Carl Kanefsky left WDEL

[MikefromDelaware]

WDEL newsman Carl Kanefsky has left WDEL to work for a politician (forget their name) in Dover according to the News Journal a few days ago. Carl and I worked at WAMS in 1987, he also worked at WILM, Channel 12, and WDEL. Carl is a good reporter. I'll miss hearing his reports on WDEL. Wishing him the best of luck in his new career.

 

[650AM]

"As of Monday, Kanefsky is the press secretary for Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf."

I bet Delmarva Broadcasting will leave the slot vacant and take advantage having one less paycheck to fill out.

 

[Chris Carl]

Hello all.

This is being published in a number of places. It was posted on All Access last week.

News Reporter/Anchor

WDEL-AM, Wilmington, Delaware has a rare opening for a full-time reporter/anchor.

WDEL has one of the most unique newsrooms in the country – producing national award-winning radio, video and text stories. Applicants must have demonstrated success in writing, producing and editing audio and video content for radio and web. Responsibilities include government beat covering Wilmington and Dover, DE.

Send fantastic examples of your work to [email protected]

Delmarva Broadcasting Company is an equal opportunity employer.

 

[warmland]

WDEL newsman Carl Kanefsky has left WDEL to work for a politician (forget their name) in Dover according to the News Journal a few days ago. Carl and I worked at WAMS in 1987, he also worked at WILM, Channel 12, and WDEL. Carl is a good reporter. I'll miss hearing his reports on WDEL. Wishing him the best of luck in his new career.

Mike, was this during the Joe Fraley days? I don't recall you or Carl there in 87. There was Gerri Smith, Frank Gerace in news. On air was Todd Holiday, Chris O'Brein, Bob Charger and a few others in 87 and 88.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Mike, was this during the Joe Fraley days? I don't recall you or Carl there in 87. There was Gerri Smith, Frank Gerace in news. On air was Todd Holiday, Chris O'Brein, Bob Charger and a few others in 87 and 88.

I was hired by then PD Kevin Fennessy, he left shortly after that and Todd Holiday became the PD. I worked on Saturday evenings doing a live on air show from 6pm-7pm then board op'd Dick Bartley's Solid Gold Saturday night. I did news and sports headlines and weather during Bartley's show. Eventually, Todd Holiday dropped the Bartley show and I board op'd Holiday doing live remotes from Galluchios after my one hour show. Bob Charger trained me in using the board and understanding the format and how they wanted things to be done. Carl Kenefsky was in the news room while I was there. Also Scott Graham, former Phillies play by play announcer, covered sports for WAMS while I was there. Those guys all worked during the weekdays.

Yes I remember Joe Farley. We had this promotion going on with Jim O'hanlin's Dunkin Donuts where the 7th caller won a dozen donuts. We were to record the winner on tape while a record was playing getting the caller to say why they liked listening to the new WAMS (it had just recently switched from playing Country to Oldies). Well this one night my 7th caller was some young kid and when I asked him why he liked listening to WAMS he said, I hate your station, my mom listens and I just called in to win the donuts. I stopped the tape, and as with most oldies songs being of about 2 - 2 1/2 minutes in length my time just ran out. So I had a choice of playing the tape or going live with the kid and NOT asking him about why he listened to WAMS. I went live. I congratulated the kid on being the 7th caller and winning the donuts and asked him what were his favorite donuts, etc. and ended the conversation quickly with me saying a plug for the new WAMS and going to my next record. Well I get a phone call moments later, from Joe Farley. He said he was out in his car with his girlfriend and he just heard my conversation with the kid, and he proceeded to ream me out and cuss me out, because I didn't get the kid to promote WAMS. When Farley stopped talking, I firmly told him what had happened with the taped interview and about going live, etc, and avoiding asking the kid on air about WAMS and that I've never had an employer speak to me that way by yelling and cussing me out and if he didn't back off immediately I'd play the tape right after this record ended and I'd walk out the door leaving his station without anyone there to be on the air and he could have a very long version of the Sounds of Silence with real dead air as he could shove his station where the sun don't shine (remember it was a Saturday night, I was the only person there). You never heard someone back pedal so fast and apologize and said very sheepishly, that I did the right thing by not playing the tape of the kid and thanks for the quick thinking on my feet. He never spoke to me in such a manner again. I figured that I'd be fired the following week, but that didn't happen. The only time I actually did see Farley was at those once a month weekday meetings they'd have that they insisted the weekend people come to also. Farley and I got along fine after that and I really enjoyed my time at WAMS.

