mlharris
ezOP
Posts: 44
(8/29/04 21:50)
Reply
|
Jewish Frequency
Jewish Frequency
Phil Jacobs
AUGUST 27, 2004
They are being photographed in the busy "Live" 105.7 WXYV-FM Towson studio. Jay Bernstein stands behind his broadcast partner Larry Cohen. Larry smiles at the photographer's lens and without moving his head says, "Jay's not smiling, is he? Jay, would you please smile."
This little example kind of says it all. These are two childhood Talmudical Academy friends who are so much the same they can complete each other's sentences. Yet they are so unabashedly politically different that their on-air discussions often turn emotional, sometimes angry.
Where they are alike, however, is their passion for Jewish radio. Their Shalom USA broadcast - formally Shalom Baltimore - has not gone the way of most attempts to bring listeners a Jewish show. Not that there was anything wrong with other, older shows. To borrow from what has now become a cliche, let's just say this isn't your grandfather's Jewish radio. The 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday broadcast, as well as the newly produced 7- 9 p.m. show that same day, are hardly just klezmer music and gefilte fish. Maybe the broadcast is one part that. Largely, though, the two take on issues, sometimes hardball issues of Israel, Jewish Baltimore, national politics, literature, teen violence and drug abuse. They have had guests on the air such as former Mideast envoy Dennis Ross, Israel's U.S. Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., attorney and author Alan Dershowitz and others. Yes, there is time for music, there is time for community calendars. By and large, Jay and Larry want to give their listeners, of all Jewish denominations, something to chew on Sunday morning other than bagels and cream cheese. And Sunday morning carpools, be they on their way to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation or Bais Yaakov School for Girls, are tuning in more and more.
According to local radio industry sources, their morning program is generating approximately 15,000 listeners per week. The show has a Web site, www.SHALOMUSARADIO.com , where a link can take you to previous broadcasts.
They've reached out of their studio as well. Most recently, it was Shalom USA's efforts that brought Egged Bus 19 here from Israel, the bus that was the target of a deadly terrorist strike. It was their efforts last winter that brought in Walid Shoebat, a pro-Israeli Palestinian who is outspoken in his support of the Jewish people. Politicos want airtime, as do community leaders and religious leaders. On one show, the listener is liable to hear a children's choir from a Conservative shul and a d'var Torah from an Orthodox rabbi. The show's goal is to appeal to anyone Jewish without focusing on any particular denomination.
Shalom USA's founders Larry Cohen and Jay Bernstein are two husbands, fathers and religious Zionists. Larry is a federal government employee, Jay an attorney. Larry attends Congregation Shomrei Emunah while Jay worships at Chabad of Baltimore. Prior to their taking to the airwaves, many best knew them for their ongoing criticism of the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, which, in their oft-stated opinion, does not fund Jewish day schools nearly enough. Their ALEF Foundation took on this issue. Before ALEF came People Against Hate, which protested the presence of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan appearing in Baltimore. If there were a core defining issue, it was and continues to be day school funding. That outspoken opinion led to them being asked to leave at least one Associated event where they were handing out fliers for their cause. It's resulted in a nasty encounter or letter or two. When they started the show as Shalom Baltimore some five years ago, the issue of day school education was one of the show's major focuses.
Day school funding is still an issue of passion for both men. But they have little difficulty reaching into so many other diverse matters confronting the Jewish community.
To understand the show it is important to understand their roles. Larry is the show's producer. He sold precious little prior to selling advertising for the show. He develops the tight, fast-paced schedule, answers the phones, arranges giveaways and negotiates with station managers among other necessities. In between reports from Israel, the 10th caller can win a dozen free doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. Larry can be seen often racing past the studio's purple Ravens logos, walls lined with pre-recorded commercials, music and sound effects to answer the flashing light of an incoming call. He hand-signals to Jay when the caller is going on too long or when it's time to break. The energy is fast-paced and hectic. When the time is right, however, Larry puts on the headphones, grabs the microphone and is more than willing to add his two cents. Larry is the more emotional of the two. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He is unpolished at times on the air, but for listeners, that can be actually quite refreshing. He is unapologetically right wing, Israel right or wrong, Likud, one-state solution.
Jay is Shalom USA's host and steady voice. He comes across on the air as a student, a reader, a researcher. He is more to the political left than his partner. Ask him who he'd vote for right now for president, he just isn't sure. He isn't afraid to take on Larry's political ideology, and many times one wonders how the two leave the studio friends. Indeed, during an interview for this article at the Brasserie, the two got into it over Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to pull out of Gaza.
Neither man had any prior radio experience to speak of. The first signs of a show came in discussions in 1999 with Baltimorean Joseph Cotton, an amateur radio enthusiast who helped them start the show.
Shalom Baltimore, the show's first name, was originally on WJFK 1300 AM. Jay and Larry, having never done anything like this before, had to come up with a demo tape of what five minutes of air would sound like. They also had to sign a 13-week contract for $6,500. When all of this occurred, Larry had two weeks to come up with commitments for the money.
"I never sold anything before," he recounted with a smile. "I guess people saw how much I believed in all of this, because I was able to come up with $7,500 in commitments. Everyone I went to said, 'Yes.'"
The show's early days were typical jitters, butterflies, a little dead air and callers hung up on, but nothing that experience wouldn't overcome.
"Jay is a natural on the radio," said Larry, 47. "I'm far from a natural. I remember our first show. I was very nervous. The biggest sin is when nothing is being said. And what surprised me later was how people would come up to me and talk to me about the show. They were listening to us."
