Harold Engel is most notable for his long (1931-1968) association with WHA radio and television, one of the oldest stations in the United States, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Through this association, he became a promotor of educational broadcasting in the state during the formative years of radio and television.
Born in 1903 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Engel attended Ripon College (B.A., 1925) and the University of Wisconsin (M.A., Economics, 1932). It was only after teaching junior high school in Flint, Michigan (1925-1928) and writing advertisements for General Motors, that Engel joined the staff of WHA radio. He began with the production of a children's safety program and helped to organize other educational programs, e.g. the Wisconsin College of the Air, 1933. A major part of Engel's career at WHA, however, was given over to legislative and public relations.
As a long-time assistant director of WHA, Engel took an active part in the expansion of the station's facilities. This included a move to Radio Hall in 1934 and the early planning and promotion in the 1950s and 1960s of a communication arts building on the University of Wisconsin campus. His desire to increase WHA services led to attempts to secure a clear channel (unsuccessful) in the 1930s, FM in the late 1940s, and television in the early 1950s.
Engel's activity in behalf of educational broadcasting extended beyond the confines of WHA's operations. He championed the construction of a state-wide FM network and fought against the encroachments of commercial radio and television broadcasters. Also, during much of his tenure at WHA, Engel served as professor of radio (and later television) education at the University of Wisconsin.
In addition to his work in Wisconsin, Engel served as a consultant to the New Mexico Radio Service (1935-1936), to the Rocky Mountain Public Radio Council (1937), and to the Philippines in 1950 (as a Fulbright Scholar) and 1966-1967. He also spent some time in 1945 studying the operation of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Engel's organizational affiliations included the Wisconsin State Radio Council, Wisconsin Broadcasters' Association, National Association of Educational Broadcasters (Executive Secretary, 1938-1941; President, 1941-1942, 1946-1948), and the National Association of FM Broadcasters (Educational Director, 1963-1964).