Joe Farley had a stable of great radio talent working at WAMS at that time. I was delighted to get to meet and talk with all those folks at those meetings, and be a part of it. All were very helpful to me when I first arrived and was being trained and were great to work with, they all were professionals and even though I was only a weekender doing a one hour show and board opping, they treated me like a real part of the team. I left WAMS at the end of October 1987.

 

[warmland]

Yes I remember Joe Farley. We had this promotion going on with Jim O'hanlin's Dunkin Donuts where the 7th caller won a dozen donuts. We were to record the winner on tape while a record was playing getting the caller to say why they liked listening to the new WAMS (it had just recently switched from playing Country to Oldies). Well this one night my 7th caller was some young kid and when I asked him why he liked listening to WAMS he said, I hate your station, my mom listens and I just called in to win the donuts. I stopped the tape, and as with most oldies songs being of about 2 - 2 1/2 minutes in length my time just ran out. So I had a choice of playing the tape or going live with the kid and NOT asking him about why he listened to WAMS. I went live. I congratulated the kid on being the 7th caller and winning the donuts and asked him what were his favorite donuts, etc. and ended the conversation quickly with me saying a plug for the new WAMS and going to my next record. Well I get a phone call moments later, from Joe Farley. He said he was out in his car with his girlfriend and he just heard my conversation with the kid, and he proceeded to ream me out and cuss me out, because I didn't get the kid to promote WAMS. When Farley stopped talking, I firmly told him what had happened with the taped interview and about going live, etc, and avoiding asking the kid on air about WAMS and that I've never had an employer speak to me that way by yelling and cussing me out and if he didn't back off immediately I'd play the tape right after this record ended and I'd walk out the door leaving his station without anyone there to be on the air and he could have a very long version of the Sounds of Silence with real dead air as he could shove his station where the sun don't shine (remember it was a Saturday night, I was the only person there). You never heard someone back pedal so fast and apologize and said very sheepishly, that I did the right thing by not playing the tape of the kid and thanks for the quick thinking on my feet. He never spoke to me in such a manner again. I figured that I'd be fired the following week, but that didn't happen. The only time I actually did see Farley was at those once a month weekday meetings they'd have that they insisted the weekend people come to also. Farley and I got along fine after that and I really enjoyed my time at WAMS.

\
Wow Farley was in the car with his girlfriend??? I wonder if Mrs. Farley knew about that? Farley had a short fuse and blew up alot and was great at calling jocks on the air on scream and yell. A classic mom and pop operation wit no mon, just pop.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Wow Farley was in the car with his girlfriend??? I wonder if Mrs. Farley knew about that? Farley had a short fuse and blew up alot and was great at calling jocks on the air on scream and yell. A classic mom and pop operation wit no mon, just pop.

I didn't know Joe Farley very well (after all I only worked there 6 hours per week and he owed the station) so as I only saw him at those monthly meetings and we sure didn't hang in the same social circles, I have no idea if he was married then or not. At the time I assumed he was a bachelor or divorced, as it wasn't my job to probe into or judge his life (as the ole expression goes, it ain't none of my business), I just spun records for him at $5.00/hr. As long as he didn't ask me to do anything illegal, immoral, or unethical I had no problems. He was the one who said it was his girl friend. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he could have been flattering his wife and teasing her, by calling her his "girl friend" as they had a wild night out on the town. I'm content to go with that interpretation as to what he meant. It serves no purpose to speculate further and that wasn't the point of my telling the story. I was simply sharing an ole "war story" of my working at WAMS.

