Post by bossradio93 on Dec 13, 2003 16:26:01 GMT -5
Ed Berger's heart was riding on the airwaves
KFI newscaster and Fullerton College teacher loved radio.
By ROBIN HINCH
The Orange County Register , 12.12
For the last few years, Ed Berger was one of the main draws to Fullerton College's radio broadcasting program.
Students about to enter the program all hoped to get at least one class with Ed. They'd heard he was the best.
Many students who'd completed the program crowed about having trained with Ed. They said he was the teacher they'd liked most throughout their college career.
Ed was a pro. He was a professional radio announcer and newscaster for the Saturday morning "Bill Handle Show" on KFI/640 AM and a teacher who was knowledgeable, gentle and kind.
He prepared students to enter the world of sports broadcasting, radio production, ad sales and newscasts. He was funny, compassionate and dedicated to the program, which allows students at-the- controls and at-the-mike experience on the campus station, KBPK/90.1 FM.
Ed, who was general manager of KBPK, believed in the value of radio. He liked its immediacy, its ability to get a story out quickly, and its lack of glitter and glamour. He could whack out four news stories in an hour without so much as a typo.
His delivery was equally flawless, and if he did stumble briefly over a word, he'd lament later, "Boy, I really messed that one up!"
Ed was never in the business for recognition or glory. He just liked getting the message out to listeners.
He was 44 when he died of pancreatic cancer Tuesday at his Fullerton home.
Ed was born in Torrance but grew up in Lancaster. He listened to Antelope Valley radio and remembered, "Gosh, I can do that." He went to Antelope Valley College, then to the same Fullerton College program for which he'd later become an instructor.
One of his first jobs was at KWIZ in Santa Ana as part of the morning team. In fact, he broke the story about singer Karen Carpenter's death. He was the only broadcaster at KWIZ when a nurse from a Whittier hospital called what she said was her favorite station and offered the tip.
Ed called The Associated Press and received $100 and a certificate from them for breaking the news.
While he was at KWIZ he also worked for Creative Media Recording in Cypress, a company that does things like radio productions for ad agencies and audio for videos.
Ed certainly had the voice to do audio for anything – deep and mellifluous with perfect diction.
In the early '90s, he got the itch to return to broadcasting and went to work for AirWatch, a news and traffic service that radio stations subscribe to. On weekends, he did news broadcasts for KFI from 4 a.m. to noon.
He became a full-time instructor at Fullerton College in 1995 and soon was in charge of the radio program. One of his innovations was to allow students to do live, play-by- play college sports coverage.
Ed was a huge sports fan. He'd covered the Angels for KWIZ, was a virtual encyclopedia of baseball and also followed football.
He was fascinated by history, especially the Civil War, and read everything he could put his hands on.
Ed was outgoing, gentle, friendly and thoughtful. It would be tough to find someone who didn't like him. He never spoke ill of anyone and maintained friendships from years past.
He doted on his cat, Piglet, and was downright indignant when his wife wanted to make the cat a little Raiders jersey. "You're not putting clothes on the cat," Ed insisted.
He met his second wife, Peg Stewart, also a radio broadcaster, when they both worked for AirWatch. They shared passions for history, "Star Trek" and radio, and soon, for each other.
Ed was diagnosed with cancer a month before their planned marriage. Still, they married July 12, right on schedule, and had not one, but two, honeymoons.
The day Ed died, Peg sat at his side and sang "How Great Thou Art," his favorite hymn. Although comatose, he seemed to be moving his lips to the words. As she sang the last note, without a sound or a flicker, Ed squeezed her hand softly and was gone.
Source: Los Angeles Radio People-Dec. 12, 2003
KFI newscaster and Fullerton College teacher loved radio.
By ROBIN HINCH
The Orange County Register , 12.12
For the last few years, Ed Berger was one of the main draws to Fullerton College's radio broadcasting program.
Students about to enter the program all hoped to get at least one class with Ed. They'd heard he was the best.
Many students who'd completed the program crowed about having trained with Ed. They said he was the teacher they'd liked most throughout their college career.
Ed was a pro. He was a professional radio announcer and newscaster for the Saturday morning "Bill Handle Show" on KFI/640 AM and a teacher who was knowledgeable, gentle and kind.
He prepared students to enter the world of sports broadcasting, radio production, ad sales and newscasts. He was funny, compassionate and dedicated to the program, which allows students at-the- controls and at-the-mike experience on the campus station, KBPK/90.1 FM.
Ed, who was general manager of KBPK, believed in the value of radio. He liked its immediacy, its ability to get a story out quickly, and its lack of glitter and glamour. He could whack out four news stories in an hour without so much as a typo.
His delivery was equally flawless, and if he did stumble briefly over a word, he'd lament later, "Boy, I really messed that one up!"
Ed was never in the business for recognition or glory. He just liked getting the message out to listeners.
He was 44 when he died of pancreatic cancer Tuesday at his Fullerton home.
Ed was born in Torrance but grew up in Lancaster. He listened to Antelope Valley radio and remembered, "Gosh, I can do that." He went to Antelope Valley College, then to the same Fullerton College program for which he'd later become an instructor.
One of his first jobs was at KWIZ in Santa Ana as part of the morning team. In fact, he broke the story about singer Karen Carpenter's death. He was the only broadcaster at KWIZ when a nurse from a Whittier hospital called what she said was her favorite station and offered the tip.
Ed called The Associated Press and received $100 and a certificate from them for breaking the news.
While he was at KWIZ he also worked for Creative Media Recording in Cypress, a company that does things like radio productions for ad agencies and audio for videos.
Ed certainly had the voice to do audio for anything – deep and mellifluous with perfect diction.
In the early '90s, he got the itch to return to broadcasting and went to work for AirWatch, a news and traffic service that radio stations subscribe to. On weekends, he did news broadcasts for KFI from 4 a.m. to noon.
He became a full-time instructor at Fullerton College in 1995 and soon was in charge of the radio program. One of his innovations was to allow students to do live, play-by- play college sports coverage.
Ed was a huge sports fan. He'd covered the Angels for KWIZ, was a virtual encyclopedia of baseball and also followed football.
He was fascinated by history, especially the Civil War, and read everything he could put his hands on.
Ed was outgoing, gentle, friendly and thoughtful. It would be tough to find someone who didn't like him. He never spoke ill of anyone and maintained friendships from years past.
He doted on his cat, Piglet, and was downright indignant when his wife wanted to make the cat a little Raiders jersey. "You're not putting clothes on the cat," Ed insisted.
He met his second wife, Peg Stewart, also a radio broadcaster, when they both worked for AirWatch. They shared passions for history, "Star Trek" and radio, and soon, for each other.
Ed was diagnosed with cancer a month before their planned marriage. Still, they married July 12, right on schedule, and had not one, but two, honeymoons.
The day Ed died, Peg sat at his side and sang "How Great Thou Art," his favorite hymn. Although comatose, he seemed to be moving his lips to the words. As she sang the last note, without a sound or a flicker, Ed squeezed her hand softly and was gone.
Source: Los Angeles Radio People-Dec. 12, 2003