Meet Gary: A Life in radio
The Spark
It started with a transistor radio in New York. I grew up listening to the legendary stations, WABC, WMCA, all of them. To most people, it was just background noise. To me, it was everything. I didn't just want to listen, I wanted to be part of it.
The Long Island Internship
That curiosity turned into action early. While I was still a teenager, I landed an internship at WGBB on Long Island. Walking into those studios was my first real look behind the curtain. I was the kid doing whatever needed to be done just to be near the console and the transmitter. That experience at WGBB solidified everything; by the time I headed off to college, I already had the "radio bug" in my system and a head start on the life I wanted to build.
The New England Apprenticeship
When I arrived at Emerson College in Boston, I didn't stay confined to the campus. While honing my skills at WERS, I spent my college years living a double life: student by day, hungry broadcaster by night and weekend. I crisscrossed New England, working at stations across the region, taking every shift I could get.
Those miles on the road were my real education. I learned how to work different audiences, different markets, different formats. By the time I graduated, I didn't just have a degree, I had a career already in high gear.
The WPRO Breakthrough
That early hustle paid off when I landed at WPRO in Providence. Even though I was still at Emerson, I was ready for the big stage. I worked my way up the ladder: from night personality to Music Director, and finally, to the Program Director's chair.
The culmination of that climb was being named the first-ever Program Director at 92 PRO-FM. Helping launch and shape what would become one of the most iconic FM sounds in history was a defining moment.
Emerson stayed with me. Years later, when they gave me the Alumni Achievement Award and inducted me into the WERS Hall of Fame, it reminded me where it all started. And when I made it into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame, it felt like coming full circle, back to those early days, the New England winters, and knowing this was what I wanted to do.
Building Winning Stations
From Providence, the challenges grew. At WROR Boston, we transformed an automated Oldies station into one of the country's first successful FM ACs. In Detroit, I led WJR to #1 and took WHYT to its highest ratings ever. Each stop, whether launching Q95 or fine-tuning a heritage signal, reinforced the same truth: a winning station is a puzzle where every piece has to fit perfectly.
That multi-format experience is something I still bring to clients today. Many hire me for their AC station but lean on me for insights across their entire cluster. One client told me: "I hired you for the AC, but I get your advice on the whole cluster." When you've programmed News-Talk, CHR, and AC successfully, you understand how different formats compete, and how to position each one to win.
The Consultant's Chair
In 1990, I realized I wanted to take those "in-the-chair" experiences and help other stations find their voice. I started Berkowitz Broadcast Consulting because I wanted to keep doing the work, not just talking about it, helping radio stations improve their ratings and their sound.
Over the years, I've programmed and consulted hundreds of stations across major broadcast groups including ABC Radio, CBS Radio, iHeartMedia, and Cumulus, as well as many large and small privately owned broadcast groups. I've helped build some of the nation's powerhouse ACs, from Fresh 102.7 in New York and Magic 106.7 in Boston to B101 (WBEB) in Philadelphia. Even today, whether I'm working with winning stations in Salt Lake City, Reno, and Eugene, or writing my column for Radio Ink, I'm still chasing that same feeling I had as a kid in New York.
The Home Signal
Today, I live in Detroit with my wife, Betty, (who many of you know as BJ). We've raised three kids and seen the industry change in ways I couldn't have imagined. But through all the digital shifts, the core of my story remains the same. I still believe in the power of great radio, I still believe in the AC format, and after all this time, I still can't imagine doing anything else.
What You're Getting
When you hire me, you're not getting a consultant who phones it in. You're getting someone who's sat in every chair, on-air, programming, and in those ownership meetings where the pressure is real.
Your station isn't just another contract. It's a signal with a story, a team that's counting on getting it right, and a community that deserves great radio. That's why I answer my phone on weekends. That's why I stay in the fight. And that's why I treat your station like it's my own.
If you want someone who will care about your station the way you do, and who has the track record to back it up, let's talk.