Dick Kernen remembered for work in radio
Few working in media had the kind of quiet impact that Dick Kernen did during his lengthy career.
Espe - cially in his r ole as placement director and chief ambas sa - dor of the Specs Howard School of Media Arts in Southfield, Kernen — who passed away Friday at age 82, from natural causes — was behind, without exaggeration, thousands of careers in the radio, television and communications industry. Much-loved and wellrespected, Kernen was known as “Uncle Dick” around the school and valued for his advice, advocacy and insight — and for an endless array of stories about alumni and the Michigan radio community in general.
And at Stackerz restaurant on Lahser Road, where he’d dine four or five days a week and was considered “like family,” Kernen is immortalized with a sandwich that bears his name — the No. 15 with tuna fish, cheddar cheese, bacon and lettuce on onion roll.
“There was no one who loved radio more,” former student Dave Millar, currently working as a Sales Manager for stations in the Owosso/Flint market, wrote on Facebook. “No one has made radio ‘ shine brighter.’ Dick got me my first gig when I graduated from Specs Howard in 1980 and was a mentor ever since. He always seemed to be as excited for my success as I was.”
Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media in Bingham Farms noted Friday that, “Joining the Specs Howard School of Broadcasting (as it was known) was the wisest — and ONLY — career move Dick ever made. He really loved helping young people get into radio. And I know of no one who has personally started more radio careers in Michigan — and maybe all over the country.”
Kernen was born in Imlay City and moved to Dearborn when he was just one year old. He was part of the first graduating class of Edsel Ford High School, and his son Bob Kernen said his father’s start in radio came when his mother taped a helpwanted ad for an “errand boy” at WXYZ-AM to the steering wheel of his car. Dick Kernen used to joke that he got that job “because I was the only applicant.”
At WXYZ Kernen worked with Detroit radio legends such as Paul Winter, Dick Osgood and Lee Alan, and Alan helped Kernen get jobs DJing for dances around the metro area — including at the Walled Lake Casino, where he met his wife
When the FCC forced
AM stations to stop simulcasting on the growing FM band, Kernen became the first program director for rock station WRIF, where he discovered and hired air personality Arthur Penhallow. But the rigors of commercial radio were not to his liking, and he moved to Specs Howard in 1972.
“He was smart enough early in his career to know what he didn’t want to do,” said Jacobs, who credits Kernan with helping him sign the first station for his new Classic Rock format consultancy during the mid-80s.. “Dick loved telling the story that he got of day-to-day radio because it was ‘too competitive.’ He would frequently ask about the current nuclear tactics in modern day radio and just shake his head.”
At Specs Howard Kernen worked in the classroom as well as behind the scenes, traveling around Michigan to build relationships — and job opportunities for graduates — and helping the school achieve national accreditation. He was identified with the school as much as its namesake founder and hosted a local access cable program, “Media Matters Monthly” that was produced by students and faculty.
He also helped to create the annual Great Lakes Radio Conference in Mt. Pleasant
“While Mr. Howard was making sure that the curriculum and training at the school were thorough and impactful, Mr. Kernen was making sure people knew that talented graduates were ready for work,” Steven Ferraro wrote last year in a post for the Specs Howard blog.
Jacobs, meanwhile, recalled with a laugh that, “Dick was a self-described Luddite, and he reveled in his Cro-Magnon level of expertise of all things tech.”
Last month Kernen received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Specs Howard during a virtual Hall of Fame induction ceremony for alumni.
“As insane as it can get over there, he was the one person that kept me coming back day after day,” Mike Shiner, director of Admissions & Marketing at Specs Howard and a longtime friend of Kernen’s. “He was responsible for so many successful careers. Dick shaped the lives of over 15,000 students...In developing those relationships he made close friends out of one set of graduates that in turn gave the next generation of graduates a break into the business at Dick’s recommendation. I’m going to miss him.”
Kernen is survived by: Charlene, his wife of 56 years; son Bob Kernen and his wife Patty; daughter Chris Sehoyan and her husband David; five grandchildren; his brothers Tom and Jim Kernen; and sister Janis Redinger.
Memorial arrangements are pending. Donations in Kernen’s name are suggested for Hospice of Michigan.