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[Tuesday at NAB]
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Radio Luncheon Honors Larry Lujack
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by Paul Kaminski,
~ April 15, 2008
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RADIO WORLD
The Radio Luncheon at the NAB Show will, as in past years, be a tribute to radio’s heritage, commitment and exploration of its potential.
The Radio Luncheon takes place today at 12:15 p.m. and is sponsored by ASCAP.
Radio’s heritage is remembered through the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame. This year, radio legend Larry Lujack enters the Hall on the strength of a storied radio career in Chicago. Lujack is one of the Windy City’s most renowned radio personalities, with tours of duty at the legendary WCFL(AM) and WLS(AM.)
Lujack entertained Chicago listeners with the popular “Animal Stories” and “Klunk Letter of the Day” segments. He is a member of the Illinois Broadcasters Association’s Hall of Fame (2002) and the Radio Hall of Fame (2004).
Radio’s commitment is personified by the NAB’s Crystal Radio Awards, which are awarded to radio stations for year-round community service. The 10 Crystal Radio Award winners will be announced and all 50 finalists will be recognized at the luncheon.
The very first Crystal Heritage Award will be presented to Clear Channel’s WUSL(FM) (Power 99), Philadelphia. The award, which recognizes long-term commitment to community service, is being given to WUSL in recognition of their unprecedented feat of winning their fifth Crystal Radio Award in 2007. Manuel V. Rodriguez, president and market manager for Clear Channel Philadelphia, said “We are proud of Power 99 FM’s 25-year history of service to the community. ‘Peace on the Street Jams’ have brought national artists and resources to at-risk neighborhoods. The station has stopped its music during prime time to host live call-ins on issues like ‘no snitching.’ Each year we organize or are involved in hundreds of events, all in an effort to touch our neighborhoods. The team at Power 99 FM has proven how local radio can connect powerfully with its listeners.”
The keynote speaker for the luncheon will be Robert Pittman, former chief operating officer of AOL/Time Warner, and one of the pioneers who programmed and co-founded MTV in 1981. During his tenure at AOL, Pittman oversaw the growth of the company from 6 to 30 million subscribers.
“The kind of innovation that will maintain radio as a strong business doesn’t come from hearing how it’s been done before,” Pittman said. “It comes from looking at today’s consumers in the context of the media landscape, and finding new ways to serve those consumers.”
Pittman began his media career as a 15-year-old radio announcer in Mississippi and programmed radio stations in Pittsburgh, Chicago and WNBC Radio in New York. Among his honors, Pittman has been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and received the International Radio and Television Society’s Gold Medal and a Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) award. He was recognized in Life Magazine’s “Five Original Thinkers of the 80s,” Advertising Age’s “50 Pioneers and Visionaries of TV” and Business Week’s “Top 25 Executives of 1998.”
A hope of Pittman’s is to inspire a new generation of radio with his keynote remarks.
“I think this generation is going to have a much more exciting time, given the new technology and the media-heavy environment in which they find themselves,” Pittman said. “It will present opportunities for innovation and creativity that were never available to us who started our careers 20 or 30 years ago. For us old guys, these times may be scary — but I suspect for someone in their twenties it’s very exciting.”
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