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NADEL, Roger: KNX, 1976-89; KFWB, 1996-2003; KMPC, 2005-06. Roger arrived at all-News KFWB as vp/gm from the same post at WWJ/WYST-Detroit. He is now executive director of affiliate sales for Mister Master.  Born October 31, 1950, in Washington, DC, he graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1971 with a psychology major. In 1974 Roger was a news gatherer for Associated Press Audio News Service in Santa Barbara and in 1976 joined "KNX Newsradio" as a news writer/editor and in 1982 was promoted to executive news producer prior to his transfer with CBS Radio to Detroit as pd of WWJ Newsradio prior to being promoted to vp/gm at WWJ/WJOI.   After leaving CBS in 2003, he spent a year as executive editor of Radio & Records, overseeing the Management/Marketing/Sales section of the paper before returning to radio to manage Sporting News Radio’s KMPC/1540AM. After the station was sold, Roger moved to Metro Traffic (now TTWN). He left his post as svp of affiliate operations in the spring of 2019. Roger lives in Channel Islands Harbor with his wife Debbie; they have two grown sons, Adam and Cory.

NAFTALY, Keith: KKBT, 1993-95. Keith was born and raised in the Bay Area. He started as Bill Lee's phone person in 1980 at KFRC-San Francisco. He came to the Southland from KMEL-San Francisco, where he had been pd. In the spring of 1995, Keith joined Arista Records and by the fall was promoted to vp/a&r for the label. He went on to work at DreamWorks Records, Sony Music and RCA/Jive. He's now the president of a&r at RCA Records, based in New York.

In 2011, Naftaly took part in the judging panel of BravoTV's Platinum Hit.

NAHAN, Stu: KABC, 1986-95; KXTA, 2001-02; KFWB, 2003. Stu was a familiar sports voice and face on radio and tv in Southern California for decades. He died the day after Christmas 2007 of cancer. He was 81. The LA Times devoted a half page to Nahan. Stu was active as president of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters. He received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2007. Stu appeared in all five Rocky movies. He also had a memorable part in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the breakthrough film with Ridgemont stoner Sean Penn. The colorful and well-liked broadcaster was president of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters. His tv sports anchoring began in the 1960s and over the decades he was on KABC/Channel 7, KNBC/Channel 4, and KTLA/Channel 5.

In June 1987 Stu took over KABC's afternoon drive "SportsTalk" program. From 1986 to 1995 he was a part of KABC's popular morning drive show with Ken Minyard. For many years he hosted the Dodger pre-game show on KFWB. 

Stu loved hockey and signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL in 1946. He played goalie for their minor league club for a few years and eventually stopped playing hockey altogether. In Larry Stewart’s wonderful Times obit of Stu, he quotes Nahan on why he quit hockey. “The real reason I quit was because I had terrific sunburn on the back of my neck, which I got because the red light was on most of the time I was in the net.” The swirling red light ignited as the signal that a goal had been scored. He went on to host children’s tv shows in Sacramento (“Skipper Stu”) and Philadelphia. 

NAIMO, John: KRKD, 1962-70; KIIS, 1970-73; KFAC, 1973-76; KABC, 1976-97. "Captain" Jack played albums and did the 6 o'clock sports on KRKD with Bob Kelley, Charlie Clifton and Sam Balter. He was the first to say “KIIS” when the AM station changed call letters from KRKD. Jack was born in Chicago and attended Bowen High School on the South Side and spent some time at Indiana University before starting a string of play-by-play sports and sportscasting jobs in Kentucky and Indiana. "After 10 years of fun at KRKD and KIIS, the real fun began when I started a 21-year run at KABC." Jack got involved with KABC's "SportsTalk" and was the engineer for Dodger games.

"I yearn someday to get back on the air, even if it's just weekends with either sports or music." Jack and his wife Adelina have been married over four decades and their three children all graduated from USC. "We now have three little Trojan grandsons." Now in his 80s, he is a volunteer announcer at KSBR, Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.  

Naimo, Michael: KFXM; KNOB. Michael's work was primarily in Palm Springs.

NARDONE, Mike: KLXU, 1988-2001; KKBT, 1993-96. Mike has spent over a decade as part of the L.A. Hip-Hop radio scene. Mike was born and raised in Northern California and he started in radio in 1983 at the age of 16.  In 1986 Mike moved to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Marymount University. In 1988 Mike received his start in the L.A. radio scene at KXLU with a show called, We Came From Beyond, which continues to be L.A.'s longest running hip-hop show. In 1991 he joined promotions for Poetic Groove Records and went on to work for Island and A&M Records. In 1993, he along with partner King EMZ, introduced L.A. to "The Joint" at KKBT. This was the first show to bring the underground hip-hop scene to the masses. "The Joint" was the 1st hip-hop mix show of its kind since KDAY.

Since 1997, Mike has been working for JIVE Records. Rhino Records  solicited Mike to do research on several of their rap compilation projects. These compilations included CD sets by Chuck D and Kurtis Blow.

NASH, Kevin: KKBT, 1997-2001; KJLH, 2002-23. Before taking over the late evening slot on KKBT, Kevin worked for three stations in San Francisco, KBLX, KDIA and KMEL. He left “the BEAT” in the spring of 2001. Kevin now works evenings for the Stevie Wonder station, KJLH. Kevin is the founder/ceo of The Accelerated Radio School of Broadcasting.

Nash, Michael: KMPC, 1966-68 and 1972-75. Michael left radio for the world of PR.

NASH, Phil: KPCC, 1995; KFWB, 1995-2001; KNX, 2001; KFWB, 2009 and 2012-14. Phil left Metro Networks as morning news producer due to company downsizing in the fall of 2008 and went to KFWB until 2014. Phil is a professional musician (bass ginger and bassoonist). He is currently on staff as bass section leader and soloist at Holy Family Catholic Church in South Pasadena, but has held a variety of professional singing position at churches and other venues for over 35 years. He earned a Masters in music performance at Azuza Pacific University where he played bassoon in the orchestra symphonic wind ensemble and the school's woodwind quintet. For three years he was  the oboe and bassoon coach for Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. Beginning in early 2016, Phil started as an anchor and writer for iHeartMedia in Phoenix. In October 2022, Phil retired from radio. When he started his radio career he was part of the "Classic American Music." It was basically music from the big band era along with early jazz with some popular post-big band era music thrown into the mix. I had a lot to learn. "I was nervous as all hell and of course, when you're nervous, the first place it shows up is the voice. I was tight in the throat and did more things wrong than I care to remember. In any case, I fell in love with the music and had a blast."

NASTY, Chuck: KIIS, 1994-96; KLSX, 1997-98. Born Chuck Zimmerman, the master scuba diver worked at WBBM-Chicago in 1985 and spent four years doing afternoons at “Q104”-Kansas City. Chuck did specialty programming for the  Armed Forces Radio Network serving Micronesia, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. In 1993, Chuck left SMN's "classic rock" format to join KZGZ (“Power 98”)-Agana, Guam and KPXP-Saipan as pd/md and afternoon drive. He was the first in the world to broadcast underwater off Guam. Until September 1994, the "Nasty One" had never been in California. Chuck worked afternoon drive at KIIS until the summer of 1996. After spending a year at KHOM-New Orleans (where he appeared in USA Network’s The Big Easy), Chuck returned to the Southland for evenings at Talk KLSX. Last heard, "The Nasty One" was working morning drive in San Diego and KALC-Denver.

NASTY, Joe: KTNQ, 1976-78; KPWR, 1987-88. Joe was hired from Phoenix to be one of the original jocks on "the new Ten-Q" when it debuted December 26, 1976. In 1988 Joe went to WQHT (“102-Jamz”)-Orlando, and in 1992 to XHTZ-San Diego. In 1994 he worked at KTFM-San Antonio and the following year went to WPOW-Miami. Last heard was on WGFX-Nashville. Joe died August 15, 2016, at the age of 68.

