Richard Chapin Passes

Richard Chapin, a Nebraska radio executive who spent more than three decades building a Midwest broadcast powerhouse and who was the first broadcaster to serve as the chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau at the same time, died at the age of 99.

No information about the cause of death was provided. His death was first reported by KFOR (1240 AM, 103.3 FM), the Lincoln radio station that he oversaw for more than 30 years.

Chapin started his broadcast career in the early 1950s, joining KFOR as an account executive and working his way to the top. He ran KFOR and sister station, KFRX, for several years before joining Stuart Investment Company in 1958. While at Stuart, Chapin continued to oversee operations at KFOR and KFRX while adding a number of other stations to the company’s portfolio, including outlets in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.

In 1985, Stuart was purchased by DKM Broadcasting, and Chapin was promoted to the role of president for the company’s Midwest division.

Chapin also served as the chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters, one that earned him the NAB Distinguished Service Award in 1974. He was also elected to serve as the chairman of the Radio Advertising Bureau, becoming the first broadcaster to chair both industry trade groups simultaneously.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Chapin for his remarkable contributions to the industry,” Curtis LeGeyt, the CEO of NAB, said in a statement emailed to Radio Ink on Saturday. “As we celebrate NAB’s centennial year in 2023, we are reminded of the broadcast pioneers, like Dick Chapin, whose distinguished service paved the way for so many other broadcasters. Our hearts go out to the Chapin family, his friends and colleagues.”

In the 1970s, he was given an honorary lifetime membership from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and inducted into that group’s Hall of Fame.