Norm Pattiz is one of my heroes from the broadcasting
business. He revolutionized commercial network radio by taking it live, via
satellite, nationwide and worldwide. Norm began Westwood One in 1976 starting with distribution of Dr. Demento and Mary Turner's Off The Record.
When satellite distribution of audio became affordable,
Pattiz was one of the first broadcasters to use it to its full potential. (NPR was also a leader in the development of
satellite radio distribution.)
Westwood One became
one of the largest radio networks in history making millions of dollars with
thousands of commercial stations. In 1984, Pattiz took Westwood One public. Big money entered the picture and Pattiz
cashed out at the right time.
He resurfaced recently with Podcast One, a marketing and
distribution platform supported by advertising sales. Podcast
One is the portal for some of the biggest names in on-demand audio
including Adam Carolla, Kathy Lee Gifford, Dan Patrick, Dennis Miller, Laura
Ingraham, Dr. Drew and Penn Gillette.
I met Norm at a Broadcast Education Association (BEA)
conference in Las Vegas in the 90s. He
told me: If I had it to do it all over
again, I’d be in public radio. In a
way, he is now in public radio. Three of
the most popular titles on Podcast One
are Radioloab, Freakanomics and On
the Media.
Hear how Pattiz compares podcasting to
broadcast radio is a small portion of an excellent interview by Shawn Thorp at podpodcasternews.com/
Hear the complete interview at http://podcasternews.com/
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