NATHANSON, Geoff: KFOX, 1982 and 1984-87; KDAY, 1989-90; KLAC, 1990-91; XTRA, 1990-92; KNNS, 1996; KLSX, 2001; KNX, 1996-2010. Geoff was born August 17, 1964, in Redondo Beach. The graduate of UCLA loved sports first. Geoff went into broadcasting as a way to be "involved" with sports. He started out at KFOX as associate producer of "Sports Forum" with Fred Wallin and went on to be the co-host. At KDAY, Geoff and Pete Arbogast did play-by-play and color for the high school football and basketball games of the week. Geoff started at KLCS/TV in 1995 doing play-by-play and color for a variety of high school sports, often with Randy Rosenbloom. In 1990-91 he co-hosted Gabe Kaplan's "SportsNuts" show on KLAC. Geoff spent a few years in Las Vegas hosting SportsFan Radio Network, which was syndicated on over 100 stations. His play-by-play work includes ESPN 2, the SportsChannel and KLCS/TV. On the radio, Geoff has done the national radio play-by-play for three different Bowl games (Senior, Galleryfurniture.com, and Humanitarian). Geoff was the sportscaster voice on a number of episodes of King of Queens and he starred in three national IBM tv commercials with Gordie Howe and Stan Mikita. Geoff was a local news anchor while "K-News" was broadcasting the Bloomberg news service. Geoff hosts the coverage of the LA Unified School Districts' Academic Decathlon. In the spring of 2001, he co-starred in an episode of NBC’s Providence.  Geoff was the only LARP to broadcast the first and only season of the XFL games on the radio. Working with Super Dave Osborn and Craig Fertig, Geoff called the play-by-play of all 12 of the LA Xtreme games on KLSX. The team won the XFL Million dollar championship game and then folded. Geoff broadcast sports on NewsRadio KNX for over a decade.

Geoff has appeared in a recurring on the ABC Family channel hit drama, Make It or Break It. Geoff plays the sportscaster. He has hosted a number of LA Marathon radio broadcasts. Some of Geoff’s classic commercials are for Powerade with LeBron James, Nike with Lance Armstrong , IBM with Gordie Howe, and Del Taco with former World Series MVP David Eckstein still live on the net.  

He's now working part time at NBC sports radio as an anchor.  

NAVA, Maria Elena: KLVE/KTNQ, 1984-97; KSCA, 1997; KLVE, 2003-04; KLAX/KXOL/KZAB/KZBA, 2004-06; KSSE, 2008. Maria is the program director at Super Estrella, KSSE. Maria Elena was born in a small town in Michoacán, Mexico. She came to Los Angeles at the age of 14 and quickly adapted to California’s bicultural environment. She learned English in a short period of time yet kept her strong Mexican cultural roots very much alive. She is a reflection of the music, the food, the family values and traditions of her Mexican heritage. "I love to see life always in a very positive way, to face the bad moments with hope and be thankful for everyday blessings. That's what I share with my listeners, establishing a very real and personal connection," she wrote on her webpage.

Navarette, Reuben: KMPC, 1994-95. Reuben writes for the Arizona Republic and was a talk show host at KFYI-Phoenix. He is a CNN contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group.
Navarro, Richard: KNOB, 1979-88; KGER, 1988-97; Salem/LA 1997-2006; KWVE-2007-09. Richard is the production director at Christian Talk KWVE.
Nave, Milt: KALI, 1965. Unknown.

NAYLOR, Jerry: KRLA, 1960-61; KDAY, 1964-65; KLAC, 1973-83. Jerry co-founded the Cavaliers (Last Kiss) and sang lead for the Cricketts following Buddy Holly's death. Jerry died December 5, 2019, at the age of 80. Jerry was born on March 6, 1939, on a family farm on Chalk Mountain, Erath County, Texas. He began his radio career along with his singing, recording and performing careers in 1954 on KPEP-San Angelo, Texas. In 1958 while in the US Army Special Services, he was assigned as a radio broadcast personality on AFN-Stuttgart, Germany. “I was discharged from the army in September, 1958 and returned to KPEP, which was owned by Dave Stone and Joe Treadway, the owners of KDAV in Lubbock, Texas, where Buddy Holly performed live weekly radio show. It was this relationship, which would change my life and career forever. I co-founded the Rockabilly group, The Cavaliers [Million-Selling Hit: Last Kiss 1964] and was the group's lead singer.” Jerry toured with all of the early Rockabilly and Country Music artists from The Lousiana Hayride Show including Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash, Bob Luman, Elvis Presley and others. He helped build KINT-El Paso, worked as its pd and was a dj there when Buddy Holly died in the airplane crash on February 3, 1959. Jerry moved to LA in the early 1960’s and became the new lead singer with the Crickets. The group had several number one hits in Europe and a hit album, Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets.

In 1969 he had his first major hit record after leaving the Crickets, But For Love, and three Grammy Nominations that year. Billboard and Cashbox Magazines named him one of the "Top 40 Male Vocalists" of 1970. “I continued to record and had nine hit recordings over the next several years.” In the mid-1970’s he hosted a syndicated radio show, Continental Country, which was heard on over 100 stations and on AFRTS. Jerry was sidelined by a serious auto accident in 1982, which forced him to retire from solo performance concert touring and radio and he moved to the vineyards in McMinnville, Oregon.

“I have not recorded since 1987, however, I am just completing a CD/Album project I have wanted to do for many decades … a 23-track tribute to the pioneers of Rockabilly music, entitled; Jerry Naylor; Tribute to my Friends, The Legends of Rockabilly Music. This album included tributes to his friends and associates, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, Ernest Tubb, and Muddy Waters, among others. It also defines the "Roots of Rockabilly Music."

Neal, Howard: KFI/KOST, 1987-99. Howard opted to leave his post as general manager of KFI and KOST when AMFM, Inc. acquired the two Cox stations in late summer of 1999. He's now in real estate.
Neil, Nasty: KMET, 1983-86; KNAC, 1986-95. Neil is part of the radio world on the Internet.

NELSON, Art: KFWB, 1961-62; KLAC, 1973-82; KMPC, 1982-87. Art started in radio as a 16-year-old broadcaster at a small 250-watt station in Corsicana, Texas. Art got major experience at KLIF-Dallas during the McLendon glory years. In 1959 he was doing his show from McLendon's Inwood Theatre. Art also worked at WJJD-Chicago. During the personality strike of KFWB newsmen in 1961, Art became one of the strikebreakers. He was assessed a $2,500 fine by AFTRA, which was to be paid by Crowell-Collier, but never was. A year later in 1962, Art went to sister station KEWB-San Francisco. After the Kennedy assassination, when he was at KEWB, FBI agents interviewed Art because he hung out at Jack Ruby's bar when he worked in Dallas. In a 1979 article about the changing music scene, Art said, "Not only has the music changed but the performers have as well. The big stars of a few years ago aren't there today. The sound has been upgraded and country has visibility it never had before."

Called the "Silver Fox," Art specialized in remote broadcasts from Universal Studios and Santa Anita during his years as afternoon personality on KLAC.

Art died of Parkinson's Disease October 15, 1999, at his home in Hemet. Art had been suffering with the disease for the past 12 years. He was married for 43 years to his wife, Nancy. The "Silver Fox" was 73.

Nelson, Bob: KKHR/KNX/fm, 1972-88. The former general manager of the CBS stations is a broadcast consultant for International Media Group, Inc. (KSCI/TV and KIKU/TV in Honolulu). 

