R.I.P.: Norm Pattiz, Broadcaster, Founded Syndicator Westwood One

Norm Pattiz (1943-2022)

Norm Pattiz, a consummate broadcaster whose Westwood One syndicated programming network would come to dominate AM radio, died on Sunday at the age of 79.

The Desk reports cause of death was not immediately known, but confirmed by officials at Westwood One parent company Cumulus Media on Monday.

Pattiz began his lengthy broadcast career in the early 1970s as a sales official with Los Angeles television station KCOP (Channel 13). In 1976, he left KCOP to start Westwood One, the program syndicator that would dominate the bulk of his career in media.

In 1985, he engineered the purchase of Mutual Broadcasting System, one of the biggest radio networks in the United States. Two years later, his empire grew bigger with the acquisition of the NBC Radio Network, to which he licensed the NBC brand name from General Electric for continued use.

In the early 1990s, control of Westwood One shifted to Mel Karmazin and Infinity Broadcasting (later acquired by CBS Radio). Pattiz remained chairman of the company until 2010, at which point he moved on to found the on-demand audio network PodcastOne.

During his time at PodcastOne, Pattiz helped propel on-demand audio into the mainstream, first with an on-demand version of the Adam Carolla show, and later through partnerships with legacy brands, including the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

Larry King, Pattiz and President Clinton

Pattiz served on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) of the United States of America, which oversees all U.S. non-military international broadcast services. As chairman of BBG’s Middle East Committee, Pattiz was the driving force behind the creation of Radio Sawa and Alhurra Television, the U.S. Government’s Arabic-language radio and TV services to the 22 countries of the Middle East. Mr. Pattiz has served as a Regent of the University of California since September 2001, and chairs the Regents Oversight Committee of the Department of Energy Laboratories. He also serves on the Board of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California and is past president of the Broadcast Education Association. 

Norman Pattiz was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2009.

Colleagues remembered Pattiz as a “media visionary” who left an indelible and long-lasting impression on the industry.