ON AIR WITH HOWARD COHEN

If you have ever met Jeff Berkowitz and his, um, tiny camera, you might cast him aside as a looney bin who has a cable show in his Mom’s basement.

Popping up here and there, and whining tough questions to dazed politicians, angry handlers have debated whether to ignore him or engage him.

But in the small Midwest, where weathermen are media stars, our political class is perplexed: his cable show is booked between test patterns, but he is on TV and that makes him a real reporter, right?

Probably not. Despite his boasting, watching him on TV makes one ponder whether he won his gig (and his suit) in a Kiwanis raffle.

That being said, the Shadow sees hope for attorney Berkowitz. His tenacity, rudeness, wit and stumbling reminds me of another irritant who also chucked the law for a microphone.

That cub reporter’s name was Howard Cohen, more commonly known as Howard Cosell.

In his middle life, Cosell exited his successful legal practice to pursue his dream. But the only job available was announcing little league games gratis before massive crowds of 27. For years, Cosell annoyed parents, berated children for striking out and treated every game like the World Series. But he refused to be ignored and eventually transformed himself into an icon.

Does Mr. Berkowitz’ future hold the same? Who knows.

But like Cosell, Berkowitz is not going away anytime soon.