Harv Moore Out??

[amfmgirl]

I've heard that Harv Moore has been taken off the air on WECK. Any truth to the rumor? His picture and bio is no longer on their website. If so....what a shame!!

 

[SirRoxalot]

Maybe He'll Finally Be Considered for the Buffalo Broadcast Hall of Fame...

I heard Tom Schuh on with Tom Donahue when I scanned by this morning. I thought that maybe Harv was sneaking in a day or two off before the Fall book begins. If his bio's off the website, you have to assume that it's a permanent move.

Harv's a good guy, and a great jock. He's not a great talk show host at this point in his broadcast career. He didn't get much support in the form of guests, preproduced segments, or production help. I don't think that Donahue helped him out as much as he could have. Maybe it was a chemistry problem. In any event, WECK wasn't going anywhere with the show the way it was.

It will be interesting to see if any other moves are made to try and get the seismograph needle to move on WECK's behalf. They need somebody to stir something up in morning drive. Maybe Joe Illuzzi's available, and willing to pick up the tab for whatever slander suits he generates...

 

[SirRoxalot]

Harv's Out, Loraine's In

According to the WECK website, Loraine O'Donnell will replace Harv Moore on the morning show with Donohue. It will be "the NEW, fun and informative to start your day!" I'm assuming that somebody forgot to include the word "way" in there somewhere.

She'll also work weekdays starting at 11:00 a.m. with more local talk.

 

[yugoidar]

I'll bite!  Who's Lorraine O'Donnell? Maybe Dick Green and Tom Schuh need to re-think that Oldies idea.

 

[ThePickleReport]

Re: Harv's Out, Loraine's In

It will be "the NEW, fun and informative to start your day!"

We'll see about that.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I'll bite! Who's Lorraine O'Donnell?

Loraine O'Donnell is a local actress who most recently worked with Linda Pellegrino on AM/PM Buffalo. She was cut as a cost-saving move at cash-strapped Channel 7.

Her husband is Kerry Gray, late of WEDG and "The Ben and Kerry Show" on Toronto's Jack. Loraine also did some fill-in work at WEDG and 97-Rock. She's considerably younger than either Harv or Tom Donohue, which may mean a significant shift in perspective on the show.

 

[Rocco]

wow... it is so cool to see Tom Donohue's name on here. he might be one of the nicest guys to ever work in buffalo radio.

 

[Radknowski]

Loraine O'Donnell is a local actress who most recently worked with Linda Pellegrino on AM/PM Buffalo. She was cut as a cost-saving move at cash-strapped Channel 7. Her husband is Kerry Gray, late of WEDG and "The Ben and Kerry Show" on Toronto's Jack. Loraine also did some fill-in work at WEDG and 97-Rock. She's considerably younger than either Harv or Tom Donohue, which may mean a significant shift in perspective on the show.

SirRoxalot. Biographer of the stars.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Biographer?

Upon further review, it has all the panache of an obit...

 

[gasman]

It's a classic Dick Greene move.....Doug Young was removed from WLVL last week as well. He changes staff and formats whimsically. Simply a cost cutting move at best. Things must be a bit lean so he shed a couple of his higher paid people. He does this every couple of years. I don't know that I would get rid of the 2 most familiar names I had on staff.....

 

[SirRoxalot]

Horse of a Different Color

I don't think that the Doug Young and Harv Moore moves are related.

Doug Young has certainly made the rounds of the local radio world. Everybody but Regent has cut him loose at this point. I hear that his problems are self-inflicted, and not budget-related. If what I hear is true, he caused his own demise. It's too bad, because he's a likeable guy and has some talent.

The sad fact is that neither of them was getting the job done. You can't blame Dick Greene for trying to improve his radio stations.

 

[Philip_Airtime]

To respond to an earlier post from Sir Roxalot, Tom Donohue has mentioned that it's difficult for him to spend more time on the air with Harv because he has to write his newscasts. Unlike his stints at the Lake and KB Radio, where he had the support of the WBEN newsroom, Tom has no such back-up and must start each morning from scratch. Still, when they were together on the air, I thought they had a chemistry. I wasn't a regular listener of their show. But when I did tune in, they sounded like two guys having fun being on the radio. Obviously, that hasn't translated into ratings for WECK. We'll see if this new team works. I have my doubts. Lorraine O'Donnell is a talented actress. And she did well as a TV interviewer. But she's never done radio. Still, it's unfair to be too critical until we hear the product. I wish her the best! One thing I will say is that I had a chance to tune in Scott Leffler this morning for the first time in weeks. It was unlistenable! Whatever audio connection they're using to bring Scott's voice in from Lockport is terrible. If you're trying the get and build an audience, this isn't the way to do it.