 

[warmland]

Wow Farley was in the car with his girlfriend??? I wonder if Mrs. Farley knew about that? Farley had a short fuse and blew up alot and was great at calling jocks on the air on scream and yell. A classic mom and pop operation wit no mon, just pop.

I didn't know Joe Farley very well (after all I only worked there 6 hours per week and he owed the station) so as I only saw him at those monthly meetings and we sure didn't hang in the same social circles, I have no idea if he was married then or not. At the time I assumed he was a bachelor or divorced, as it wasn't my job to probe into or judge his life (as the ole expression goes, it ain't none of my business), I just spun records for him at $5.00/hr. As long as he didn't ask me to do anything illegal, immoral, or unethical I had no problems. He was the one who said it was his girl friend. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he could have been flattering his wife and teasing her, by calling her his "girl friend" as they had a wild night out on the town. I'm content to go with that interpretation as to what he meant. It serves no purpose to speculate further and that wasn't the point of my telling the story. I was simply sharing an ole "war story" of my working at WAMS.

$5.00 an hour is perrty good money for WAMS, even in those long gone days.

Just teasing Mr. Farley a bit on the girlfirend comment. Your right, it's is no concern of ours. Plus,no one cares.

 

[OldNumber7]

Hi, Todd Hallidy here. I was reading this thread and figured I ought to chime in. Hi Mike! Warmland, do I know you? What's the name behind the handle? Just to set the record straight, I was not the PD at WAMS. After Kevin's exit, I was named acting PD during the transition and was formally named Operations Manager when Bob Charger became PD. Basically, Bob handled music, talent development and presentation issues and he I consulted on talent hiring/firing. I also was the guy who could best speak the same language as the on-call engineer and communicate the station's studio/equipment needs. And, somehow, I got to be the guy responsible for arranging all the phone lines and Marti shots for remotes and sports -- at least until Dave Schmidt became the regular engineer. I could tell you stories about climbing the roof at Gallucio's to mount the Yagi -- it's amazing I didn't break my neck, or die, or both. Anyone who was there then has a treasure trove of great war stories, but Mike that Joe Farley story really cracked me up (and no, I have no inside knowledge on the "girlfriend" remark!). BTW, pulling Dick Bartley's show off the air wasn't my idea, or Charger's. Basically, it was a sales decision -- the salesmen said Gallucio's would buy three hours for live remotes every Saturday night (I think it was a 13 week deal), so we did it. I don't remember what we did after the contract was over.
Back to the start of the thread: Congrats to Carl on the gig. He is a first-rate radio talent and will be a first-rate PR flak for the state.

 

[jimwalsh2001]

Hey Todd...good hearing from you... ;D

 

[MikefromDelaware]

I second Jim's comment, Todd it's good hearing from you.

Thanks for the clarification of the job titles you and Bob had and how the leadership was divided up between you guys. Yes I remember you telling me about the adventures you had trying to get the Yagi up on Gallucio's roof for those remotes.

A question for you Todd or anyone else for that matter. I felt that Joe Farley, Kevin, Bob, and then you had put together a solid station with a great format and have wondered if WAMS had been an FM station or even a strong AM signal like WDEL's rather than the very directional AM station at 1380 would that incarnation of WAMS, as an Oldies station, have succeeded?

 

[OldNumber7]

I second Jim's comment, Todd it's good hearing from you.

Thanks for the clarification of the job titles you and Bob had and how the leadership was divided up between you guys. Yes I remember you telling me about the adventures you had trying to get the Yagi up on Gallucio's roof for those remotes.

A question for you Todd or anyone else for that matter. I felt that Joe Farley, Kevin, Bob, and then you had put together a solid station with a great format and have wondered if WAMS had been an FM station or even a strong AM signal like WDEL's rather than the very directional AM station at 1380 would that incarnation of WAMS, as an Oldies station, have succeeded?

