Herbert 'Herb' Schubarth

Remembering Herb Schubarth We have learned that Broadcast Pioneer and 2010 BPC Hall of Fame Inductee Herb Schubarth passed away Wednesday, March 18th. Herb Schubarth is recognized as an outstanding technical innovator who used his skill and knowledge of electronics to consistently improve broadcasting. Herb served in the Navy in WWII where he taught radar electronics. Following his discharge in 1949 he was hired as a radio engineer at KRDO-AM in Colorado Springs but eleven months later was recalled to serve in the Korean War. After returning to KRDO as the Chief Engineer, he was instrumental in designing and installing the technical TV facilities which put KRDO-TV on the air in 1953. Herb joined Channel 9 in Denver in 1961 and remained there throughout his career. In a message to KUSA staff informing them of Herb's passing, General Manager Mark Cornetta called him ""a pioneer in television and a first class human being."" One of his early duties at then-KBTV was to drive a remote truck from Washington, DC to Denver which was Channel 9's first non-studio broadcast facility. He later built the first 9NEWS live truck (right) in his driveway. ""(It was) a place to work so that nobody else would know what we were up to, for competitive reasons,"" according to Herb. As Channel 9's Chief Engineer by 1967, he was soon named to an additional position as Corporate Director of Engineering for Mullins Broadcasting and it's successor Combined Communications Corporation. He was named the VP of Engineering for Gannett Broadcasting and Combined Communications Corporation in 1981. While at Gannett he was a member of the capital committee overseeing and approving capital projects throughout the corporation. At retirement he was responsible for 16 TV stations and 13 radio stations. Herb Schubarth served as the President of the Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for three years, and was a long time member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and a member of Maximum Service Telecasters (MST). In 1993 Herb received the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Engineering and Achievement Award and in 2010 joined the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame. Our thoughts are with Herb's family and friends, including his extended Channel 9 family. Steve Conklin BPC President