Roy Shapiro, a Broadcast Pioneer

Roy Shapiro
circa 1993

Broadcast Pioneers member Roy Shapiro was Vice-President and General Manager of KYW Newsradio for two decades. It was through his leadership that the station remained number one in ratings and market (sales) position. With Roy at the top, KYW consistently set sales and rating records, earning the distinction as being one of the most successful radio stations in the nation.

From time to time, other stations were added into his duties like in December of 1995, when WGMP, 1210 on AM (the old WCAU Radio) came under Shapiro’s domain.

Roy assumed the helm of KYW Newsradio in 1984. He is a four-decade veteran of Viacom/CBS/Infinity Broadcasting, formerly Group W, Westinghouse Broadcasting.

Roy Shapiro has served on the boards of the Radio Advertising Bureau, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.

Prior to joining KYW Newsradio, Shapiro held a variety of management positions with Group W where he developed sales and marketing strategies for the national radio group. Previously, he was the Vice-President and General Manager for the Company’s national sales firm, and also served as Vice-President for strategic planning, marketing and research for Group W Radio’s division. Roy Shapiro retired from KYW in December of 2003.

Serving on the Temple University’s School of Business and Management Executive Advisory Council, he has lectured to thousand of area college students and regularly taught at Temple University. In 2002, Temple University honored Shapiro with the Lew Klein (a former Broadcast Pioneers President) Excellence Award.

Roy Shapiro has served on the boards of the local chapter of the American Red Cross, Call for Action, the Electronic Media Council, the American Women in Radio & Television group, the Police Athletic League, the Arthritis Foundation, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Hero Scholarship Fund, the TEAM Pennsylvania Ambassador Program and served on the United Way’s Marketing and Communications Steering Committee.

Roy has been honored by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters with their “Person of the Year” Award. Also, he received the Boy Scouts of America’s Good Scout Award, and the Philadelphia Advertising Club’s “All-Star Award” for radio. He was also inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters’ “Hall of Fame.”

A New York native born on Friday, June 25, 1937, Roy and his wife reside in the suburbs of Philadelphia. They have two children and several grandchildren. As an avocation, he has a collection of vintage radios and related memorabilia.

Besides being a member of our organization for quite some time, he has also been on our Board of Governors (now the Board of Directors) for many years and has served as our Vice-President. On Wednesday evening, June 1, 1994, Roy Shapiro received one of broadcasting’s highest awards when the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia honored him as “Person of the Year.” On June 18, 2003, he was inducted into our “Hall of Fame.”

When talking about the name Roy in conjunction with Philadelphia broadcasting, it almost always meant Roy Shapiro, a leader in our industry.

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