Deal Or No Deal
I happen to know both very well. David is what he is, and it is WALL STREET and it is AMERICA. He has done well for himself... WEAZE is a rare and special broadcaster who made his success on his own terms and built solid relationships that made him very successful. Comparing him to any other Rochester personality would be like comparing a 1945 Mouton Rothschild to a bottle of Zima.
I don't know about anybody else on the board, but damn, I'm impressed!
For the record: I'm neither management nor competitor. I'm viewing the scrum from the inside-out and at a distance. I've met all three at industry gatherings, but do not know them for more than the fleeting time we said "hello, good to meet you." I have no dog in this fight, but as usual, I have my well-measured opinion.
Field the Younger is a brilliant man and he's credited as such in my initial post. Still, I do not like the him. He reminds me of Gordon Gekko. From the Michael Milken School of Wall Street. The kind of guy who shakes your hand with the wet-fish grip, then has the audacity to wipe his hand on his pants while scanning the room for somebody more important to talk to. Get my drift? Now the old man, he's salt of the earth; a tough, smart, old-school guy who looks you in the eye and isn't afraid to tell you what he thinks.
I'm a Genny Cream and fish fry kinda guy who watches the chosen few drink the
Mouton Rothschild from the other side of the room but still keeps one hand on his wallet. My old man poured concrete for a living. Some days we ate steak, some days we ate spaghetti and saltines... but we always ate together as a family. I stand by my initial observation.
Viscerally, I'd like to see Wease stick it to 'em, but as Mike said in a great metaphor, "it's their sandbox." If I was making king sized money and the company told me to take a 50 per cent pay cut, I'd be "rather upset" (subsititute expletive of your choice.) But y'know something? When management makes an offer, you kinda get an idea of what they think of you and what your bottom line worth is. It's a cold dose of reality, but at least you know where you stand.
Think about what happened to John Murphy at Channel 7 Buffalo when Granite was going to cut his (some say "bloated") salary. He walked. There's a man of conviction. Of course, Murphy has a wife who collects a nice check and he lives a bit more conservatively than Alan Levin (although who really knows these days) AND he probably has a gig lined up when his non-compete ends.
It's not a personal relationship. It's business. Trust no one. Keeps your friends close and your enemies closer.
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