Norm Pattiz, the Hall-of-Fame founder of Westwood One passed away Sunday. He was 79.
In 1976, Pattiz was attempting to syndicate a Motown series when he created Westwood One. Two years prior, he was working in broadcast sales at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles.
All Access broke the news of his passing. Website publisher Joel Denver was a close friend and colleague of Pattiz. He said the former Westwood One executive had a “flair for creativity and taking chances.”
“Norm gave me my deal for ‘Future Hits,’ which had an 11-year run at Westwood One,” stated All Access Publisher Joel Denver. “At one point, ‘Future Hits’ was his second-most affiliated show next to Casey Kasem’s countdown. He also gave me a deal to host ‘Earth News.’”
In 1984, Westwood One became a publicly traded company. A year later it purchased the Mutual Broadcasting System, one of the “Big Four” of the 1940s in American radio, continuing to operate it as a separate network into the 1990s. The network was home to two broadcast icons, the late Larry King and Jim Bohannon.
Inducted into the Radio Hall-of-Fame in 2009, Pattiz’s syndication company eventually became the gold standard for broadcast distribution featuring the “Dr. Demento Show” and “Off the Record with Mary Turner.” Turner was Pattiz’s wife, she was also the chairman of the board at the Betty Ford Center.
In 2010, Pattiz departed Westwood One as its chairman. A year later, the company merged with Dial Global. In December 2013, Dial Global was acquired by Cumulus Media. Prior to the sale’s completion, Dial Global re-assumed the Westwood One name.
Pattiz founded another media company called Courtside Entertainment Group which syndicated Laura Ingraham’s radio show and “Loveline with Dr. Drew.” He then created PodcastOne in 2013. Today, the company sees more than 2.1 billion downloads annually and produces 350 podcasts weekly.
Pattiz served as the chairman of the University of Southern California Board of the Regents Oversight Committee of the Department of Energy Laboratories for nearly two decades.
“I am truly grateful for his friendship and generosity,” added Denver. “My deepest condolences to his wife, Mary Turner, his family and all of the people who were touched by NORM and benefited personally and professionally from his friendship and knowledge.”
