Meyer, Richard J., 1933-

Richard Jonah Meyer was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 15, 1933. As a child, Meyer was strongly influenced by his grandfather, an immigrant from Lithuania who worked his way up to become a successful businessman in the carpet/textiles industry. His grandfather instilled in him a "fascination with the idea of democracy," which led Meyer to study political science and American colonial history at Stanford University. While in college, Meyer became involved with the university radio station. After his graduation in 1954, Meyer entered Stanford's Master's program in Radio, TV, and Drama. During this time, he worked as a production assistant intern at KQED in San Francisco and for his grandfather's business. In 1956, Meyer was drafted into the U.S. Army. After two years of service, he returned to Stanford to complete his M.A.

In 1960, Meyer took a job producing educational television programs for a commercial station in Wichita, Kansas. In 1964, Meyer moved to New York City to pursue a Ph.D. in communications at New York University under Charles Siepmann, a founder of the British Broadcasting Company. Meyer completed his doctoral work in 1967, his doctoral dissertation entitled The Development of Educational Television Councils in New York State.

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