NELSON Carl: KJLH, 1980-2005. Carl was at the hellish vortex of the 1992 LA Riots as news director at KJLH, the station that introduced the world to South Central, according to author Phylis Johnson. Carl hosted an early morning talk show on KJLH for a quarter of a century called "The Front Page." He has interviewed Presidents, Prime Ministers, Heads of State, politicians, authors, celebrities, civic leaders, and people from all walks of life over a four-decade career that has taken him from Nelson Mandela’s prison cell in South Africa to the Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, to his present career as host of Washington DC’s latest daily newsmaker radio program on Radio One’s flagship radio station WOL-1450 AM. Carl was the only news reporter allowed across police lines during the 1991 Rodney King riots. KJLH’s acclaimed coverage of this civic unrest garnered KJLH the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, an NAACP Image Award, a Golden Mike Award, the Los Angeles Press Club Award, and several other industry-wide awards. Nelson began his broadcasting career in 1971 at WYNT-New York, followed by WLIB and WBLS. Nelson was deeply involved in Stevie Wonder’s (owner of KJLH) bid to make Dr. Martin Luther Kings’ birthday a national holiday. In 1996, The Black Radio Exclusive Magazine named Carl News Director of the Year. Nelson is a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio-Television News Directors Association, and the Black Journalists Association. Formerly the co-owner of WSRF-Ft. Lauderdale, Nelson sits on the President’s Advisory Board at St. Thomas University, Miami.

Nelson, Don: KMGG, 1985-86. Don is involved in real estate in the Palm Springs area. He joined RE/MAX in 2002 and formed The Nelson Group with his son Jeff heading up the San Diego area and Don handling the desert cities.
Nelson, Jan: KRLA, 1977-80. Jan, who worked news, public affairs and as Hitman No. 5, is a parish liturgist and cantor in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, and has also taught music in Catholic schools.

NELSON, Jim: KCSN, 2011-22. When he started his radio career in 1978, all Jim wanted to do was be on the air playing great music for interested listeners. Along the way, he got his wish doing weekends for a short while at KCAL/fm-Inland Empire, but mostly he got sidetracked working behind the scenes at KLOS, KTWV and the old KWST, and several other jobs within the national radio industry, including many years working at syndicated radio shows Rockline, PowerCuts and In The Studio. Nelson also spent two decades as a freelance music writer for Paste, Performing Songwriter, RIP and Request magazines, and a decade and a half as an editor and writer at radio publications The Album Network, Radio & Records and Triplearadio.com. Also a lifelong student/fan of baseball, Jim became a music freak the instant he heard The Monkees' "I'm A Believer" on the radio way back when.

 

NELSON, Rob: KABC, 2006-07. Rob left his weekend and fill-in assignment at KABC in the early fall of 2007. He is currently is the weekend morning co-anchor and reporter for WABC-New York. Prior to joining WABC, Rob was the ABC overnight news anchor for World News Now and America This Morning. After leaving KABC in was part of ABC News from WWL/TV-New Orleans. He’s anchored breaking news coverage of the death of Osama bin Laden, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado. Rob got his start in journalism as a newspaper reporter at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. That is where he transitioned into television as a reporter and anchor at WWL. Rob is from South Jersey and graduated from the University of North Carolina.

 

NELSON, Sandy: KIEV, 1959. Sandy had a huge hit with Teen Beat, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard chart. He had two more chart toppers, Let There Be Drums, which went to #7 and Drums Are My Beat. His first recording, with a band called the Renegades (Richard Podolor, Bruce Johnston and Nick Venet), was Geronimo. Although it flopped on the national charts, it charted in some of the midwest markets. The song, along with Charge, is part of the soundtrack of 1959 film Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow. Nelson attended high school with Jan Berry, Dean Torrence (who became Jan and Dean), and Kim Fowley. After gaining respect as a session drummer, he played on such songs as To Know Him Is To Love Him, Alley-Oop, and A Thousand Stars.  Near the end of 1963, Nelson was in a motorcycle accident. The injuries necessitated amputation of his right foot and part of that leg. Nonetheless, Nelson continued to record into the early 1970s, releasing two or three albums a year, consisting of cover versions of popular hits plus a few original compositions.   Nelson lives in Boulder City, Nevada, and continues to experiment with music on keyboards and piano.

 

NELSON, Terry: KFI, 1979. Terry died May 26, 2020, of an apparent heart attack. He was 73.   Terry grew up in Modesto and attended Columbia College and Modesto Junior College in Modesto. Prior to arriving in Southern California, he worked at KFIV (1360AM) in Modesto and KJOY-Stockton with Don Imus. He was part of Top 40 KROY-Sacramento and WXLO (“99X”)-New York where he worked both drives. While at “99X” from 1975-77, he was nominated for Disc Jockey of the Year. He had previously won the award for small market radio. In 1979, Terry left the 50,000-watt giant KFI for KFRC-San Francisco. He eventually returned to Sacramento and served as the apd at KXOA. Terry then worked at KYMX- Sacramento until 1996. He was in sales at KWIN-Stockton for many years until his retirement several years ago.   Jeff March, a lifelong friend and colleague reacted to Nelson’s passing: “I’ve known him for nearly 48 years, when he was a disc jockey (and soon to be music director) of 1240 KROY radio in Sacramento. I worked behind the scenes at the station as production manager (which meant I wrote copy for local commercials, assigned spots to jocks to voice and produce, and I voiced some spot tags and newscasts). Terry was a popular personality on the station, a big contributor to KROY’s consistent market-leading ratings."

Nelson, Tyrone "Boogie": KKTT/KGFJ, 1977-85. Last heard, Tyrone was working for the Good Guys in the Beverly Center.
Nemo, Doc: KROQ, 1977-78. Unknown.
Nemzer, Kirk: KROQ, 1984-2000; KROQ/KTWV, 2001-07. The former chief engineer is now semi-retired and working for the North Las Vegas Police Department as a communications tech.

NESBITT, Bill: KWIZ, 1984-86; KEZY, 1990-93; KYSR, 1993-95; KACD, 1995; KLAC, 1999; KFWB, 2001-08; KFWB/KNX, 2008-15; KNX, 2019-22. Bill was the production director at KFWB and KNX. He returned to KNX in 2019 and left with an Audacy downsizing in the summer of 2022. Bill was born in Brea. His radio career started as part-time on air talent and as a full time music producer. Between 1986 and 1991, he worked for Unistar. Bill was the voice of Disneyland: "Please keep your hands inside the vehicle" and various Disneyland shows, including the Electric Light Parade and Fantasy in the Sky. Bill was director of programming for the Entertainment Radio Networks until early 1998. The now defunct company syndicated 20 regularly scheduled shows and special events, including Fight Back with David Horowitz and The Weekly Top Thirty Country Countdown with Charlie Tuna. Bill left Pop Standards KLAC in the summer of 2001when the station changed to a Talk format.

 Nevada, "Outrageous": KPPC, 1970-71. Susan Carter writes for television.

NEVINS, Biggie: KFI, 1973-83. Biggie was born and raised in Brooklyn. When Cox Broadcasting bought KFI in 1973, he was brought in to program the station. Biggie was a winner of the Gavin Award for program management and credited for having discovered Larry King and Sally Jessie Raphael. When he arrived at KFI, he told Don Page of the LA Times, "We're very research minded. We intend to find out exactly what our audience likes. Basically, I can tell you that KFI will remain middle-of-the-road." Having been employed by Cox Broadcasting for almost 20 years, he was elevated to national pd and then abruptly fired in 1982. Within a few months of leaving KFI, Biggie was moving into a new residence he and his wife Linda had built in Malibu when he suffered a fatal heart attack on June 16, 1983.

