John Gorman is a radio personality, executive, and author from
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. In 2007, Gorman published his first book, ''The Buzzard: Inside The Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio''.
Early years
John Gorman was born in
. At the age of 12, he first began operating a private radio station from his family home. As a teenager, he worked in the commercial radio industry as a programming assistant, music director, and talk show producer where he remained until his move to Cleveland in 1973.
Career and achievements
John Gorman worked for 13 years at
WMMS
WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock st ...
in Cleveland where he adjusted the format of WMMS based upon a broad interpretation of the category of
rock and roll music
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
.
Gorman was awarded "The Radio Consultant of The Year" (1985) at the Annual Pop Music Convention. He was also named "Operations Director of The Year" by
Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...
in 1995. In 2006, he received the Perseverance award from the Cleveland Entertainment Coalition.
In 2000, Gorman was inducted into the Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. Gorman was also inducted into the Cleveland Association of Broadcaster' Hall of Fame in April 2008. He was inducted into the Rock Radio Hall of Fame in the "Legends of Rock Radio–Programming" category for his work at WMMS in 2014.
In 2015, Gorman was the chief content officer of
oWOW Radio
oWOW Radio, stylized and marketed as oWOW! Radio or oWOW! Cleveland, was a commercial internet radio station based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, that primarily served Greater Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohio. Independently owned ...
, an
Internet radio
Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...
station based in Cleveland.
oWOW Radio
oWOW Radio, stylized and marketed as oWOW! Radio or oWOW! Cleveland, was a commercial internet radio station based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, that primarily served Greater Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohio. Independently owned ...
was taken off the air in January 2021.
Bibliography
Gorman, John (2007). ''The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio—A Memoir''. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers.
References
External links
*
BuzzardBook.WordPress.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorman, John
1950 births
Living people
Radio personalities from Boston
Boston College alumni
Writers from Cleveland