Industry News

Industry Mourns Gary Krantz Who Died Tuesday at Age 65

Gary Krantz, founder of Krantz Media Partners, died on Tuesday (1/21) at the age of 65. He entered the radio business after graduating from Emerson College. He served with syndicator MJI Broadcasting from 1981 through 1996. He joined AMFM Radio in 1997 as EVP of programming and, after then-Clear Channel’simg acquisition of AMFM, took on an EVP role at Premiere Networks. He was the president of the fledgling liberal talk radio company Air America and joined Westwood One after Air America shut down in 2006. TALKERS publisher Michael Harrison states, “This is a devastating loss to the radio industry. I had the privilege of working with Gary all the way back to my music radio days when he was a young executive at the old MJI Broadcasting with major industry players like Julie Talbott and Josh Feigenbaum in the early days of our careers. He has subsequently worn a number of key management and entrepreneurial hats in the business – all reflecting his dedication to professionalism and quality.  He was very well liked and respected by broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic. He will be missed.” A service will be held on January 26, 2025 at Riverside Memorial Chapel at 180 West 76th Street, New York, NY 10023. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Gary Krantz’s memory.

Industry News

Jerry Springer Dies at 79

Jerry Springer, the controversial television and radio host whose eponymous TV program ran for 27 years starting in 1991, died on Thursday (4/27) at age 79 after a battle with cancer. Springer’s TV show was savaged by critics for its exploitation of the seamy side of American culture, but it was a ratings sensation in the daytime television battles. Springer’s personal background was interesting. A child of holocaust survivors who was bornim in London, Springer got a law degree from Northwestern University, served on the Cincinnati City Council before exiting in a prostitution scandal, returned to the Council a year later and eventually served as mayor of Cincinnati. He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Ohio as a Democrat. He moved into television news and won regional Emmy Awards before debuting his own soon-to-be-a-hit TV show that began as an issues-oriented program. Springer was part of the Air America liberal talk radio experiment during the early 2000s in which he hosted the 9:00 am to 12:00 noon ET show. In 2005, TALKERS magazine managing editor Mike Kinosian (who then was special features editor for Inside Radio) interviewed Springer. Read his interview here. Also, author, professor, and former radio producer Bernadette Duncan included Springer in a chapter of her book, Yappy Days: Behind the Scenes with Newsers, Schmoozers, Boozers and Losers (Talkers Books, 2016). Read that excerpt here.