John Rook talked about Biggie in a 1995 interview: "God, I miss him. He's still one of my closest friends, even though he's been dead for 10 years. Shortly before his death, he told me, 'If I die, I've done all that I've wanted to do.' How prophetic. He was a lovely person. He was cremated in L.A. and his ashes were flown to New York but never arrived. Through some mishap they found him in Milwaukee. Biggie would have roared!"
Newell, Peter: KPOL/KZLA, 1972-79. Pete lives in Carmel Valley.
Newman, Harry: KBLA, 1965-66; KBBQ, 1967-68; KLAC, 1970-84. Harry retired in late 1995 and is living in Shingle Springs in central California. 

NEWMAN, Jim: KFWB, 1994-2000; KABC, 2000-01. Jim was financial editor at a number of tv and radio stations. He was more than just a voice heard twice an hour offering financial news, he was an admired journalist once described by a former U.S. Treasury Secretary as “an extremely capable and thoughtful member of the Fourth Estate.” Newman died June 11, 2009, at the age of 86. He was an on-air presence for over three decades. Newman arrived at KFWB from ABC / Group W’s Satellite News channel where he was Business Week Magazine’s tv correspondent. Prior to that, he was heard on both the NBC and CBS Radio Networks. In the early 1970s, Newman started the first all-news television programming on a UHF station. “It laid the ground work for CNN, which prospered over cable a few years later.” Born in Oklahoma, he received his B.A. from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri and attended the London School of Economics. Newman received numerous awards, including the prestigious Janus Award for Excellence in Financial Broadcasting and the Overseas Press Club Award for International Business Reporting. Locally, he was a two-time winner of the Los Angeles Press Club’s “Business News Reporter of the Year” and has three Emmys for TV reporting.

“Growing up in Los Angeles, my dad listened to KFWB ‘News 98’ in the car at all times,” said KTLA entertainment reporter Sam Rubin. “So I heard Jim Newman for years before I ever met him. The power and eloquence of his radio reports always left an impression on me, and then to discover that off-air in real life he had the same extraordinary qualities that I admired on the air was a real treat.” Newman offered live financial updates from the Pacific Stock Exchange first on KFWB, then on local television. “You can’t overstate the value that Jim brought to all of us on the air and off the air on the KTLA Morning News,” said Rubin. “Here we were – this very ragtag group trying to find our way – and suddenly the very credible Jim Newman was added to the mix as our business reporter live from the Pacific Stock Exchange.” After seven years at KTLA, Newman switched to KABC/tv in 1999. “He was always immaculately dressed with a tie and matching handkerchief,” said John Brooks, retired KFWB street reporter. He remembered when Newman would laugh “in that booming voice” and proclaim “Brooks, cut your hair and get a real job!” Brooks was one of many who recalled Newman was a “true gentleman, supportive and helpful with his colleagues…he was so generous with his time. When I needed explanation about something fast, his door was open at the Exchange.” Lysa Barry, whose media company coordinated news about medicine for KFWB said Newman “was my Uncle Jim…a classy, sweet, humble and gentle man…a walking example of what broadcast history was, with class.”

KTLA reporter Eric Spillman admired Newman the journalist, but added Newman “enjoyed the finer things in life, such as classical music, thoroughbred racing, and good restaurants,” noting the business reporter was a great patron of the arts. “I recently saw him at a reunion. He was the same bon vivant I remember,” said Spillman. Former KFWB anchor and part-time KABC anchor Ken Jeffries also recalled Newman was a true connoisseur of music. “He hosted Friday nights at the Hollywood Bowl…one night, he mentioned my name from the stage! It was a thrill.” Jeffries said Newman appeared last month at a retirement party for former KFWB Executive Editor Bill Yeager on May 7. “I saw him a few weeks ago. He was using a walker but he had the same booming voice he’s always had,” said Jeffries, who then reiterated what many said about their departed colleague: “Jim Newman was a class act. RIP.” (Story written by LARadio senior correspondent Alan Oda)

Newmark, Phil: KPWR, 1986-91. Phil owns Newmark Communication in Toluca Lake.
Newport, Mike: KLON, 1993-99; KCRW, 1999-2017. Mike is operations director at KCRW.
Newton, John: KGOE, 1974-76; KNJO, 1976-79. John is an insurance agent, based in the Santa Clarita Valley. He also worked as Johnny St. Thomas at KRLA and KKLA.

NEWTON, Rob: KCAA, 2012; KBRT 2013-19; KFI, 2019-21. KFI has always had a knack for finding wonderful news talent. Not only do they do their newscasts covering Southland stories, they integrate themselves seamlessly into the high-profile local talk shows. They actively become part of the show. In the summer of 2019, Rob joined the Talk station as a news anchor and reporter. When he’s not doing his news job, Rob is producing the Walk in Truth radio show and podcast where he also produces and sometimes voices radio commercials. Walk in Truth is an audio ministry of Living Truth Christian Fellowship in Corona. Rob grew up in Big Bear Lake and graduated from the radio broadcasting program at Fullerton College. “My first paid job was at KCAA AM 1050 in San Bernardino,” emailed Rob. “I was a board op and announcer.” In 2013, he started as an announcer and producer at KBRT AM 740 in Costa Mesa.  Rob has a love for the great outdoors and has been hiking and camping since before it was REI-hipster cool. He also loves to go hunting and fishing whenever he can. He's now with WHO-Des Moines.

NEWTON, Todd: KIIS, 1997; KBIG, 2006. Todd was fill-in at KBIG and KIIS. He now syndicates a morning show. He is a daytime Emmy Award winning game show host, appearing frequently as the traveling host of The Price is Right. In 2022, Todd joined syndicator, SuiteRadio. In addition to working at two high profile stations in L.A., he jocked at WKBQ--St. Louis and WNEW-New York. His variegated career has taken him to the red carpet for Emmy broadcasts, E! Entertainment, Hollywood Showdown, Travel Channel, Whammy!, Price is Right Road Show and Family Game Night) for which Todd received a Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Game Show Host. "Since first cracking a mic in 1991, I knew radio would be the heart and soul of my entire entertainment career. No matter where I've gone or what project I've had the privilege to work on, the razzle dazzle of the FM dial has never left me." Todd studied improv with The Groundlings and The Harvey Lembeck Comedy Group. In the spring of 1997 he appeared in HBO’s Weapons of Mass Distraction in which he portrayed a sleazy tabloid television reporter.

NIAGARA, Joe: KPOP, 1959; KBIG, 1960-62. Joe is best known for his success on the East Coast (WDAS, WCAU, WFIL and WIFI in Philly). He came to Southern California from WIBG-Philadelphia to work at KPOP. In 1960, he moved to KBIG for morning drive. In 1962 Joe returned to WIBG and never returned to L.A. Joe died June 4, 2004, at the age of 76. Born on the fourth of July 1927, Joe was raised in South Philadelphia. "As a kid I listened to the radio and thought broadcasting was exciting and knew it was something I wanted to be connected with.” Philly personality Leroy Miller at WFIL told Joe to be persistent. At 18, Joe served in the U.S. Army in Panama. Affectionately known as "The Rockin' Bird," he started his career in 1947 on WDAS-Philadelphia and is best remembered as the first dj to play rock ‘n roll in Philadelphia. The name originated from Peggy Lee's hit, Listen to the Rockin' Bird.

In 1980 he spun into the Guinness Book of World Records for playing 500 consecutive plays of Stardust. The last station worked at was WPEN-Philadelphia. At the turn of the millennium, he spanned seven decades in broadcasting. His awards included an induction into the "Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame," the Ben Franklin Award, the Philadelphia Music Alliance "Walk of Fame," Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame, and he was named one of the 100 Icons of Broadcasting.

