Michael Berry is a well-known public figure in Houston. He has been a regular radio host of several popular shows for over 20 years. Before that, he worked as a lawyer, developer, restaurateur and served as a member of the Houston City Council for several terms. He positions himself as a conservative member of society and a champion of traditional values. However, after the events of 2012, he seems to be not such a conservative man. Read more on houston1.one.
Family, education and finding a path of his own
Michael Christian Berry was born on November 10, 1970 in Orange, Texas. His family was an average American family of the second half of the 20th century. His father worked as an inspector at a chemical plant. His mother was a nurse in a hospice. From childhood, Michael was an excellent speaker. He had a beautiful voice and loved publicity. This trait remained until his student years.
He received his first education at the University of Houston, which he graduated with honors. While studying at the university, Michael Berry was the president of the students’ organization. Maybe, at this time, he got a taste of power over the crowd. After graduating from the University of Houston, he received a bachelor’s degree in political science. Having a good reputation and recommendations from professors, Michael continued his studies at the University of Texas School of Law. He graduated from it, receiving a doctorate in law. However, he did not stop there. The next institution was the University of Nottingham. He successfully graduated from this university. The young man became a master of international law.
Having received such solid knowledge, Berry could choose any place of work. He liked Houston. He began his career as a lawyer in this southern city. The young lawyer got a job at a branch of the famous firm, Jenkens & Gilchrist. However, in the 1990s, the firm was involved in a high-profile scandal. Due to financial fraud, legal process began. Most of the branches were closed. Therefore, Michael Berry left the firm and his law practice.
In 1997, he founded his own company, Michael Berry Properties. Later, the firm was renamed Brenham Partners. However, things did not go quite smoothly here either. Gradually, Michael Berry switched to politics. He became a member of the city council. His talkativeness and legal skills allowed him to become a public figure in Houston. He was re-elected to this position three times. During this time, he also served as vice mayor of the city.
During his political career, he managed to receive the recognition of Councilman of the Year. It was awarded to him by the Houston Police Officers Union. The next achievement was a victory in a lawsuit involving Shawn Welling, who owned the Houston film company Welling Films. Lawyer and politician Mike Berry was able to help win the case. As a token of gratitude, he was allowed to become a producer of one of the films that the film company was making.
Career as a radio host
As a well-known city figure, Michael often appeared on the radio. His talkativeness became the talk of the town. However, radio stations invited him because it raised the rating. Gradually, Berry became a regular guest on the radio. He began his own career as a radio host in 2000. At first, he was the host of a small program on the local radio station, KPRC. Later, his own show was transferred to KTRH. His program covered a wide range of topics. These include politics, social issues, local news and humor.
Not everyone liked the manner of communication of radio host Michael Berry. Quite often, he got into scandals because of his statements. Berry is proud of this, often confusing the expression of his own opinion with good manners. However, this approach makes a good rating for the radio. Therefore, such antics of Michael are overlooked. Moreover, in addition to the morning program, he was allowed to conduct his provocative show in the most rated evening time.
Shock jock style
Michael Berry positions himself as a conservative man. Conservative but absurd things are repeatedly heard from his broadcasts. More churches and fewer professors. More weapons and less recycling. More country music and beer, but fewer gays and modern art. He repeatedly insults people on racial grounds. Thus, he once said on his show that black people don’t know how to exist without white people. He also said that most white people would like to get as far away from black people as possible and never see another black person again. When he is reprimanded or given a remark, he can apologize. However, he will continue again in the next broadcast.
Still, he didn’t always get away with such antics. In one of the broadcasts, he talked about the Park51 Muslim community center. It was planned to be built not far from the site of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Berry said: ‘I hope that someone blows it up’. At that time, he was supposed to receive the Talk Personality of the Year award at the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards. The commission received complaints about this incident. In addition, several other facts surface, such as a derogatory statement about the victims of the murders in Chicago. Therefore, Michael Berry never received the award. However, this did not impress him a lot. He did not like the style of communication changed and continues to conduct his shows in the same manner.
‘Conservative’ Michael Berry
We have already mentioned the traditional American values of the radio host. He always adheres to and defends them. Berry even created his own organization, the Redneck Country Club (RCC). It unites people with traditional views. Michael Berry considers this organization a temple to his own philosophy.
However, he almost destroyed his temple himself. It happened in 2012. The famous radio host got into an accident. It happened in Montrose, a famous gay district of Houston. When the cops began to find out the details of the case, they watched the video from surveillance cameras. They were horrified. The ardent conservative and champion of traditional moral values was at TC’s Show Bar. It is known in Houston as a semi-hidden place for urban transvestites. Berry stayed there for quite a while. According to the radio host, he just wanted to drink a cold beer to calm down after the accident. However, this version is sewn with white threads. You can find a cold beer anywhere in Houston. One doesn’t have to travel to a remote, disreputable area to do this.
Whatever it was, the matter was hushed up. Rumor has it that Michael Berry lost a large sum of money. However, the reputation of an ardent conservative was slightly tarnished.
Family and traditional values
Radio host Berry is married to Nandita Venkateswaran. He met his future wife on the campus of the University of Houston. At that time, a young student was assigned by the alumni association to help a student from India. In 1993, they got married. They have no children of their own. However, they adopted two boys from Ethiopia. Nandy Berry was the 109th Secretary of State of Texas in 2014-2015.
Despite such scandalous outrageousness of Michael Berry’s show, he does not lose his ratings positions. He is listened to in the morning, discussed in the evening and Michael’s broadcasts are discussed at all times. He is not particularly bothered by criticism. He continues to host a radio show and seems to simply enjoy communicating at the DJ console.