Remembering Kernie Anderson, Philadelphia Radio Legend
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The region lost a huge name in Black broadcasting this week. Kernie Anderson -- general manager of several African American radio stations in the region -- has died.
He was once general manager of WDAS -- and then WURD, and he did stints at WHAT and at stations in Chicago and Cincinnati.
"He knew how to come in and right a wrong ship," says Patty Jackson, a Philadelphia radio personality. She worked with Anderson for years at WDAS.
"He knew how to turn things around, tighten the budget, get it going and turn things around again," she says. "He was a true leader-- a visionary. He loved the business of radio. He really did."
Jackson says the Harrisburg native understood the importance of giving back. She says he helped grow "Unity Day" in Philadelphia, building relationships and community.
"It wasn't just about the numbers crunch, he cared about people, he cared about his employees and knew the importance of taking people under his wing and nurturing them," she says. "He would tell young men about the advantages of a 'good suit.' He was just that type of guy."
Former WDAS news director Karen Warrington says Anderson a change maker in the Black community.
"He understood the power and reach of Black radio," says Warrington. "He was not afraid to use his stations to advance what I would call community-based political agendas-- he did that in Chicago with Harold Washington and he was proud of that."
President Sara Lomax-Reese says Anderson was instrumental in helping her takeover the management of WURD. He served as general manager from 2007 to 2010.
"He knew the radio business inside and out," she says. "He was able bring to bear all of his experience to help increase the revenues and help professionalize the radio station here at WURD."
"He gave me my very first job as an intern at WIZF radio in Cincinnati," says Leslie Patterson-Tyler. "I remember walking in and meeting him-- he just seemed larger than life to me. But to see someone who was an African American-- someone who looked like my father-- it was empowering."
She says she spoke to Anderson again in Philadelphia and told him how he helped lay the foundation for her career, which included tenure at Fox 29.
"Kernie Anderson was a trailblazer," says Patterson-Tyler, "I am really moved by the fact that many of the people in Philadelphia media who I now call friends were impacted by Kernie Anderson in the same way that I was when I got my first job."
Kernie Anderson died on December 20th. He was 74. No word yet on funeral services.