NICHOLAW, George: KNX, 1967-2003. George was there on Day One when KNX flipped to all-News in 1968. The former general manager of the iconic all-News station passed away August 9, 2014. He was 86. George was at the vortex of an unparalleled news standard set for three and a half decades. During his stewardship, KNX won more awards year after year than any other station in the market. Under his leadership the station won the coveted Peabody Award, the Alfred I. DuPont Award, the NAB Crystal Award, and more than 170 Golden Mike Awards. His career with CBS spanned over six decades, from 1955 to 2003.  George Nicholaw was one of the smartest and nicest Los Angeles Radio People ever. George exited his post as general manager at all-News KNX on October 10, 2003. He filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Infinity/CBS Radio for age discrimination.

 

NICKELL, Tricia: Tricia worked for Metro Traffic Networks until the fall of 2008 following a company downsizing. She's now a voiceover actor. Born and raised in Wenatchee, Washington, Tricia was the daughter of the town sheriff. “My life in Wenatchee consisted of ballet lessons and more ballet lessons.” After high school, Tricia joined a ballet company in Seattle and later earned a degree in theatre from the University of Washington. She started her broadcast career as “The Voice” of the PBS station in Seattle. At the same time Tricia worked as a dj at KSEA. When she arrived in the Southland she started with KBET-Santa Clarita and eventually joined Metro Networks. In the early 1990s Tricia was a regular fill-in host for the “Ken and Barkley” KABC morning show with Steve Edwards and Charlie Tuna. At Metro, Tricia hosted the nationally syndicated “Planet Hollywood Entertainment Update.” “I created the animal adoption segment on KNBC/Channel 4’s Today in LA WeekEnd called “4 Legged Friends,” which was a favorite segment of viewers for years.” As an actress, Tricia has appeared in The Wonder Years, Beverly Hills 90210 and The Pretender. She loves animals and volunteers at a pet rescue organization.

 Nichols, Gene: KFI, 2003-04. Gene reported news at KFI. He's now in Palm Springs. 

NICKSON, Nick. Nick, the radio voice of the Los Angeles Kings, became the 24th member of the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2008. Nick was one of the sidekicks to long-running Kings announcer Bob Miller. He also worked as the P.A. announcer for the L.A. Dodgers (1983-89). In 1996, as a tribute to his broadcasting excellence, Nick was nominated by his broadcasting peers as one of the top radio play-by-play announcers in Southern California, along with broadcasting legends Vin Scully (baseball) and Chick Hearn (basketball).   Prior to joining the Kings, Nick spent four seasons calling the play for the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League (AHL). He began his hockey-broadcasting career in 1976 as the voice of the Rochester Americans (AHL). After joining the Kings in 1981, Nickson served as color commentator on both tv and radio for nine seasons before assuming his current role.  A native of Rochester, New York, Nick attended Ithaca (NY) College and served as sports director for the school’s radio station while doing play-by-play for Ithaca’s hockey, football, baseball and basketball teams. After graduating in 1975, he worked as a dj for two stations in Rochester before beginning his career in hockey one year later. Since joining the Kings in 1981, he has been instrumental in developing and maintaining the Kings Radio Network, while assisting the media relations department in writing and editing the annual media guide.

Nicole, Lauryn: KPWR, 1994; KACE, 1994. Unknown.

NICOLINI, Dianne: KUSC, 2016-23. Diane's Classical music show originates at sister station, KDFC. She is "possessed of a pleasant, personable voice and an easy laugh, may be a radio star," wrote Ben Fong-Torres in the San Francisco Chronicle.Growing up in Oakland. She studied theater at Cal, with a goal of "becoming a movie star." When she married, she joined her husband, in Kansas City, where he was in medical school. There, she got a master's in theater at the University of Missouri, but got sidetracked after answering a job posting: "Classical music dj; no experience necessary." It was an all-night shift, Saturday nights, but it was her start. It was 1980, and she was 21. "I was so horrible," she said. Despite having taken piano lessons as a kid, she didn't know much about classical music, and although she'd taken French in school and knew a little Italian, she needed help pronouncing titles of works and composers' names. "I learned on the job and offended a lot of people," she said. On her return to the Bay Area in 1983, she caught on with KKHI, where she was surrounded by booming, authoritative male voices. The style, back then, was no-nonsense. "There was a level of formality," she said. Away from work, she said, she enjoys a wide range of music. "I like old-school R&B. I like '80s music, and 'Live 105.' Who'da thunk?"

 

NIEHAUS, Dave: KMPC, 1966-76. Dave, the former California Angels broadcaster from 1966-76, who went on to become the legendary voice of the Seattle Mariners since the inception of the franchise, died November 10, 2010 at his home in Bellevue, Washington. He suffered a heart attack, at the age of 75. It was figured that between the Angels and Mariners, Dave broadcast more losing seasons than any other announcer. While Dave was recovering from his second angioplasty surgery, within three weeks a local Seattle radio station sent Dave 3,077 autographed baseballs wishing him well. The number was how many Mariners games he had called up to that point. Dave was born and raised in Princeton, Indiana, and is a graduate of Indiana University, where he worked for the campus radio station. After leaving Armed Forces radio and tv service, he handled New York Yankee baseball as well as basketball and hockey from Madison Square Garden.

While in the Southland he called the Angels action with Dick Enberg and Don Drysdale. He also broadcast UCLA football and basketball. Niehaus received the Ford Frick Award at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2008, "Dave has truly been the heart and soul of this franchise since its inception in 1977,” said Howard Lincoln, the Mariners ceo and Chuck Armstrong, Mariners present. “Since calling Diego Segul's first-pitch strike on Opening Night in the Kingdome some 34 years ago, Dave's voice has been the constant with the franchise. He truly was the fans' connection to every game; to wins and losses; to great plays and heartbreaking defeats; to Hall of Famers and journeymen. With the exception of his love for his wife, Marilyn, his children and grandchildren, there was nothing Dave liked more than the game of baseball and to be at the ballpark. He was the voice of spring and summer in the Northwest." 

NILES, Chuck: KFOX, 1956; KNOB, 1957-65; KBCA, 1965-79; KKGO, 1979-89; KKJZ, 1990; KLON, 1990-2002/KKJZ, 2002-04. The premier jazz dj died March 15, 2004, following a stroke. He was 76. Chuck was a Southern California jazz dj legend. It would be hard to think about the world of jazz radio for the past half-century and not mention Chuck in the next sentence. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1927, Chuck began with an early interest in jazz and for almost five decades, he was one of the premier djs in Southern California. On the air he was frequently mistaken for a black man because of his soulful delivery. Leonard Feather, the respected music critic for the LA Times, described Chuck as "the city's perennially eloquent voice."  Chuck got his start in radio in 1950 at WTXL in Springfield. He studied at the American International College, and after serving in World War II, he got his bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology. On one of his trips to Southern California he secured a job as the afternoon movie host on KHJ/Channel 9, and he worked part-time at KFOX, where he met Jim Gosa and the legendary "Sleepy" Stein. He received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998. In the summer of 2001, Chuck successfully underwent heart bypass surgery.

 

NIX, Ed: KVOE/KWIZ, 1950-62; KEZY, 1962-73; KWIZ, 1973-86. Ed worked morning drive in Orange County during the '70s and '80s with Bob Shannon, Ronni Richards and Spider MacLean. Ed was born and raised in Chicago and studied drafting in school. His first radio job was in Kankakee, Illinois. Ed followed a radio friend to California in 1949 and worked for a Fresno radio station located in the farmer's market. When the station got into trouble, Ed took a job as a draftsman in Riverside to support his wife and two boys while waiting for his next radio assignment. He didn't wait long. In 1950 he joined KVOE (Voice of Orange Empire) which later became KWIZ and for four decades Ed was the news voice of Orange County. One day in 1986 he woke up and said, "That's it, I'm finished with radio" and retired. Ed died July 18, 2002, of pneumonia at the age of 84.

