Alan Berg - Radio Career

Radio Career

Alan Berg worked at a shoe store and later opened a clothing store in Denver where he met KGMC-AM talk show host Laurence Gross. Impressed with Berg, Gross made him a guest on several occasions. When Gross left KGMC to take a job in San Diego, California, he requested that Alan Berg be named his successor.

From KGMC, which changed its call sign to KWBZ, Berg moved to KHOW, also in Denver. After being fired from KHOW, Berg went back to KWBZ before it changed to an all-music format and he again lost his job. The unemployed Berg was courted by both KTOK in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Detroit, Michigan. He was lastly hired by KOA and debuted on February 23, 1981. He worked at KOA until his death.

His programs could be received in more than thirty states. Berg, who held liberal social and political views became notorious for upsetting some callers to the point they began sputtering, whereupon he would berate them.

On March 5, 1982, Berg tried to interview Ellen Kaplan, a member of the LaRouche movement, about an incident that had happened on February 7, 1982 at the Newark International Airport. Kaplan had recognized Henry Kissinger who was on his way to Boston to undergo a bypass operation, and shouted an abusive question at him, whereupon his wife Nancy attacked Kaplan, and touched her throat, without hurting her severely. During his program, Berg called Kaplan on the phone. When she answered, he introduced her as “a vile human being” and praised Nancy Kissinger's attack on her. After Kaplan had hung up, Berg went on to ridicule Kaplan and abuse her verbally for the remainder of the program. Afterwards, the KOA received complaints by listeners and Kaplan's boyfriend, and on suggestion of the lawyers of the station owners General Electric, the station management suspended Berg from work for a few days. After returning to work, Berg toned down somewhat.