Harry Murphy was the research director of Landmark Communications, Inc., when he retired in 1990 after 35 years with the company. He then formed A Marketing Associates, which conducted surveys and economic studies for his former employer and other media groups.

Murphy played a significant role in the growth of what is now Landmark Communications. His career began when it was still a small newspaper publisher in Norfolk, Virginia. Landmark is now an international media group of nine daily newspapers, two cable broadcasting networks, two television stations, plus dozens of smaller weeklies, specialty magazines, and trader publications.

Murphy’s interest in electronics, as well as research, gave him an edge when the company entered the new industry known as cable television, in 1962. His early field surveys helped the TeleCable division acquire franchises for 22 systems in 15 states. TeleCable Corporation has since been spun off from Landmark Communications and merged with Tele-Communications, Inc., the nation’s largest cable TV company.

Murphy started the annual Hampton Roads Opinion Survey that has been, for 28 years, a marketing tool of The Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star. When Landmark acquired metropolitan dailies in Greensboro and Roanoke, Murphy’s marketing research techniques gave management a better understanding of the potential needs of those newspapers’ advertisers and readers.

Landmark’s community newspaper division, composed of smaller dailies and weeklies, benefited from his acquisition and marketing studies since he helped train personnel from those papers as he did in Greensboro and Roanoke.

With the inauguration of the Weather Channel, Landmark’s first cable broadcasting medium, Murphy again developed special techniques to determine how many people were watching because so few homes were connected to the cable in the early days. Another previously unmeasured medium that Landmark decided to test was classified and trader publications. Again Murphy developed survey methods which showed the strength of the readership in the test markets, thus allowing the company to determine where to buy classified and trader publications.

A native of New York City before coming to Norfolk, Murphy was a retired Naval Reserve Commander who had attended the University of South Carolina on an NROTC scholarship. While there he was also a member of Lambda Chi Alpha. Professionally he was a member of the Newspaper Research Council of the American Newspaper Publishers’ Association, the American Marketing Association, and a local director of the ODU Research Group. He was active past president of the Civitan Club of Norfolk, a member of the Norfolk Navy Flying Club, the Norfolk Yacht & Country Club, and the Norfolk Toastmasters.

He was a member of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church of Norfolk, Virginia and the Epiphany Cathedral of Venice, Florida.

On May 29, 1996, he died at his Virginia Beach residence at 5009 Ocean Front Avenue, after courageously battling cancer for almost four years. His funeral Mass of the Resurrection was held at Sacred Heart Church, Fr. John J. Dorgan officiating. He was buried with full military honors at Princess Anne Park, Virginia Beach.

He is survived by his wife, Elaine Atchley Murphy, his son,Charles Harry Murphy, Jr., a step-daughter, Rosemary Theresa Heafner, and step-sons, John Thomas Heafner, Patrick Daniel Heafner, and Andrew Robert Heafner.

Posted by Contact on Monday September 21, 1998.