E. Berry Smith held a number of positions throughout his career, working at WIRE, WFIE, WTVW and Schurz Communications, the parent firm of WSBT. Smith was the president and general manager of WTVW for almost 20 years and was the senior vice president of Schurz Communications, as well.
Smith was born in 1926 in Daytona Beach, Florida, but was raised in Indianapolis. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Smith graduated from Butler University in 1949, which is the same year he began his career working in sales at WIRE in Indianapolis.
After working at WIRE, Smith worked as the Director of Advertising at Franklin Finance in Hartford City, Indiana.
Smith then returned to broadcasting for the rest of his career. He worked for CBS Network Sales in Detroit, MI before moving back to Indiana as Vice President and General Manager of WFIE-TV in Evansville from 1957-1961.
Smith left Indiana for a few years, serving as General Manager of WFTV-TV in Green Bay, WI, followed by WLKY-TV in Louisville.
He moved back to Evansville in 1964 as President and General Manager of WTVW-TV, where he stayed for 17 years.
Smith made his final geographic move by heading to South Bend, IN as President and General Manager of the WSBT stations (TV-AM-FM). In 1988, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Schurz Communication, where he worked until his retirement in 2000.
He was the president of the Indiana Broadcasters Association as well as the director and chairman of the CBS Television Advisory Board.
In 1993, he was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash, an honorary Indiana award presented by Governor Evan Bayh.
Smith was revered as an exceptional leader by Franklin D. Schurz, the chairman of Schurz Communications. He said that Smith was respected not only by local people at the stations, but by other broadcasters, as well.
Smith retired in 2000. Smith passed away in 2008 of natural causes. He was 82.
