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Created page with "{{Infobox person |name=Elizabeth Hardy "Beth" Courtney<br> (President of Louisiana Public Broadcasting) | birth_date =May 15, 1945 | birth_place =Shreveport, Loui..."
{{Infobox person
|name=Elizabeth Hardy "Beth" Courtney<br>
(President of Louisiana Public Broadcasting)
| birth_date =May 15, 1945
| birth_place =[[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| party=[[Independent]]
| alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]]
| residence=[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| spouse=Robert Louis "Bob" Courtney<br>
'''Children''':<br>
Julia Courtney Moore<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
General John Spencer Hardy<br>
Virginia Elizabeth Doyle Hardy<br>
'''Alma mater''':<br>
[[Louisiana State University]]
| footnotes =
}}
'''Elizabeth Hardy Courtney''', known as '''Beth Courtney''' (born May 15, 1945), has since 1985 been the president and CEO of [[Louisiana Public Broadcasting]], her state's educational technology resources center based in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]]. She is also the vice chairman of the board of directors of the [[Corporation for Public Broadcasting]], having been appointed as a political [[Independent]] in 2003 by [[U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]]. Her term expired on the CPB expired in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/leadership/board/courtney.html|title=Vice-Chair Beth Courtney|publisher=cpb.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref>
==Background==
Born in [[Shreveport]], Courtney is one of three children of the late Virginia Elizabeth Doyle, and the [[World War II]] Lieutenant General John Spencer Hardy (1913-2012), originally from Logansport in DeSoto Parish. Her brothers are John S. Hardy, Jr., of Baton Rouge and George Dickson Hardy of [[San Diego]], [[California]].<ref>Obituary of John Spencer Hardy, ''The Baton Rouge Advocate,'' May 3, 2012.</ref>
She holds a [[Bachelor of Science]] in history and speech and a [[Master of Arts]] in European history and government from [[Louisiana State University]] in Baton Rouge. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. She completed a course in public broadcasting management at the [[University of California at Berkeley]].<ref name=lpb/>
==Work at LPB==
LPB is a six-station [[television]] network with affiliates in Shreveport, [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Lafayette]], [[Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, with a seventh affiliated station in [[New Orleans]]. The network has produced award-winning documentaries, including ''Sunshine By The Stars: Celebrating Louisiana Music''<ref>http://www.lpb.org/index.php/programs/sunshine/sunshine</ref> which celebrated the song ''You Are My Sunshine,'' popularized by former [[Governor|Governor]] [[Jimmie Davis]], ''Louisiana: A History'' in six parts; ''Uncle Earl'', about former Governor [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]; ''Kate Chopin: A Reawakening,'' about the Louisiana author Kate Chopin, and ''Frame After Frame: The Images of Herman Leonard." Other productions have included ''Atchafalaya Houseboat'' set on the Atchafalaya River in south Louisiana, ''Washing Away: Losing Louisiana," about the disappearance of the state's coastal wetlands, ''Katrina's Smallest Victims,'' a focus on [[Hurricane Katrina]], and ''Louisiana War Stories''.<ref name=lpb>{{cite web|url=http://beta.lpb.org/index.php/site/staff/|title=Beth Courtney: President and Chief Executive Officer|publisher=beta.lpb.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref> She also helped to launch and co-hosts ''Louisiana Public Square,'' a monthly public affairs program which permits viewers to voice their own input.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lpb.org/programs/LApublicsquare/bios.html|title=Louisiana Public Square: Our Hosts|publisher=lpb.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref>
Prior to her appointment as CEO of LPB, she was the network's executive producer. She has reported on multiple aspects of state government and moderated candidate political forums. In 1984, she was named "Broadcaster of the Year" by American Women in Radio & Television .<ref name=lpb/> In 1999, she was inducted into the Louisiana Center for Women and Government at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nicholls.edu/lcwg/hall-of-fame/past-inductees/|title=Past Inductees|publisher=nicholls.edu|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref> She is a member and past president of the Baton Rouge Press Club. She was instrumental in developing LPB's annual "Louisiana Legends" program. The National World War II Museum once honored Courtneyr for having co-hosted a three-hour live program, "Louisiana Honors Its Veterans," commemorating surviving veterans of [[World War II]].<ref name=lpb/>
Courtney has frequently testified before [[U.S. Congress|congressional]] committees. She has appeared on such public affairs programs as [[CBS]]'s ''Sunday Morning,'' and two former series ''[[Firing Line]],'' hosted by [[William F. Buckley, Jr.]], and the [[CNN]] offering, ''[[Crossfire]],'' once co-hosted by [[conservative]] columnist and former presidential candidate [[Patrick J. Buchanan]].<ref name=lpb/>
==Controversy==
In 2006, the Louisiana Ethics Commission fined Courtney and her husband, Robert Louis "Bob" Courtney (born October 4, 1949), who operates a Baton Rouge public relations firm and a film/video production company, $10,000 for violating a provision of the Louisiana ethics code. The violation involved receiving payments from a private company, which hired Bob Courtney’s firm, and did business with a Louisiana public broadcasting entity under Beth Courtney's control. Under the state Code of Ethics, subcontractors and contractors must comply with the provision which forbids [[nepotism]]. The Courtneys did not contest the ethics board findings.<ref name=complaint>{{cite web|url=http://www.aim.org/aim-column/whistleblower-blasts-public-broadcasting-official/|author=[[Cliff Kincaid]]|title= Whistleblower Blasts Public Broadcasting Official|date= January 24, 2006|publisher=aim.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Courtney is affiliated with Rotary International, the Junior League, [[Special Olympics]], the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, Inc., and the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Beth and Bob Courtney have a daughter, Julia, an [[attorney]], and two grandchildren.<ref name=lpb/> She also has four step-children from Bob's previous marriage.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Beth}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Women]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Business People]]
|name=Elizabeth Hardy "Beth" Courtney<br>
(President of Louisiana Public Broadcasting)
| birth_date =May 15, 1945
| birth_place =[[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| party=[[Independent]]
| alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]]
| residence=[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| spouse=Robert Louis "Bob" Courtney<br>
'''Children''':<br>
Julia Courtney Moore<br>
'''Parents''':<br>
General John Spencer Hardy<br>
Virginia Elizabeth Doyle Hardy<br>
'''Alma mater''':<br>
[[Louisiana State University]]
| footnotes =
}}
'''Elizabeth Hardy Courtney''', known as '''Beth Courtney''' (born May 15, 1945), has since 1985 been the president and CEO of [[Louisiana Public Broadcasting]], her state's educational technology resources center based in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[Louisiana]]. She is also the vice chairman of the board of directors of the [[Corporation for Public Broadcasting]], having been appointed as a political [[Independent]] in 2003 by [[U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]]. Her term expired on the CPB expired in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/leadership/board/courtney.html|title=Vice-Chair Beth Courtney|publisher=cpb.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref>
==Background==
Born in [[Shreveport]], Courtney is one of three children of the late Virginia Elizabeth Doyle, and the [[World War II]] Lieutenant General John Spencer Hardy (1913-2012), originally from Logansport in DeSoto Parish. Her brothers are John S. Hardy, Jr., of Baton Rouge and George Dickson Hardy of [[San Diego]], [[California]].<ref>Obituary of John Spencer Hardy, ''The Baton Rouge Advocate,'' May 3, 2012.</ref>
She holds a [[Bachelor of Science]] in history and speech and a [[Master of Arts]] in European history and government from [[Louisiana State University]] in Baton Rouge. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. She completed a course in public broadcasting management at the [[University of California at Berkeley]].<ref name=lpb/>
==Work at LPB==
LPB is a six-station [[television]] network with affiliates in Shreveport, [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Lafayette]], [[Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, with a seventh affiliated station in [[New Orleans]]. The network has produced award-winning documentaries, including ''Sunshine By The Stars: Celebrating Louisiana Music''<ref>http://www.lpb.org/index.php/programs/sunshine/sunshine</ref> which celebrated the song ''You Are My Sunshine,'' popularized by former [[Governor|Governor]] [[Jimmie Davis]], ''Louisiana: A History'' in six parts; ''Uncle Earl'', about former Governor [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]; ''Kate Chopin: A Reawakening,'' about the Louisiana author Kate Chopin, and ''Frame After Frame: The Images of Herman Leonard." Other productions have included ''Atchafalaya Houseboat'' set on the Atchafalaya River in south Louisiana, ''Washing Away: Losing Louisiana," about the disappearance of the state's coastal wetlands, ''Katrina's Smallest Victims,'' a focus on [[Hurricane Katrina]], and ''Louisiana War Stories''.<ref name=lpb>{{cite web|url=http://beta.lpb.org/index.php/site/staff/|title=Beth Courtney: President and Chief Executive Officer|publisher=beta.lpb.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref> She also helped to launch and co-hosts ''Louisiana Public Square,'' a monthly public affairs program which permits viewers to voice their own input.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lpb.org/programs/LApublicsquare/bios.html|title=Louisiana Public Square: Our Hosts|publisher=lpb.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref>
Prior to her appointment as CEO of LPB, she was the network's executive producer. She has reported on multiple aspects of state government and moderated candidate political forums. In 1984, she was named "Broadcaster of the Year" by American Women in Radio & Television .<ref name=lpb/> In 1999, she was inducted into the Louisiana Center for Women and Government at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nicholls.edu/lcwg/hall-of-fame/past-inductees/|title=Past Inductees|publisher=nicholls.edu|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref> She is a member and past president of the Baton Rouge Press Club. She was instrumental in developing LPB's annual "Louisiana Legends" program. The National World War II Museum once honored Courtneyr for having co-hosted a three-hour live program, "Louisiana Honors Its Veterans," commemorating surviving veterans of [[World War II]].<ref name=lpb/>
Courtney has frequently testified before [[U.S. Congress|congressional]] committees. She has appeared on such public affairs programs as [[CBS]]'s ''Sunday Morning,'' and two former series ''[[Firing Line]],'' hosted by [[William F. Buckley, Jr.]], and the [[CNN]] offering, ''[[Crossfire]],'' once co-hosted by [[conservative]] columnist and former presidential candidate [[Patrick J. Buchanan]].<ref name=lpb/>
==Controversy==
In 2006, the Louisiana Ethics Commission fined Courtney and her husband, Robert Louis "Bob" Courtney (born October 4, 1949), who operates a Baton Rouge public relations firm and a film/video production company, $10,000 for violating a provision of the Louisiana ethics code. The violation involved receiving payments from a private company, which hired Bob Courtney’s firm, and did business with a Louisiana public broadcasting entity under Beth Courtney's control. Under the state Code of Ethics, subcontractors and contractors must comply with the provision which forbids [[nepotism]]. The Courtneys did not contest the ethics board findings.<ref name=complaint>{{cite web|url=http://www.aim.org/aim-column/whistleblower-blasts-public-broadcasting-official/|author=[[Cliff Kincaid]]|title= Whistleblower Blasts Public Broadcasting Official|date= January 24, 2006|publisher=aim.org|accessdate=September 25, 2010}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Courtney is affiliated with Rotary International, the Junior League, [[Special Olympics]], the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, Inc., and the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Beth and Bob Courtney have a daughter, Julia, an [[attorney]], and two grandchildren.<ref name=lpb/> She also has four step-children from Bob's previous marriage.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Beth}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Women]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Business People]]