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Continued from preceding page

Country Buttermilk

weather and sports.
After graduating from the _
Like sunrise in a country kitchen. We start with all natural
University of Texas, he re-
buttermilk, add organically grown unbleached flour and
mained in Austin to work for
mix with honey, water, sea salt and
an oldies station, KIXL. He
000••''"?.
yeast. Naturally simple, nutritional-
was officially the assistant
OV
ly delicious. Perfect for your sand- CVO cil
news director — in a two-man
■
,' os
news department, he admits
wiches or cinnamon toast. Bring
00°
as
— and did "just about
some home now.
b
~s
3 1
I -90t
everything" at the station,
314
OC t •
from covering the Texas
legislature to signing off the
daytime station to sweeping
the floors. In other words, a
typical entry-level radio job.
New management soon
changed the station from
oldies to gospel/inspirational.
"Here's a Jewish reporter,"
recalls Berk, "working for a
Come home to the natural taste of handmade breads
Christian radio station cover-
Rochester
West Bloomfield
ing atheist news conferences.
818 N. Main Street
4301 Orchard Lake Road
That was really a trip."
652-1280
Crosswinds Mall
Berk left the station in
737-1959
1977, gaining his first televi-
Hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
sion job with KFDM, the
CBS-TV affiliate in Beau-
mont. There he was a news
reporter during the week and
a sports reporter on
32734
weekends.
Grand River
Your Hosts,
In 1979, he was off to
1 /4 Mile East
Larry & Mimi
of Farmington Rd.
Jacksonville, Fla., working •
Freedman
briefly for the ABC affiliate
In The
before receiving a better offer
VILLAGE
OPEN 7 DAYS
from the local CBS affiliate,
MON.-SAT 10-9
COMMONS
WJXT. There he was the
SUN. 12-8
MALL
weekend sports anchor for the
PHONE
Post-Newsweek-owned
471-DAWG
COMPLETE MENU
station.
TRY OUR GREAT CHARBROILED DINE IN OR CARRY-OUT
In 1983, Detroit's WDIV,
CHICKEN BREAST SANDWICH,
also owned by Post-
1
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1 /3 LB. CHARBURGER, ETC.
Newsweek, hired Berk away
• MAXWELL STREET POLISH
from the sunbelt. He remain-
• CHILI • SOUPS
ed there until 1987. In March
• ITALIAN SAUSAGE
of last year he returned to
• ITALIAN.BEEF • COD FILLET
. • CHARBROILED SALAMI
radio, doing the morning
DINNER SPECIAL
• CLAMS & SHRIMP
drive-time sports on WWJ. He
MON.-SAT. 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• TUNA SALAD • EGG SALAD
then accepted a job as sports
• TACO SALAD
SUN. 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
reporter and back-up anchor
• CHICKEN SALAD
Not Good With Any Other
at WKBD-TV three months
• CHILI CHEESE FRIES
Coupons or Discounts
• ONION RINGS • PIZZA PUFFS
later. He has juggled the two
• CHEESE CAKE (Slice or Wunderbar)
JN
• Expires 11-4-88 1
jobs since.
• SOFT SERVE CONE OR DISH
Berk, who does eight radio
sportscasts each weekday
morning, adds that radio is
I COUPON I im
"not as pressure-packed as is
television. Because in televi-
sion, you have one shot, three
minutes, to get it all in, to get
OPEN 7 DAYS — 11 a.m. to 12 Mid.
the whole day in, or whatever.
You talk about enormous
pressure . . . But the/Vs an
INCLUDES: 2 POTATOES,
2 COLE SLAWS
excitement to television that
AND BREAD FOR 2
you just can't match that I
really enjoy."
It's also hard for him to
INCLUDES: 2 POTATOES,
leave the studio and be just
2 COLE SLAWS
another face in the crowd. "I
AND BREAD FOR 2
get inundated with people
saying, 'Hey, what do you
think about the Tigers?' or
• 1 Coupon Per Order Coupon Expires 11-4-88
the Red Wings or whatever. I
TRY OUR DAILY SPECIALS MON.-FRI. (Inquire Within)
enjoy that to a certain extent.
FARMINGTON HILLS — 851-7000 1 LIVONIA — 427-6500
But sometimes you just want
30843 PLYMOUTH RD. j
to get away from it."
L 31006 ORCHARD LAKE RD. AT 14
Berk's radio schedule forces
him to get up at 4 a.m. on
THE BRIGHT IDEA
weekdays, often after a late
night of television work,
which is new for him. On the
send
plus side, he has most of his
354-6060
as a gift
weekends free. For most of his

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THE JEWISH NEWS

Jim Berk researches some facts for a sports report.

titude, that the only thing you
career he worked on
can control is yourself?'
weekends which, he says,
Many of those who report
"was difficult on a social life.
sports in Detroit on TV and
I was married for many of
radio are Jewish. Berk says
those years. I'm recently
that is not unique to Detroit.
divorced?'
"It's all over the country. You
Berk says that he does not
see a lot of Jewish sport-
allow his celebrity status to
scasters. I don't know what it
keep him home. However,
is . . . Maybe it's the fact that
"I'm not much of a rabble-
we're all kind of frustrated
rouser," he explains,
jocks in a certain way. We
"somebOdy who goes out and
want to be close to what we
parties all the time. I like to
wanted to do."
stay home a lot and read and
As for his future, Berk
do my writing sometimes."
stresses that he wants to con-
Berk is Detroit's only poet-
tinue in television, as well as
sportscaster. "I like to do that.
radio. Television, he says,
It's something that I think
"was the main thrust of my
maybe sets me apart from
career for many years, for
some others, if I can work
most of my career."
some poetry into my sport-
The future, for most sport-
casts."
scasters, is rarely clear. "It's
Berk is no flabby sports
a very transient business. In
spectator. He was a high
order for you to make your
school swimmer who still
niche you have to move
swims regularly. He keeps a
around." But Berk is happy in
lot of his miles, and just pass-
Detroit.
ed 1,800 for his life. He also
"For the first time in a long
lifts weights. "Athletics is a
time I really feel like I'm star-
very big part of my life," he
ting to develop my roots here.
says. "Not only do I cover it
I've established something in
but it's almost like I'm ad-
this town — recognition. I feel
dicted to working out and
comfortable here; people
training."
know me; I know the com-
When Berk moved from
munity. I know the sports; I
Florida to the frost belt five
know the athletes now. I real-
years ago he adapted in his
ly would like to stay here; I
typical style. Rather than
really enjoy Detroit. It's a
complain about the cold and
great sports town, terrific. A
snowy winters, he learned
lot of things to do, never a dull
cross country skiing.
moment. 0
Another adjustment Berk
made was to the scrutiny the
Detroit sports fans and print
media give to its sport-
Rappaports
scasters. "They come under
Are Sought
the microscope a lot more
The Birmingham Theatre
than other media cities, the
is looking for persons named
cities that I've worked in,"
Berk agrees, adding that "It's
Rappaport!
In conjunction with its cur-
good and it's bad . . . You'll
never be able to please
rent production, I'm Not Rap-
everybody. You just go out and
paport, the theater is offering
persons named Rappaport
do the best job you can. I
free tickets to its 8 p.m. Tues-
know it's a cliche, I hear it all
day performance. Jack
the time in sports. You just do
Weston stars in the
the best you can and if that's
not good enough, tough.
production.
For details, call Shirl Har-
That's Sparky (Anderson's)
attitude. But it's the best at-
ris, 644-1096.

4