Norm Pattiz

Not to be confused with Norm Pattis.
Norm Pattiz
Born
Norman Joel Pattiz

(1943-01-18)January 18, 1943
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 4, 2022(2022-12-04) (aged 79)
NationalityAmerican
EducationSanta Monica College[1]
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder of Westwood One
SpouseMary Turner

Norman Joel Pattiz (January 18, 1943 – December 4, 2022) was an American broadcasting entrepreneur who founded radio network Westwood One.[2] Pattiz was a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame.[3]

Career

Pattiz worked in the sales dept at KCOP TV 13 in Hollywood from 1970 to 1974. He founded Westwood One, a radio syndication company, in 1976. It became America's largest radio network and one of the world's leading media companies.[4][5]

In 2001, Pattiz joined the board of regents of the University of California[6] and served as chair of the board of the Regents Oversight Committee of the Department of Energy Laboratories. In January 2014, Governor of California Jerry Brown reappointed Pattiz to a second twelve year term on the board of regents.[7] In November 2016, he was accused of workplace sexual harassment.[8] The University of California Student Association called for dismissal of Pattiz from the board of regents in 2017[9] following an allegation by a podcast host.[10] Pattiz apologized and claimed it was a joke.[11] In December 2017, Pattiz resigned from the board of regents.[12]

Pattiz was also chairman of the board of Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Security LLC and on the board of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.[13] He was president of the Broadcast Education Association and was on the Council of Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. He was appointed by President Clinton for the United States Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all U.S. non-military international broadcast services, in 2000, and reappointed by President Bush in 2002.[14] He was chairman of BBG's Middle East Committee, where he helped create the U.S. government's Arabic-language radio and TV services broadcast to the 22 Middle East countries, including Radio Sawa and Alhurra Television.[15]

In 2009, Pattiz was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.[16] Pattiz also received the Giants of Broadcasting Award from the Library of American Broadcasting.[17]

Pattiz founded Courtside Entertainment Group in 2010 and was the company’s CEO.[15] In October 2012, Pattiz founded Launchpad,[14] which became PodcastOne in February 2013.[18][19] Pattiz worked with the Los Angeles Lakers and Jay Mohr to develop the "America's Lakers Podcast With Jay Mohr" in 2017. Pattiz was inspired by his support of the Lakers, including his 35 years with courtside seats.[20][21]

Personal life and death

Pattiz is Jewish and was married to Mary Turner, former radio personality and chairman of the board of the Betty Ford Center. They resided in both Beverly Hills, California, and Santa Barbara, California.[15] He was a reserve deputy in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and a member of the Region 1 Homeland Security Advisory Council. He was the benefactor of the Academy of Music at Hamilton High School and on the board of the Sheriff's Youth Foundation.[22] The Norman J. Pattiz Concert Hall on the Hamilton campus is named in his honor.[23]

Pattiz died on December 4, 2022, at the age of 79.[24][25]

References

  1. ^ "Norm Pattiz - Chairman/Founder, Courtside LLC". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  2. ^ Radio guru turns podcast curator. With Podcast.One, Norman Pattiz aims to package talk shows to gain listener and advertiser interest. (LA Times February 28, 2013)
  3. ^ "Norman Pattiz". www.radiohof.org. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  4. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (July 1, 1989). "Westwood One's Comeback Bid". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  5. ^ "This Radio Industry Legend Is Now Transforming the Podcasting Scene". Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  6. ^ "Pattiz appointed chair of laboratory governing boards". University of California. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  7. ^ "Governor Brown Announces Appointments". www.gov.ca.gov. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  8. ^ Watanabe, Teresa (November 9, 2016). "UC regent's breast comments prompt proposal for tighter rules on sexual harassment". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  9. ^ Reilly, Katie (16 November 2017). "University of California Regent: Students Should Be 'Ashamed' for Demanding I Resign for Sexual Harassment". TIME. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. ^ Cannestra, Sakura (26 January 2017). "ASUC Senate meets new chief legal officer, notes UC regent sex harassment allegations". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  11. ^ Asimov, Nanette (15 December 2017). "UC regent who asked to hold actress' breasts is considering resigning". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  12. ^ Asimov, Nanette (29 December 2017). "UC Regent Norm Pattiz, accused of sexual harassment, announces resignation". Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Norman J. Pattiz". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Broadcasting Board of Governors' Statement on Resignation of Norman J. Pattiz". Broadcasting Board of Governors. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
  15. ^ a b c "From Westwood One to PodcastOne, Pioneer Norm Pattiz". audioBoom. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  16. ^ Potempa, Philip. "Offbeat: National Radio Hall of Fame induction dinner this Saturday in Chicago". nwitimes.com. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  17. ^ "Norman Pattiz". HSA Council. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  18. ^ Radio guru turns podcast curator. With PodcastOne, Norman Pattiz aims to package talk shows to gain listener and advertiser interest. (LA Times February 28, 2013)
  19. ^ Hill, Brad (18 December 2013). "Norman Pattiz on building a podcast empire: "Since there is no industry, I'm just doing it myself."". Rain News. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  20. ^ Tom Hoffarth. "Hoffarth on the media: How 'America's Lakers' plans to get Mohr podcast footing, locally and nationally". Los Angeles Daily News.
  21. ^ Andy Fixmer; Rodney Yap. "Celebrity Podcasts Are Fueling a Second Act". Bloomberg.
  22. ^ "Regent Norman Pattiz - Board of Regents". Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  23. ^ Norman J. Pattiz Concert Hall – Cityseeker.com. Retrieved March 22, 2022.A Southern California native, Pattiz credits his community involvement to his Jewish upbringing. “My mother’s parents were Orthodox Jews … I have very fond and intense memories of my grandparents. Every Jewish holiday was a day where we would spend time in shul and then spend time at my grandmother’s house, where the family would gather and have a meal together. “I consider myself a moral person, a caring person, a fair person,” Pattiz added. “And I think all of those things come from my background as a Jew.”
  24. ^ Simon, Perry Michael (5 December 2022). "Westwood One, PodcastOne Founder Norm Pattiz Dies At 79". All Access. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  25. ^ Keys, Matthew (2022-12-06). "Norm Pattiz, radio pioneer and Westwood One founder, dies at 79". The Desk. Retrieved 2022-12-06.