Hockenberry
John Charles Hockenberry is an American journalist and author. A four-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Peabody Award winner, Hockenberry has worked in media since 1980....
, in his 2006 book, Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, called Blank the "television graphic artist's equivalent of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
, Marshall McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan
Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist...
and Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
rolled into one."
Death
A resident of Teaneck, New JerseyTeaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
for 55 years, Blank died at age 87 on February 3, 2009. He was survived by his wife Miriam, to whom he had been married for 60 years, two daughters, a son and four grandchildren.