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Westwood One Founder Norm Pattiz Dead at Age 79


Norm Pattiz
Norm Pattiz

Westwood One founder Norm Pattiz died Sunday evening at age 79. He launched the radio programming and syndication network in 1976. After leaving the company in 2010, Pattiz then went on to launch Courtside Entertainment and then PodcastOne. Pattiz was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2009, and received the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation's Giants of Broadcasting in 2009.

"With Norm Pattiz' passing, we have lost a true media visionary," said Suzanne Grimes, President of Westwood One and EVP of Marketing for Cumulus Media. "He founded Westwood One, which grew to become the largest radio network in the United States and one of the top media companies in the world. His legacy lives on in all of us at Westwood One."

PodcastOne President Kit Gray commented, "Norm was a great innovator in the world of broadcast, and his contributions to the genre are immeasurable. He left an indelible impact on everyone that he met, and he will be deeply missed."

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