Ted Capener, longtime journalist, University of Utah executive, and all-around conversationalist, died Aug. 17. He was 94.
Those Capener trained and mentored to follow in his footsteps said his impact on the institution-and Salt Lake City's media market-is immeasurable.
"Ted's legacy is woven into the University of Utah," said Chief University Relations Officer Chris Nelson. "He understood that telling the university's story was never simply about what we said; it was about connecting the U to the people and communities it serves and helping them see themselves as part of this university."
"That philosophy still guides our work today. Decades later, we are still building on the foundation Ted created, and the University of Utah is stronger because of it."
A 1953 graduate of the U, Capener started his broadcast journalism career as a farm reporter. In 1958, he took a job at KSL Radio, working his way up to the C Suite. Capener served nine years as head of Bonneville International's Washington Bureau, working as a correspondent for 14 radio and TV stations covering congressional delegations from eight states and six national political conventions. A highlight of his time in the capitol included grilling former President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. While in Washington, Capener was a member of the Board of the Congressional Correspondents Association and chair of the Freedom of Information Committee for the Radio and Television News Directors Association.
From 1964 to 1972, Capener was Bonneville's vice president for news and public affairs. And in 1983, he was named the company's senior vice president for news, public affairs and research.
Capener left KSL and Bonneville behind in 1985 for his "dream job" as a vice president at the university. From 1985 to 1999, he oversaw the Alumni Association, Athletics, university communications, public broadcasting, Pioneer Theater Company, Utah Education Network, and Red Butte Garden. He was only the second vice president of University Relations. Over his tenure, Capener developed the alumni magazine Continuum, now U Magazine, as well as the planning and construction of the Dolores Dore Eccles Broadcast Center, home to PBS Utah, KUER-FM and the Utah Education Network. He created the Crimson Line, reinvigorated the marching band, started the Red Butte Garden concert series, signed the first memorandum of understanding with the Ute Tribe, and brought into being the athletics mascot Swoop.
At the same time, he found a second journalism career in public broadcasting. In 1986, Capener was elected to PBS' national board of directors, serving until 1990. For 35 years, he worked as an on-air host at PBS Utah, leading the current affairs shows, "Civic Dialogue" and "Utah Conversations," interviewing more than 250 guests. Capener signed off for the last time in 2020.
"Ted had a remarkable and lasting impact on the U," said retired U vice president Fred Esplin, "both from the programs he initiated and through the people he hired. Through it all he was a constant source of keen insight, good judgment, and an unwavering commitment to help the U make a difference in the lives of Utahns."
Early in his career, in 1966, Capener received the Quintus C. Wilson Sigma Delta Chi Achievement Award as the outstanding alum of the University of Utah's journalism department. In 2005, he was inducted into the Utah Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame. And in 2020, Capener received the U Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