 

[weck1230]

Loraine has worked on-air at KOA, KHOW, 97 Rock, WYRK, and WBUF. Thanks for the comments.

Schuh

 

[Element9]

Thanks for your response, Mr. Schuh. Please understand that any criticism offered here (if I may pretend to speak for the usual suspects) isn't intended to be personal. At the outset, most of us hoped for good things for you, your staff and WECK. It's easy for us keyboard critics to hurl barbs. I'm guilty of tossing out my share of over-stated opinions, most recently a few weeks ago when I suggested that WECK should go to Standards-Oldies because I could not see its present news-talk format putting a significant dent in WBEN. It's a tough haul taking on a station such as WBEN. WECK, under your direction, is well-produced and mechanically sound. You personally sound on top of your game doing news in PM drive. If you were doing what you're doing on WBEN, you'd be perceived as being without peer. Tom and Harv just didn't jell in mornings. They were singing from the same songbook, but appeared to be on different pages. Each, in his own right, is a talented professional as a music air personality, moreso than as news and talk personalities. It's my opinion (for what it's worth) that they were mis-cast. Keep up the good fight. I still contend that WECK should be Standards-Oldies. I offer this opinion respectfully and without malice.

-9-

 

[ThePickleReport]

I just think that Tom wanted to point out that Loraine obviously does have on-air experience.

 

[weck1230]

I just think that Tom wanted to point out that Loraine obviously does have on-air experience.

That's correct. I don't take the comments personally. As a matter of fact, the more pointed and specific they are, the better. Keeps me from feeling like I'm working in a vacuum.

 

[Philip_Airtime]

I'm very much ashamed by my post. I shouldn't have posted about Lorraine's perceived lack of radio experience without knowing for sure. I actually learned from a colleague shortly after I posted my comments that she had worked on radio. So, it was with trepidation that I returned to these pages. I deserved more of a rebuke than I received, so I thank you, Tom, for being so gracious. I do wish Lorraine and Tom well. Maybe I'll do more reading than posting here to keep myself from getting into trouble!

 

[Radknowski]

Hey Phil, no need for self-flagellation. You're not the first person here to state an opinion followed by an "ooops" or "nevvvvvv-er miy-ind." Besides, you have a pretty decent track record of posts and it's not like you painted an entire office suite sunrise yellow when the client wanted it burnt sienna. You don't wanna know... trust me.

 

[superset weekend]

This stations problems is so obvious. Ther is NOTHING compelling about it's programming. Zero. It is a station that is on the air, thats it. Nobody is talking about it, nobody is looking forward to what comes out of it, it just simply exists. you CANNOT just exist in this environment. MAJOR signals are losing audience because they just exist, let alone a station that has no base like WECK. Radio has a real big problem right now, it is losing audience everywhere. The last thing you need is another station that just has it's power button on.

The local thing is cute, but NOBODY CARES. If want local news, i have a billion ways to get it, not just 1230AM. Stand out in the community, and people will pay attention, then ad dollars will follow. What a dissapointment this station is.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

This stations problems is so obvious. Ther is NOTHING compelling about it's programming. Zero. It is a station that is on the air, thats it. Nobody is talking about it, nobody is looking forward to what comes out of it, it just simply exists. you CANNOT just exist in this environment. MAJOR signals are losing audience because they just exist, let alone a station that has no base like WECK. Radio has a real big problem right now, it is losing audience everywhere. The last thing you need is another station that just has it's power button on.

The local thing is cute, but NOBODY CARES. If want local news, i have a billion ways to get it, not just 1230AM. Stand out in the community, and people will pay attention, then ad dollars will follow. What a dissapointment this station is.

You have to understand that the radio your Mom and Dad ( and perhaps yourself) grew up listening too with is over...dead...kaput! After 9am the morning team, or announcer, throws a switch and either the automation system starts up or the satellite feed is operating for the remainder of the day. Most stations, even small market ones, that promote themselves as local, nine times out of ten, are carrying the same syndicated shows heard in communities just several miles away.
You say there is nothing compelling about WECK. Then the best advise one could give is to stop listening. (I'm not being sarcastic or mean, but truthful.) Judging from recent Arbitrons WECK has failed to generate an audience thus far. Many Mom and Pop operations are hanging in there by their fingernails, especially when it comes to competing against media giant corporations. If it wasn't for local sporting events or half-hour snake oil medicines, some of these stations wouldn't even be able to afford to pay the electric bills.
Yes radio is losing audience and eventually revenue. But not before some companies drain all the blood they can by squeezing the rock. We hear and read about the crisis in the banking industry; just wait and see what happens in broadcasting. Stock prices will continue to fall, owners will try to sell off stations at rock-bottom prices, meanwhile more people will be fired as a way to cut costs. Be honest now if some college student came up to you and asked your advice if they should try to get into radio, what would you tell them?