Gary Berkowitz is an American radio broadcast consultant based in Detroit, Michigan.
Bio
Originally from
Oceanside, New York, he attended
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
in Boston, Massachusetts where he received a bachelor's degree in Speech and Communications.
Berkowitz is noted for being an original innovator of contemporary FM radio, and popularizing the Top 40 category in the 1970s and 1980s. Gary was the originator and first program director of
WPRO-FM (92 PRO-FM) in Providence. Berkowitz went on to program leading US radio stations such as WPRO (AM), WROR–Boston, WHYT–Detroit,
WJR
WJR (760 AM) is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media, with a news/talk format. Most of WJR's broadcast studios, along with its newsroom and offices, are in the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center area. A ...
–Detroit and WKQI–Detroit.
Berkowitz is the president of
Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting. Affiliated with hundreds of radio companies over the years including
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
, ABC, Greater Media, Americom Broadcasting and many other leading private and public broadcast groups.
In 2007, Berkowitz was on the CBS Radio team that debuted Fresh 102.7 (WWFS) in New York. Berkowitz specializes in adult contemporary and classic hits radio stations.
In May 2009, Berkowitz, along with partner
Jon Wolfert of
Jam Productions
JAM Creative Productions, Inc., is an American company that produces radio jingles, promo music for television, and commercial jingles for advertisers. It has made more radio jingles than any other jingle company and has become part of American ...
in Dallas formed 1330 Networks, LLC to produce and syndicate radio programs.
In 2012, Berkowitz was inducted into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame for his work over the years at WPRO and 92 PRO-FM.
In 2013, Berkowitz was inducted into the WERS, Boston (Emerson College) Hall of Fame.
External links
Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting Website
Living people
20th-century American businesspeople
1951 births
{{US-business-bio-1950s-stub