Jay, 46, said he can't go back and listen to recordings of the show. He doesn't like to hear himself. And he calls the show a "work in progress."
But what the modest host would never say is that he does have an extreme command of his interview style. His questions are always intelligent, and perhaps the best sign of his talent is that week after week he can make an otherwise untrained, perhaps boring, interviewee sound better, energized.
"I think it was like in our third week that we figured out our roles," said Larry. "I'm not an interviewer. Jay is great at it. All along, our goal has been to be a Jewish show for the entire community."
"There are obvious challenges," piped in Jay. "But all in all, this is tremendously rewarding. We're doing something that is enriching the entire community. We've given Baltimore something it didn't have before. With everything going on in the world, we're playing an important role. We present another side from mainstream TV and radio."
Jay said he was skeptical that the show would have this sort of longevity. He admittedly said, "I see an empty glass while Larry sees a glass flowing over."
"I came to Jay with this crazy idea for the show," Larry said.
"I said, 'Are you nuts?'
"Larry is very passionate about the issues he cares about," said Jay. "Remember we're doing this on a voluntary basis. Unless you feel passionate, you wouldn't do it. This show never would have been successful without his continued hard work and passion. He's right of center. He's a right-wing nut," Jay said with a detectable grin."
"Jay is the most versatile educated person I know," is how Larry describes his partner. "He can talk on any topic and interview anyone. The audience learns a lot by listening to him." Not to be outdone, Larry says, "and he's a left-winger ... who has seen the light when it comes to Israel. He's as far to the left as I am to the right."
Both men spend countless hours of their own time preparing for the Sunday morning show, which can be heard largely from Reston, Va., to Wilmington, -Del. Larry often does not get to bed before 2 a.m. the morning of the show.
"They are very dedicated to keeping a Jewish voice on the air," said Shifra Malka, the voice of Shalom USA's Sunday evening women's program. "It's amazing to me that they've been at this for five years. It's not easy. It's not always appreciated or understood, yet they keep at it. They are there every weekend. I motion to them that I need help, and they come running with smiles on their faces. This is almost altruistic in nature. I think that what they enjoy is giving to the community."
Laura Cohen, Larry's wife of 26 years, would agree with that assessment, especially when it comes to describing her husband.
"A happier man makes the happier marriage and happier family," she said. "I wish everyone could find what makes them enjoy their work. He'd do this full time if he could. And anyone who knows Larry, knows he's passionate and emotional about everything he does."
"I'm not surprised by what Jay has to say," said his wife Dina. "The same opinions he expresses over the air are expressed over dinner."
The couple, married for what Dina calls 20-plus years, have three children. She is also not surprised that her husband loves being on radio. She remembers when he was a Yeshiva University student, and had a call-in and music show that the women at Stern College used to love to listen to.
"He's not a different person on the air," she said. "He's pretty consistent."
One of the show's signatures is its all-day Dec. 25 program, broadcast from Tov Pizza. Sometimes the show is the latest outlet in news from Israel, especially when a terrorist event emanates from Israel. Last Chanukah, Shalom USA was on the air when a terrorist blew up a bus shelter outside of Petach Tikveh. Earlier in the same broadcast, they added a local flair with an interview with Suburban Orthodox members touring Israel.
"When I think of Shalom USA, I think of great Jewish radio," said Baltimore Zionist District executive vice president Tami Adelman. "What they do is provide a service to the community. And that they've been able to be successful for so many years says a great deal about Larry and Jay."
On a relatively quiet news day, the two sit in the restaurant and disagree with one another.
"I think what sometimes separates Jay and I are fact vs. emotion," said Larry. "The right wing's basis is religion and passion. The right wing believes in God- given truths. The left doesn't have the faith the right does. The left believes that the system is based on man. When Jews are being beheaded, we aren't negotiating good and evil. Because we have an obligation to fight evil."
"Sharon might be right [in leaving Gaza]," said Jay. "I just don't know what the right answer is. It's scary for me."
And then Larry goes after Jay, a little. "The liberal believes that everyone is good at heart," said Larry. "They believe that the Palestinians will learn to live with us. No, they won't. The key difference. I'm conservative radio, Jay is NPR [National Public Radio]."
Jay begins to get his dander up a little at this point.
"NPR is intelligent, provocative radio ..."
"Here it comes," said Larry.
The voices rise. Other restaurant customers put their sandwiches down and look to the source of the short outburst.
If Jay and Larry have a dream, it's to one day own a radio station and broadcast Jewish programming 24/7. Leave it to Larry. He did find a station to purchase. He "only" needed $6 million to do it.
Last year, Larry attended the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. There were 1,100 Christian stations represented. He was the only representative of a Jewish show.
"Everyone says that the Jews own the media," he said. "There isn't one Jewish radio station in the country."
What helps the show survive, besides its advertisers, is its status as a non-profit 501c-3. Shalom USA's fund-raising umbrella is called the Jewish Radio Foundation.
But what does Larry say about Jay after five years together on the radio?
"I didn't know that it would be so effortless for him to be on the radio," Larry says about his partner. "But at the same time, he is completely inept with anything technical," he jokingly added.
Looking across the table, Jay returns the "compliment."
"Larry's restlessness is good and bad," says Jay.
"He wants to do this ... full time. In the two-hour show, I'm more the individual. But Larry's pushing the envelope always."
|
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies 
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies