DETROIT – Dick Kernen, an influential voice in Metro Detroit media, died Friday at the age of 82.
Kernen, a Michigan Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee, helped shape broadcast through his work with CBS Sports Radio 1270 when it was known as WXYZ-AM, WRIF 101.1 and his work with the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.
Kernen is estimated to have helped shape the lives of thousands of broadcast workers across the state, including many at WDIV, Local 4.
His family confirmed Friday he passed away from natural causes.
In 2019, the Specs Howard School of Media Arts wrote about Kernen’s work at the school and said he “did everything he did for the benefit of the students.”
“I am very proud to be a part of the history of Specs Howard,” Kernen said at the time. ”I couldn’t have invented a better job.”
At the time of his death, Kernen was the Vice President of Industry Relations at Specs Howard School.
Specs Howard, the founder of the Specs Howard School of Media Arts, released the following statement:
Dick Kernen was much more than a colleague. He became, over the years, a dear friend. The day I hired Dick Kernen, all those decades ago, I could not have possibly known what a difference he would make in my life, the lives of the staff and the lives of thousands of Specs Howard School students and graduates.
His passion for the broadcasting world permeated his every encounter. He was loved well beyond the walls of the school. Broadcast industry leaders relied on Dick for his unique brand of advice, his encyclopedic knowledge of the business and his “oh-so-Kernen” way of looking at the world. He was one of a kind and will be missed forever. Our hearts go out to Dick’s wife Char and the entire Kernen family.
Specs Howard