Nixon, Joe: KXLA, KRKD; KGBS, 1966-67; KIEV, 1967-74; KFOX. Born in 1924, Joe started his radio career in his hometown at WIBK-Knoxville in 1949. He was very inventive in getting to Southern California, according to an interview in R&R. While working in Ft. Worth, he would ask all artists appearing in the Dallas area to tout "The Great Texas DJ" when they got to L.A. One day the owner of KXLA offered him a job. "I looked at him, looked at my watch, and told him, 'I couldn't possibly start until 1 o'clock.'" He appeared in hundreds of local commercials and had his own show on KTTV/Channel 11 from 1959 to 1961. In 1967 Billboard magazine Joe was voted 5th most popular country jock. He built KVRE-Santa Rosa. Joe owned a music publishing company and wrote 25 songs for leading country artists such as Kenny Rogers (including songs for his gold record Mother Country Music), Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Dean Martin and Ann-Margret. He wrote Freddy Hart's Top 10 hit The Pleasure's Been All Mine. After his retirement, he taught broadcasting courses at L.A. City College until 1991. He died February 2, 1995, of leukemia at age 70.

NOBLE, Kenny (Cortes): KZLA, 1978-79; KFOX, 1980-81; KWST, 1981; KHTZ, 1981-85; KFI/KOST, 1985-86; KLSX, 1986-87; KACD, 1995-96; KOST, 1996. Kenny worked mornings at Denver's Smooth Jazz station, KJCD, CD 104.3 until the spring of 2008. He now co-owns an Internet radio station with Kevin Peterson. Kenny was busy when he worked in Southern California, spanning three decades. In 1997, he joined WFLC-Miami and then moved to mornings at WLVE, Smooth Jazz in South Florida. In 2003, he took over mornings at KJCD, the Smooth Jazz station in Denver. His latest gig came to an end for Kenny when the format was flipped. “I knew we had problems when WQCD [CD 101.9] in NYC flipped to rock, and WJZW in Washington, DC flipped to Oldies. And then Houston’s Smooth Jazz station flipped, while the Oasis in Vegas fired its pd for budgetary reasons. The format is definitely anemic.”  Kenny grew up in Houston and almost became an Air Force pilot. He was honored as an outstanding military cadet in high school R.O.T.C. and went to the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs in the mid-1960s. He elected to go into radio and graduated from the Columbia School of Broadcasting.

Ken started at KTFM-San Antonio in 1974. He then went to KLOL-Houston and WLUP-Chicago before KZLA in the summer of 1978. In 1977 Billboard magazine saluted Ken as Top Major Market Album Personality. Between KZLA and KFOX, Kenny went to the Northwest for the first time to work for Jay Blackburn at KZOK-Seattle. His voiceover career includes many movie trailers. He ran a dj critique service for 15 years and touched many young broadcasters. Oh, his love for flying? He's a private pilot.  

In 2010, Kenny went to work at K-LOVE until 2016. He was an Air1 Radio Networks as a reporter/anchor, based in Denver.

NOBLE, Wendell: KHJ, 1944-49; KABC, 1960-61. Wendell died February 10, 1988. Steve Allen became an announcer for KFAC in Los Angeles and then moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1946, taking the station into airing a five-nights-a-week comedy show, Smile Time, co-starring Wendell. Wendell was a distinguished narrator, lecturer, actor, musician and teacher. He was born in Mesa, Arizona. He began his radio career at station KOY in Phoenix. For many years, he and his family lived in Southern California where Wendell enjoyed a successful career as a radio and television personality. He was one of the first Talk show hosts at KABC in Los Angeles.  Perhaps Wendell is best remembered by the people of Southern California for his masterful narration of the Crucifixion and Resurrection at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. He was in great demand as a speaker and narrator.

 

NOLAN, John: KFSH, 2020-23. John works aternoon drive at Christian KFSH. John was born in Boston and raised in chilly New England where he played hockey, skied and shoveled snowy neighborhood driveways. He says his Irish/Italian upbringing was always filled with laughter and a lot of spaghetti! Nolan attended Catholic school and went off to a state college in Vermont to study mass communications transferring to complete his love of broadcasting back in Boston. There he landed an internship on the top morning show writing and singing parody songs, a few stints as a stand-up comedian and waiting on tables in Faneuil Hall. From his work in Boston, Nolan found a new home in Washington, DC, in the morning again on the top station. “The Nations Capital proved to be a wonderful place to raise my two girls, so while my wife taught at a Virginia Christian School, I became a Washington radio news guy in the middle of the strange DC press corps.” Nolan completed two Marine Corps Marathons for the MS Society and five annual three hundred mile bike rides to raise awareness and funds for those living with HIV/Aids. Several years ago, Nolan accepted a morning show host position in San Diego and made the cross county trek with his wife and four legged kids, a dog and cat. “Southern California is the most wonderful place to live," laughed Nolan, "I feel like I've landed on my planet!” (from KFSH website)

 

NOLAN, Mike: KORJ, 1975; KFI/KOST, 1986-2014. Mike was a traffic pilot/reporter for over three decades, 28 in L.A. He logged over 30,000 hours of flight time. Mike was a fixture at KOST and KFI providing traffic reports from his fixed-wing plane in both drive times until a company restructuring. Mike left the stations November 30, 2007. He was rehired to broadcast traffic from the ground the following year. Born in October 1949 in Van Nuys, he graduated from North Hollywood High in 1967 and two years later from Fullerton College. As a youth growing up in the San Fernando Valley, he was inspired by KMPC's Captain Max Schumacher and occasionally rode with him. Mike remembered the moment his love for flying took wing. He was about seven. "We were flying to San Francisco for Thanksgiving. I was terrified. As we sat at the end of the runway at Burbank, the plane was shaking and noisy. I was wondering what was going on. As the plane got about 15 feet in the air, I realized that something incredible was going on. I fell in love with airplanes at that exact moment." Mike became a pilot in 1969. Mike's radio career started in 1974 at KTRT-Truckee. All the while he combined flying and radio and in 1980 he joined KXRX/KSJO-San Jose as the traffic pilot/reporter. He went to KOY-Phoenix for almost five years. When KFI/KOST’s Bruce Wayne died in a plane crash, Mike applied for the KFI/KOST traffic job and started in August 1986. He broadcast traffic reports from his fixed-wing plane in both drive times. No one in Mike's family had ever been in aviation, but his brother is a retired air traffic controller in Phoenix.   Mike is now retired and living near Austin.

Noory, George: KFI, 2002-23. Frequent replacement for Art Bell, George took over full-time Coast to Coast AM on January 1, 2003.

NORBERG, Eric: KMPC, 1972-75. In October 2000, Eric was appointed editor/gm of monthly neighborhood newspaper THE BEE in Portland. For a time, he taught radio part-time at Mt. Hood Community College in the Portland area.  In early 2018, Eric started his 35th year of publishing his weekly “Adult Contemporary Music Research Letter.” Eric said it is a target-audience-based music testing service for AC radio and the music industry. His book Radio Programming: Tactics and Strategy is still in print 21 years after publication. The Foreword was written by the late Paul Drew. The last chapter, on FCC rules, is way out of date, but the publisher won’t let him revise the manuscript – but the rest of it is still relevant and useful, and it is still selling.

Norell, Adrienne: KLIT, 1992-94; KXEZ, 1995-96. Unknown.

