Joe L. AllbrittonWASHINGTON (WHTM) -
Joe L. Allbritton, the founder of Allbritton Communications, the parent company of abc27, died Wednesday, just 17 days shy of his 88th birthday, the company reported.
Allbritton is the father of the company's current chairman and chief executive Robert Allbritton.
He was a self-made millionaire who built a Washington, D.C. communications empire.
In 1970, he purchased The Washington Star along with its television station and smaller stations in the south.
In 1978, he sold the paper but kept the TV stations which became the foundation of the media empire that bears his name today.
Allbritton Communications owns eight ABC network affiliates in seven markets along with
a cable news channel in Washington.
Allbritton also owned the Riggs Bank from 1981 to 2004.
On the Web: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/12/joe-l-allbritton-founder-of-allbritton-communications-dies-at-87-83047.html#ixzz2EsEuRV6n
