The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Jerry Lee
Official B-101 Photo
1998

Chairman of the Board - WBEB 101.1 FM - Philadelphia

Jerry Lee and David L. Kurtz built the first FM station to bill $1 million which today is the last major market stand-alone station in America.

1960
BA in Economics from Youngstown University

1961
Management Consultant for "Profit Counselors" of New York and Chicago

1961-63
Manager of WAQE-FM (now WLIF) in Baltimore

A Brief History of Jerry Lee and B-101.1

1963
Jerry Lee creates a custom-designed "Beautiful Music" format (station started broadcasting on May 13th) and within four months 101 FM becomes the #1 rated FM station in Philadelphia and goes on to become not only the first big success in FM but instrumental in establishing the viability of the FM Band.

1966
Arbitron lists 101 FM the #1 FM in the nation in audience size

1968
101 becomes the first station to bill $1 million - $5 million in 2002 dollars

1969
Produces the first professionally made TV spot for a radio station

Jerry is first elected to the Board of the NAB and today is the longest serving member with 21 years of service as of June 2006.

1977
Appointed to serve on the Advisory Committee of the House Communications Subcommittee for the rewrite of the Communications Act.

Co-founded the Grass Roots Government Affairs lobbying arm of the NAB.

1978
Developed the concept of The Broadcast Minority Fund, responsible for $100 million in loans to provide minority ownership of broadcast properties.

1978-79
President of The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

1979
Becomes a member of COLRAM (Committee on Local Radio Audience Measurement) of the NAB and is now its longest serving member.

1979-81
President of the National Broadcast Pioneers (predecessor organization of the Broadcast Foundation)

1980
Created the Arbitron Advisory Council, which allowed, for the first time, Arbitron to interact with broadcasters to address their needs

1981
Visits The White House to present President Reagan with his original microphone from station WHO, Des Moines, and inducts him into the Broadcast Pioneers with a microphone lapel pin.

1982
Created the Broadcast Industry Council to Improve American Productivity, which spearheaded national campaigns for Literacy, Productivity and Exports.

1984
Joins a nine-person delegation which signs a Quality Accord with mainland China on behalf of the American Society of Quality Control

1986
Founded The Professional Management Principles Foundation, devoted to improving the effectiveness of management. PMP conducted regular seminars with instructors from The Ford Motor Company.

1987
Received the first of two of The President's Private Sector Initiative Awards on behalf of The Broadcast Productivity Council.

1989
Received the second President’s Private Sector Initiative Award from President Bush

1990
Appointed to the committee to help establish free broadcasting in Eastern European countries

1993
Reelected to the NAB Board - the NAB board member with the longest overall tenure

1995
Elected to the Board of Directors of University City Science Center, Philadelphia

1995
Elected to the Board of Directors of LibertyNet, Philadelphia

Initiates major learning program for the Philadelphia School System, designed to greatly reduce the number of Seventh Graders who are held back each year. The program uses customized interactive multimedia to improve each student’s weak areas.

1997
Jerry named "Broadcaster of the Year" by "Radio Ink" magazine at the RAB conference in Atlanta, February 1997

Given the Broadcast Foundation’s American Broadcast Pioneer Award for a history of distinguished contribution to the industry

Elected to the Board of Directors, Broadcasters' Foundation, Inc.

Named “Person of the Year” by the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia and inducted into the Pioneers’ Hall of Fame.

Funds a study to determine the cost effectiveness of technology in the learning process. Grant is used to research why Union City went from one of the worst to one of the best performing school districts in New Jersey.

Received the "Great Friend to Kids" Philanthropy Award form the Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia

Invited to serve as Head of the Advisory Board of the University of Maryland’s School of Criminology’s “Preventing Crime” program.

1998
Named to the National Advisory Board of the Salvation Army.

As a member of the Board of the Salvation Army, Jerry initiated a series of programs that aid children; one is to curtail child abuse and another to collect toys for needy children. These programs often start as local programs that are used as prototypes for national campaigns

Elected head of Drexel University's Department of Education's Advisory Board, Philadelphia

Jerry spearheads a drive to promote OES, Optimum Effective Scheduling, as a major weapon in radio's success story for advertisers

Jerry is asked to join the Board of Philadelphia Reads, a literacy effort headed by the Mayor of Philadelphia

1999
The Jerry Lee Foundation, with the assistance of the Broadcast Industry Council and National Broadcast Association for Community Affairs, established an award of $2,500 to annually recognize outstanding community service programs, or programs, news series or public service campaigns promoting or examining the demonstrated effectiveness of local crime prevention programs

Jerry named Radio Broadcaster of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters

Long standing member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters

Jerry elected Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Greater Philadelphia Salvation Army

2000
Establishes the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania. The Center will be the foremost organization dedicated to research the root causes of crime.

Member of the Board of the Radio Advertising Bureau

2001
Elected to the Hall of Fame by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters (PAB)

Head of Research Committee for RAEL (Radio Advertising Effectiveness Laboratory)

Member of the Board of Trustees of The Campbell Collaboration. The mission of the Campbell Collaboration is to provide decision makers with sound evidence in implementing and evaluating policies in the areas of education, crime prevention and social services.

2003
Named to the Board of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology

Named to the Board of Advisors of the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy

Recipient of the Caring Institute Award

2004
Inducted into the “Broadcasting and Cable” Hall of Fame.

November 22, 2004, the U. S. Senate confirmed Jerry’s appointment by President George W. Bush to serve a 4-year term on the National Board for Education Sciences.

2005
Re-elected to the Board of the Broadcasters’ Foundation

2006
Recipient of the 2006 Malcolm Beville Award for Research

Funded the creation of the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. The $150,000 prize honors the Criminologist who has done the most to advance crime and justice in the world. The Prize was given out for the first time on June 16, 2006 in the same venue as the Nobel Prize by the Minister of Justice of Sweden.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com