NORMAN, Gene: KFWB, 1944-52; KLAC, 1952-58. Gene was one of the “Big Five” jocks on KLAC during the 1950s. He left KLAC over the format switch to what he called "formula radio." "Formula Radio" was an attempt to combat the impressive launch of "Color Radio" on KFWB. Gene has operated successfully in every form of musical presentation. He died November 2, 2015, at the age of 93. Besides radio, he had his own tv show on KHJ/Channel 9 and owned two famous nightclubs, the Crescendo (later became the popular teen hangout, Tiger’s Tail) and Interlude on the Sunset Strip. His interest in jazz inspired his first “Just Jazz” concert, featuring Benny Goodman, Peggy Lee and Erroll Garner. The concerts continued for two decades. Since the sale of the nite clubs in the mid-sixties, Gene devoted most of his time to the development of his GNP Crescendo and Creative World record labels. He had five publishing companies and several of his albums were nominated for or won Grammies. Norman produced Los Angeles' first remote live jazz television broadcast with the Nat "King" Cole Trio. He served as one of the first trustees of the Recording Industry Association of America. Among his accolades, he was a 1991 inductee into the American Association of Independent Music Hall of Fame.

Born in New York as Gene Nabatoff, he was trained as a classical violinist. He played saxophone and clarinet in college dance bands, graduating from the University of Wisconsin at 18. “I was the first announcer at WPAT-Patterson, New Jersey in 1941." Before arriving in the Southland he worked at KMJ-Fresno, KLX-Oakland and KGO-San Francisco. Gene lived in West Los Angeles.

Norman, George: KLAC, 1959. Unknown.
Norman, Pat: KRTH, 1985-91. Pat ran KFRC-San Francisco in the 1970s. The K-Earth gm died of a brain tumor.
Norman, Phil: KNX, 1959; KBIG, 1968-69. Phil passed away in the late 1980s. He was 69.

NORRIE, David: KMPC, 1991-93; XTRA, 1994-95. The former Bruin football quarterback worked the UCLA games on the radio. He also broadcast on ESPN. Before starting in 1991, his only experience was a week at Roy Englebrecht's sportscasting camp. As a QB, David helped the Bruins to three Rose Bowl championships and one Fiesta Bowl championship. He led the Pac-10 in passing in 1985. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 1986 and played quarterback for the New York Jets in 1987. David was promoted for the UCLA announcing job by former Bruin football coach Terry Donahue. He also hosted a sports show with Joe McDonnell during KMPC's experiment with all-Sports radio. David also works in real estate for CB Commercial.

 

NORRIS, Jane: KFI, 1991-97. Jane worked morning drive at WMAL-Washington, DC. In 1991 she swirled in a whirlwind of controversy following an aggressive interview with KCBS/Channel 2 anchor Bree Walker. Bree was pregnant and doctors claimed there was a 50% chance that her ectrodactylism, a rare genetic condition that results in fused fingers and toes, would be passed on to her child. Jane asked listeners to call in with comments on whether she should conceive a child. Jane left  middays at Talker WHAS-Louisville in early summer 2002. Jane also managed the business side of broadcasting. Starting out as a behind-the-scenes promotion director, she helped catapult stations in Philadelphia and Boston to the top of the ratings in their respective markets. And her public relations skills were sought by International businesses such as the MIDEM organization, hosts of the American Market for International Television Productions (AMIP) television conference which introduced International Television programming to U.S. audiences. In addition to her broadcast work, Jane has written editorial commentaries for the Lexington Herald Leader and columns for Today’s Woman Magazine. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and has done post-graduate study in Political Science and Arts Management at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

NORTH, John: XTRA, 1961-68; KLAC, 1968-84; KFWB, 1988-93; KNX, 1999-2008; KCLU, 2009-12. The veteran newsman who was there for the launch of the world's first all-News station, XTRA 690 AM, died December 21, 2012. He was 81. In recent years he was producing documentaries and special reports for KCLU/NPR and still walking away with Golden Mikes.   Born John North Edy in Dallas on November 9, 1931, John began his career, after four years in the Navy, as a dj in 1958 at WEAM and WARL in Arlington, Virginia. He anchored during the early stages of “XTRA News,” Gordon McLendon's all-News operation out of Tijuana that blanketed Southern California. He left XTRA for the first time to launch the first all-News station in Washington, DC, WAVA. He left XTRA the second time in 1968 after KNX and KFWB went all-News, and, “XTRA changed format because it could no longer compete in the local L.A. market.” For two years in the mid-1980s, John was a general assignment reporter for KCOP/Channel 13. John received the 2002 Bill Stout Memorial Award for Best Radio Enterprise News Reporting from the Associated Press.

Norton, Duke: KLAC, 50s & 60s; KGBS, 1964; KBIG, 1967; KLVE. Duke was one of the "Big Five" djs at KLAC. He broadcast the all-night show from a window at Wallichs Music City at the corner of Sunset and Vine. He was a former teacher at the KIIS Broadcasting School. Duke passed away in the late 1980s.

NOVAK, John: KFOX, 1973-75; KWIZ, 1975-89. John does voiceovers and works with an ad agency in Orange County. Born in Missouri, John grew up in Washington. While attending Eastern Washington State in Spokane, he had a roommate in radio and decided to pursue a similar career. After college, John worked in Spokane, Michigan and Iowa. His last stop was KLAK-Denver before arriving in the Southland. He was the voice of Orange County's PBS/TV station KOCE for over a decade.

Novak, Lisa: KWST, 1979. Unknown.

NOVAK, Mike: KIQQ, 1973-74. The design for Mike's life was in place before his birth, but the weaving of it began when he was attending Modesto Junior College in Modesto. He needed an elective and a friend suggested a broadcasting class. As part of the class, he hosted a weekly radio show on the college station. He had the voice, and he was good at it. Radio seeped its way into Mike's blood, and he dropped his plan to get a degree in agronomy to take a job as weekend announcer at KYOS, an adult contemporary station in Merced. After six months, Mike was offered a full-time position as afternoon drive announcer at KDON-Salinas. It wasn't long before Mike stepped into a plumb job at KFRC-San Francisco, the Top 40 radio phenomenon in northern California in the 70s and 80s. Eventually, Novak was named apd in addition to his stint as afternoon drive announcer. After working for KFRC and various other stations, Mike spent 11 years at Country KSON-San Diego, before accepting a job at K-LOVE in 1998. Mike looks back at his successful broadcasting career with thankfulness. He had no idea that God was preparing him to help a team of people to transform a Christian music ministry into a successful radio network. From his time as a K-LOVE on-air personality and pd to be named K-LOVE's svp in 2004, Mike's impressive radio pedigree and passion for sharing the gospel has uniquely prepared him for the role change in 2007 to his current position as K-LOVE's president and ceo. Mike's wife, Ann, was instrumental in his becoming a Christian. While working at KSON, he met Ann, who worked in programming. They became good friends, and it wasn't long before he started seeking God himself. He said, "with God, I have learned to have more trust and faith. I am a better person now." (from K-LOVE website)

Novak, Mimi: KXEZ, 1990-92; KODJ/KCBS, 1993-98. Mimi left "Arrow 93" in 1998.
Nuckols, Joe: KYPA, 1996-97. Joe is with TAN Marketing in Asheville, North Carolina.

NUELL, Joy: KFWB, 1969-84. Joy was raised locally and received her degree in languages and art. She loved Al Jarvis' "Make Believe Ballroom" long before she had any thoughts of KFWB in her professional future. As a matter of fact, she resisted Herb Humphries repeated attempts to hire her as a newsroom secretary, probably, she thinks, because she may have been the only applicant to not ask about possible on-air opportunities. Also, Joy told Humphries that if it made him more comfortable during the job interview, he should feel free to say "f...". Joy's reservations about news disappeared after one day in the KFWB newsroom on Hollywood Blvd. Although Humphries moved on within weeks of hiring her, Joy went to a fifteen year on-air career. Joy was L.A.'s first full-time female radio news reporter, a fact which, she says, makes her feel old, but which she feels proud of since the trend continued to the point that women make up at least half of most news staffs. Highlights of her on-air career include network coverage of the Pentagon Papers Trial and being sent to cover Pope John Paul's visit to Mexico, his first to the Western Hemisphere (AP sent seventeen reporters, Westinghouse sent Joy and did an ad campaign featuring "Joy to the Pope"). When Joy left KFWB she became president of a communications company that provided media training for executives and spokespeople. In 1991 she was press deputy for L.A. City Councilwoman Joy Picus. Since 1995 Joy went on to be director of marketing for APA Travel Center in Beverly Hills.

