Franklin D. Schurz, Sr, was the longtime editor and publisher of the South Bend Tribune, owner of WSBT Radio & TV. He served as general manager of WSBT Radio from 1936 to 1946, and was editor and publisher of the newspaper 1954-72. He was chairman of privately-owned Schurz Communications, which at the time of his death in 1987 included the Tribune and WSBT-TV in South Bend as well as television stations in Virginia, Missouri, and Georgia and four cable television systems.