Captain
Mel Berman
The "Capt. Mel Berman Show" 6 to
9 AM Saturdays on 970-WFLA, Tampa Bay; 1450 AM, Sarasota and
on the Internet. "Florida's most popular radio fishing show" On
the air since 1985. "Mel's Minute" Fridays at noon
on WDAE 620 - "The Sports Animal" Contributor: Suncoast
Fisherman's Guide "Fishing Florida OnLine Magazine" web
site, www.capmel.com
A Special Tribute to Captain Mel Berman
as he celebrates his 50th yr in
broadcasting. (July 2002)
THUMBNAIL INFO:
- Native of Philadelphia, PA - Florida resident
for 32 years
- Married. Wife - Ginny
- Daughter -Debbie Yowell, English Teacher
Tampa's Blake High School
- Son - Ron Berman, Dir. Product Development
and Engineering., Boston Whaler Boats, Edgewater, FL
- 6 Year veteran U.S. Navy Air Corps & Navy
Air Reserves
- Education to Temple University (Psychology
Major - not completed)
- 50 year broadcast career (as of July 2002)
that includes employment as disc jockey, voice-over announcer
and narrator, talk show host, TV news anchor, radio & TV
news reporter, NBC operations manager, program director, producer,
writer
- 19 years at 970-WFLA, Tampa Bay - Host
of "The Captain Mel Show" for over 17 years
- Winner - Freedoms Foundation George Washington
Medal, Peabody award
- Magazine & newspaper writer/columnist
- Licensed Coast Guard Charter Captain
"The Captain Mel Berman Show" is
the most popular radio fishing talk show in all of Florida. Heard
on 970-WFLA Radio, Tampa Bay -- WSPB 1450 AM in Sarasota -- and
on The Internet, this unique 6 to 9 am Saturday morning program
has been a sort of weekly "Town Meeting of Fishing" for
more than 15 years.
Capt. Mel's highly professional voice and
delivery was honed during a many broadcast years covering all
phases of radio, TV broadcast and production, as a voice-over
announcer, disc jockey and talk show host.
Even those who have only a casual interest
in fishing have become avid listeners to this highly engaging
talk show. Not simply a "what's biting and where program," it
covers the usual fishing techniques, tackle, baits, what's new
in the fishing world... but all with a strong emphasis on the
environment and fisheries conservation. Inclusion of these ecological
issues are what seems to attract a broad audience, many of whom
have an avid interest in our ecology and a strong concern for
our natural environment.
The result has been 'prime-time' numbers
in the usually dormant Saturday morning talk station ratings.
During numerous quarterly ratings surveys "The Captain Mel
Show" has been placed number one in its time period, beating
out the 40 other Bay Area radio stations, both AM and FM. The
program boasts some 68-thousand thousand listeners throughout
Florida and more via the Internet.
As an outdoor writer, Mel was a weekly columnist
for The St. Petersburg Times, contributor to The Tampa Tribune,
The Fisherman, Gulfcoast Angler, Suncoast Fisherman's Guide,
as well as a numerous other fishing/outdoors publications.
Arriving in Florida 32 years ago, Capt. Mel
resumed one of his earliest passions -- fishing. In 1980, he
earned a Coast Guard Captain's License and chartered offshore
for some 8 years.
Mel's background includes working as an air
talent as well as in management positions with such notable broadcast
organizations as NBC, Metromedia, Storz, Rollins, Strauss, and
others. One of the original 'Top-40' disc jockeys in the country
at WHB in Kansas City, Mel later became one of the "Good-Guys" at
WMCA in New York during the 1960s.
As a beat reporter for Metromedia in the New
York City area, Mel covered the United Nations and other major
events. He was a recipient of a Freedoms Foundation George Washington
medal for a documentary, which was aired by Metromedia around
the world. Mel was also part of a broadcast team that received
a Peabody Award for coverage of the United Nations. Among his
other distinctions is production of the first network broadcast
segment of the actual birth of a baby for the NBC Radio documentary "Second
Sunday."
While operations manager for WJAS, an NBC
owned and operated station in Pittsburgh, he instituted one of
the country's first news/talk formats, garnering top ratings
in the then nation's 9th market.
An accomplished photographer, Mel has taught
photography, with a stint as a regular contributor to Popular
Photography, US Camera, and Modern Photography magazines.
Captain Mel currently resides with his wife,
Ginny and their Maine Coon cat "Mr. Big." in Tampa.
They have two children... Debbie Yowell, a High School teacher
in Tampa, and Ron Berman, the Director of Product Development
and Engineering for Boston Whaler Boats at Edgewater, Florida.
Ron is father to Mel's grandchildren Melissa, Matthew, and Emily.
Update 2/5/2010
Click here for WFLA write up... |