There is no question that WAMS was seriously handicapped both by the narrow AM signal, and the demise in AM listening. The Oldies format made sense for WAMS at the time (May '87) for several reasons, but that reasoning went out the window six months later when OGL and IOQ both flipped to oldies on FM. Even if WAMS had a better AM signal than it did, it would not have been competitive in that environment. With a better AM signal, some of the last ditch attempts to save the place (satellite, brokering etc) might have kept the place in business longer than they did, but it would not have been what it was. Could WAMS have survived on FM? Well, if WAMS had been on FM, it might not have had to flip to oldies in the first place -- and if it had been an oldies FM on the day the Philly stations went oldies, I think it would have made sense to give up the format for something more contemporary. Obviously, as an FM property there would have been many long term money-making opportunities.

 

[warmland]

Hi, Todd Hallidy here. Just to set the record straight, I was not the PD at WAMS. After Kevin's exit, I was named acting PD during the transition and was formally named Operations Manager when Bob Charger became PD.to the start of the thread: Congrats to Carl on the gig. He is a first-rate radio talent and will be a first-rate PR flak for the state.

Hello Todd, I remember you at WAMS. I was a regular fan of WAMS. Where are youworking these days? I also rember Frank gerace and Chris O'Brein and Gerri Smith. I think O'Brein was the last PD at WAMS before it went dark.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

There is no question that WAMS was seriously handicapped both by the narrow AM signal, and the demise in AM listening. The Oldies format made sense for WAMS at the time (May '87) for several reasons, but that reasoning went out the window six months later when OGL and IOQ both flipped to oldies on FM. Even if WAMS had a better AM signal than it did, it would not have been competitive in that environment. With a better AM signal, some of the last ditch attempts to save the place (satellite, brokering etc) might have kept the place in business longer than they did, but it would not have been what it was. Could WAMS have survived on FM? Well, if WAMS had been on FM, it might not have had to flip to oldies in the first place -- and if it had been an oldies FM on the day the Philly stations went oldies, I think it would have made sense to give up the format for something more contemporary. Obviously, as an FM property there would have been many long term money-making opportunities.

Thanks for the background and history. Sounds like no matter what we did at WAMS, we were spinning our wheels. If I understand your point correctly, a Philly FM would beat out a Wilmington FM in the same format, in this case Oldies? So local (Wilmington) listeners would still migrate to the Philly FM over an excellent Wilmington FM doing the same format. If that is true I can imagine the PD's at WJBR and WSTW not sleeping very well. Are you still in radio? I haven't heard your voice since you left WDEL a number of years ago. Thanks for chimming in and offering the details for the summer of '87 at WAMS.

 

[OldNumber7]

Thanks for the background and history. Sounds like no matter what we did at WAMS, we were spinning our wheels. If I understand your point correctly, a Philly FM would beat out a Wilmington FM in the same format, in this case Oldies? So local (Wilmington) listeners would still migrate to the Philly FM over an excellent Wilmington FM doing the same format. If that is true I can imagine the PD's at WJBR and WSTW not sleeping very well. Are you still in radio? I haven't heard your voice since you left WDEL a number of years ago. Thanks for chimming in and offering the details for the summer of '87 at WAMS.

I only meant that if I were running a Wilmington FM oldies station in 1987 and two Philly stations were suddenly stealing some of my audience share (and with the bucks to outpromote me) I might consider moving in a different direction -- their flips would create new opportunities. Just a hypothetical.

I've been out of radio since I left WDEL. For the last seven years I have been working for the Associated Press and recently moved from the Baltimore bureau to the brand new East regional editing desk based in Philly. It's great to be back in the area; not much has changed. The Action News Team, John DiBella, Geno's, boathouse row, the state stores -- everything is still the same!

