Roy H. Park
Encyclopedia
Roy Hampton Park was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 media executive and entrepreneur.

Biography

Park was born in Dobson, North Carolina
Dobson, North Carolina
Dobson is a town in Dobson Township, Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,457. It is the county seat of Surry County...

, the son of a tenant farmer. He began writing for two local North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 newspapers at the age of 12; although he suffered a severe bout with rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...

 at 13, Park graduated from Dobson High School at the age of 15 and followed his brother to North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

.

After crashing his brother's automobile, Park took his first job to pay off the damages; this job was at the local Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 bureau, where he worked his way up from office boy to reporter by the time of this graduation from college. He also wrote for the college's student newspaper, Technician
Technician (newspaper)
Technician is the student newspaper of North Carolina State University. Its first edition was published in 1920, and it has been published continuously since that date.-Overview:...

, and extended his term of study at college so that he could serve as the paper's editor-in-chief. Upon graduation in 1931 with a degree in business administration, he was awarded the senior superlative of "Best Writer."

After graduation, Park accepted the position of public relations director for the North Carolina Cotton Growers Cooperative Association; there, he pioneered innovative ways of promoting cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, including "Cotton Balls," with dancers and performers dressed in cotton formal wear. In 1936, he married Dorothy Goodwin Dent, one of the "Maids of Cotton," whom he met prior to these events.

At the Cotton Cooperative, Park founded and published three periodicals, the Carolina Cooperator, the Rural Electrification Guide, and Cooperative Digest and Farm Power, which attracted the attention of H. E. Babcock, the founder of the Grange League Federation. Babcock offered Park a position at the agency, in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...

, which Park accepted in 1942.

In the late 1940s, the Grange approached Park to find a way to market their excess food products; Park approached well-known food critic Duncan Hines
Duncan Hines
Duncan Hines was an American pioneer of restaurant ratings for travelers. He is best known today for the brand of food products that bears his name.-History:...

 to lend his name to a brand of packaged food products. The resulting company, Hines-Park Foods, was a stunning success in the American food market, especially with its flagship product, Duncan Hines Cake Mix. Only five years after releasing its first products, Hines-Park was acquired by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

 in 1956. Park stayed with Procter & Gamble as a senior executive until 1962.

Park began building a communications consortium in 1961; his company, Park Broadcasting, Inc., acquired Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...

 station WNCT-TV
WNCT-TV
WNCT-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Eastern North Carolina's Inner Banks licensed to Greenville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Grifton along NC 118. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 6 as well as Time Warner...

. By 1977, he was the first broadcaster to acquire seven television stations, seven AM radio, and seven FM radio stations -- the legal limit at the time. He expanded into the newspaper arena with the acquisition of the Warner Robins, Georgia
Warner Robins, Georgia
Warner Robins is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located primarily in Houston County with a small portion in Peach County. The city has its own metropolitan statistical area . As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 48,804...

 Daily Sun in 1972, eventually acquiring dozens of papers in 24 states. Most of his acquisitions were in medium-sized markets.

Park changed the name of the company and went public in 1983, and at the time of his death, Park Communications controlled 21 radio stations, seven television stations, and 144 publications; the company's market reach was estimated at one quarter of all American households and employed over 3,000 people. As the conglomerate grew, he often said that he did not sell media properties, he bought them. Park Communications was bought by Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...

 in 1996.

Park, who in 1993 was listed by Forbes as the 40th richest man in the U.S., continued to reside in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...

 for the remainder of his life, where he sat on the Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...

 Board of Trustees and the Advisory Council of Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. He also maintained connections to his native state, sitting on the Board of Visitors for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and on the Board of Trustees of North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

.

Late in life, Park was recognized multiple times by his home state; North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

 awarded him its highest honor, the Watauga Medal, in 1975, and an honorary doctorate in 1978. In 1989, the state of North Carolina presented him with its highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award
North Carolina Award
The North Carolina Award is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is awarded in the four fields of science, literature, the fine arts, and public service....

.

Park died in 1993.
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