 

(Nasty Neil, Mimi Novak, Harry Newman, and George Noory)

NUHN, Rick: KGFJ, 1985-87; KHHT, 2003-15. Rick was at HOT 92.3 doing weekends and fill-in. He was born in Denver, and grew up in Phoenix. Rick took a broadcasting class, which led to his first radio gig in 1976 at KXTC hosting a Jazz/Salsa show. Two years later, the station turned Disco and Rick was made pd. His next stop in 1980 was KZZP-Phoenix where he did overnights. This led to other Phoenix stations: KOPA, KXAM and KUKQ. In 1985, Rick joined Inner City Broadcasting and KGFJ. He's currently hosting the syndicated "Top Ten Now And Then"​ at Format 3000.

NUMAN, Human: KIIS, 1999-2001. Human grew up in the Beaver Valley of Pittsburgh. "I knew at around age 13 that I wanted to be a dj, when Rinky Dink from WBVP came to our school dance, using a dual turntable setup. I watched in amazement as he cued records, and kept the music flowing continuously." That was 1970. After high school, he joined a broadcasting school in Sharon, Pennsylvania. His first job was overnights at WBVP-Beaver Falls. "Eventually I fell asleep on the shift. I woke to see 2 hours had elapsed, hearing shhhhk,shhhhk,shhhhk. The needle had ground the 45's label into a pile of white powder." He went on to work at WJAL-Conway, South Carolina followed by WKZQ-Myrtle Beach. His first major market gig lasted one month. He was working at WSKS-Cincinnati and was offered an evening shift at WMJX-Miami where he stayed for two years. "I read in the trades that Scott Shannon was about to be the pd at WRBQ-Tampa, and timing is everything in this business. The only guy he wanted to replace was the night jock."

In 1984, Human joined KKBQ-Houston.  "During my time in Houston, I had taken a vacation to Los Angeles that year and stood on Mullholland Drive one night hoping that someday I would get the chance to entertain all of those twinkling lights." He went on to WAPE-Jacksonville, "Y100"- Miami and WZOU-Boston. After 10 years had passed since Scott and Human worked together in Tampa, Human joined WHTZ, a midday gig that lasted over four years.

In the mid-1990s, Human was burned out. "I opened a photography business in Florida. Radio was almost completely out of my system, when I got a call for afternoons at CHR startup KZQZ-San Francisco. So the radio vortex had once again sucked me back in. The job didn't last long, but it served its purpose of getting me back in radio after a two-year hiatus." He eventually joined "Z100" for weekends while working WBBO-Atlantic City. "In 1999, I decided I'd put all of my hope into a lifelong dream of living in Los Angeles and working for the legend, KIIS/fm. Through good luck and timing, I arrived in time for the holiday season [note to anyone: best time to be available as a part timer for hire!] in mid-November." He's now working at US1 Pop Music on Sirius/AM Satellite Radio.

NUNEZ, Linda: KNX, 1990-2016. Linda was a news anchor at KNX and has won AP's "Best Radio News Anchor Team" in California for four consecutive years. She exited the station in late 2016. One way to describe Linda Nuñez is that she’s an old-school journalist in a younger person’s body. She was a familiar presence on KNX, co-anchoring the news during middays with longtime partner Tom Haule. Like many in the business, her interest in radio started long before she cracked open a microphone. Nuñez first got the radio bug as she grew up in Long Beach. “I grew up listening to KNX. I have fond memories of sitting in front of our big stereo in the living room and listening to Mystery Theater on the KNX Drama Hour.  I was always a news and sports junkie.  Some girls read Tiger Beat, I read Newsweek and The Sporting News.”  She worked on both the school newspaper and yearbook and was named Editor-in Chief during her junior year.  “The job was always for seniors … that’s something they never did.” At a recent high school reunion, Nuñez was surprised to run into her journalism teacher.  “The first thing out of my mouth was, ‘I did something journalism-related, and it’s all because of you!’” She grew up a radio junkie, enjoying many of the legendary stations of the local airwaves. “KHJ was the huge Top 40 station back then.  I loved listening to KNX/fm, which was soft rock and elegantly presented.” As a Dodgers and Lakers fan, Nuñez also claims Vin Scully and Chick Hearn as “the soundtrack of my childhood.” Nuñez attended UC Berkeley where she knew she wanted to something in news and journalism, though at first she didn’t even consider putting her interests in news and radio together.  “When I got to Cal, I knew I wanted to do something news-related, but didn’t really put ‘radio’ and ‘news’ together until my senior year.  I was at a friend’s party, and I met one of her neighbors who said, ‘You have a great voice, you should be on the radio.’  I explained I didn't really want to be a disc jockey, but she said, ‘You can do news on the radio.’ It was the ‘Aha!’ moment.”

“I rode my bike back to the dorm and couldn’t sleep. I finally figured out what I was going to do for the rest of my life!” By the end of the week, Nuñez interviewed for a news internship at KBLX/fm, and was selected three days later. “It happened that fast,” she recalls.  She also did a second internship at KQED/fm where she went on the air for the first time.

“After college, I got a summer sublet in Isla Vista and ended up getting a job at KTMS-AM where I worked for two years,” said Nuñez. She then went to a job fair for broadcasters in San Francisco, where she met Bob Sims, news director at KNX. “The station was the epitome of professionalism and stability.  There was very little turnover. I had heard that the only reason there was ever an opening at KNX was because someone had retired or died.”

She was hired full-time as a weekend anchor and street reporter. “I did that for four years until I started morning drive with Tom Haule. The most important thing I learned was not to make the same mistake twice.  There was very little room for error. It was a high standard that I worked hard to meet.” 

When asked what’s been the biggest story she’s ever reported, Nuñez simply stated that “there are too many to name.”  But when asked if there’s someone she’d still like to meet and bring to her mic, the choice was easy. “People always ask me who would be my ‘ultimate’ interview. I'd have to say Vin Scully. I’ve idolized him for such a long time, so I’d probably be a nervous wreck. First of all, where do you start? There would be so much emotion in it for me that my mind would probably go blank!  Anyone who grew up in Southern California knows what I mean.”

 “To me, radio news is not personality-driven. My job is to bring listeners the facts as best as I know them, not to impart my spin on them. I am not the focus; the news is.”  (Story by Alan Oda)

Nunez, Rick: SEE Rick Nuhn

NYE, Louis: KLAC, 1959-60. Louis died October 9, 2005. He was 92. Louis was a dj at KLAC from 1959-60, but better known as one of Steve Allen’s characters on Steverino’s tv show in the 1950s, has died, after a long battle with lung cancer. On The Steve Allen Show, he quickly endeared himself to audiences as Gordon Hathaway, the effete country-club snob who would welcome Allen's arrival with the "Hi-ho, Steverino!" salutation. He appeared as a regular on other tv shows, The Ann Sothern Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and most recently, Curb Your Enthusiasm. In the 1980s and '90s Nye provided various voices for the Inspector Gadget cartoon show. His film credits include Cannonball Run II, Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, A Guide for the Married Man, Good Neighbor Sam and Sex Kittens Go to College. Louis was born May 1, 1913, in Hartford. His parents were Jews who had emigrated from Russia. Nye began his career in theater in Hartford before moving to New York City to enter radio. Nye served in the Army during World War II, entertaining troops. He had a long battle with lung cancer.

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