My WAMS experience meant a lot to me. My 20 months there were stressful, fun, insane, fun, hard work, fun and a labor of love. I had the privilege of working with terrific people in a sad facility. Sorta like a 460 V8 under the hood of an AMC Gremlin. Some of their names have been mentioned in this thread, including Jim Walsh (How ya doin?). Here are a few others who passed through the doors who I will never forget: George Benson (he and I gobbled up the entire trade at Feby's), Jimmy "Cannonball" Parsons -- an amazing personality, musicologist and a hell of a nice guy (is he still on this Earth?), and Gerri Smith -- my partner in morning crime.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

I only meant that if I were running a Wilmington FM oldies station in 1987 and two Philly stations were suddenly stealing some of my audience share (and with the bucks to outpromote me) I might consider moving in a different direction -- their flips would create new opportunities. Just a hypothetical.

I've been out of radio since I left WDEL. For the last seven years I have been working for the Associated Press and recently moved from the Baltimore bureau to the brand new East regional editing desk based in Philly. It's great to be back in the area; not much has changed. The Action News Team, John DiBella, Geno's, boathouse row, the state stores -- everything is still the same!

My WAMS experience meant a lot to me. My 20 months there were stressful, fun, insane, fun, hard work, fun and a labor of love. I had the privilege of working with terrific people in a sad facility. Sorta like a 460 V8 under the hood of an AMC Gremlin.

I guess that is always a problem with having a major market only 23 miles away, more promotional money to spend, etc, that a medium market is hard pressed to compete against.

I thought the WAMS studio was a pretty decent set up (realize I had worked at WJIC/WNNN-FM Salem, NJ; and 1260 WNRK before coming to WAMS so I had worked with some pretty old and beat up equipment. I ended up at WILM at 12th and French Sts (for 7 years on weekends), and their facilities made WAMS look like a palace, but compared to the state of the art facility you had at WDEL/WSTW, and WILM's new state of the art studios off of Basin Road, yes WAMS wouldn't even come close in comparison.

Sounds like you've got a great gig at the AP congrats. Welcome back to the Delaware Valley.

 

[warmland]

I guess that is always a problem with having a major market only 23 miles away, more promotional money to spend, etc, that a medium market is hard pressed to compete against.
I only meant that if I were running a

Do you consider Wilmington a medium market? Where does it list in the top 100 markets? Anyone out there know?

 

[MikefromDelaware]

The last time I saw the 12+ radio numbers for Wilmington, it was ranked #76 and Philly was rated #8. The Wilmington Metro has about 590,000 population, which I believe includes New Castle Co Del, Cecil Co Md, and Salem Co NJ. I don't believe Kent Co, Del is included in that population number. Now as to whether or not Arbitron includes Kent Co, Del in their Wilmington market survey diaries rather than their Salisbury Md ratings, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure Dover isn't it's own seperate market for radio. There probably are others here who have far more knowledge of this than I, but this is my understanding of it.

 

[warmland]

The last time I saw the 12+ radio numbers for Wilmington, it was ranked #76 and Philly was rated #8. The Wilmington Metro has about 590,000 population, which I believe includes New Castle Co Del, Cecil Co Md, and Salem Co NJ. I don't believe Kent Co, Del is included in that population number. Now as to whether or not Arbitron includes Kent Co, Del in their Wilmington market survey diaries rather than their Salisbury Md ratings, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure Dover isn't it's own seperate market for radio. There probably are others here who have far more knowledge of this than I, but this is my understanding of it.

I wonder if Dover is even a rated "market"? I think Salisbury/Ocean City.MD is also seperate from Dover market. Anyone know?

 

[Chris Carl]

Hello all.

To return this thread to its original intent, just wanted to let you know that WDEL has hired Mike Young to be a reporter/anchor who will specialize in covering state government.

Mike is actually returning to the Delmarva Broadcasting Company family. He is a former co-host of the morning show at WAFL with Dan Gaffney back in the 90's. During that time, Mike also filed Dover stories for WDEL and anchored weekend newscasts.

Mike also covered the legislature for WILM in the early to mid 90's. He left Delaware to host a talk show in Gainesville, Florida and also worked for three years at CNN.

We're pretty excited at the level of experience and expertise that Mike is bringing to an already top-notch news team, which, by the way, was named Wilmington's "News Operation of the Year" by the Associated Press earlier this month.