Dick Bertel
| Dick Bertel | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Richard Bertelmann January 6, 1931 The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Education | New York University, B.A., 1952 (broadcasting) |
| Occupation | TV newscaster, presenter, Radio & TV personality |
Dick Bertel, born Richard Bertelmann (January 6, 1931), is an American televinson newscaster and radio and TV personality who was active from 1948 through 2006 and who was also an executive producer for the Voice of America. Cynthia Lang profiled Bertel for the Wethersfield Post, writing about his early years before arriving at WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut:
- "Bertelmann--the name is just too cumbersome to use on the air. It just doesn't come across." The speaker was Dick Bertel and he was recalling the day when he was hired by WTIC-AM-FM-TV Channel 3: "I had to use Dick Richards as my air name." When I joined the staff at WTIC they said, 'You have to change your name. We have Floyd Richards on the staff.' Fred Wade, then Producer-Manager for Radio, said, 'How about Bertel?' I was delighted to be hired. He could have come up with anything..."
Biography
Born in The Bronx. He moved to Darien, Connecticut with his family in 1944, attended Darien schools and later New York University, from which he graduated in 1952 with a degree in broadcasting. He worked about three years in various radio stations in Fairfield County, Connecticut before coming to Hartford. "The reason I came to Hartford was because I was being married. Hartford offered a larger market and I had my sights trained on this station."[1]
Radio's golden age
At WTIC, Bertel created The Golden Age of Radio, a monthly radio program featuring interviews with radio actors, writers, musicians, producers and engineers from the early days of radio. It was first broadcast in April 1970, and three years later Bertel explained his interview methods: "I try to get something about the person before I interview him or her. If an author, I try to get the book and read it, and try to drop a little comment about something few people would know of the person. I also try to sit down with a guest a little beforehand. I don't believe in a cold interview, unless it's straight news." The series continued until 1977, a total of 89 shows, and all those shows can now be heard on the web.[1][2]
Voice of America
In 1984, Bertel moved to the Washington, D.C. area where he became the executive producer for the Voice of America. From 1991 to 1993, Bertel worked for two years in Munich, managing affiliate relations for VOA Europe, the Voice of America's pop music service aimed at European listeners. Returning to Washington, he created Talk to America, an international call-in show.
Having recently retired from Voice of America, Bertel now resides in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. He regularly volunteers to help non-native speakers of English achieve conversational competency.