PAUL HARVEY.......GOOD DAY.

[gr8oldies]

I believe the 15 minute commentary will be gone. It is a pain to schedule around, for one thing. Either you have to bail out of a show early, join one late or cereate a noon news block, whcih went out with the 70s. Possibly "The Rest of the Story" can continue, as there are three decades worth of shows to rerun, and Paul Jr. can still do some new ones.

I also didn't get the Paul/Garner Ted connection but will say GTA had one of the smoothest deliveries on the airwaves at the time. I didn't neccesarily agree with him but did find myself drawn to the voice (and when you're 13 years old and the Russians are going to nuke us any minute, GTA could scare the bejebus out of you!) There are still some old World Tommorrows on the net.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

When big wide neckties are the thing, someone will always say: Hang onto your skinny neckties. They will be back in style one of these days.

When skinny neckties are the thing, someone will always say..... you can finish the sentence. ;D

I'm not sure but what we could see the revival of a noon news block on some stations. After all, all the listeners under 30 might say: What a novel NEW idea. Why didn't someone think of that before!

I still hear some news blocks in small markets. I guess they didn't get the memo.

 

[Biz Listener]

When big wide neckties are the thing, someone will always say: Hang onto your skinny neckties. They will be back in style one of these days.

When skinny neckties are the thing, someone will always say..... you can finish the sentence. ;D

I'm not sure but what we could see the revival of a noon news block on some stations. After all, all the listeners under 30 might say: What a novel NEW idea. Why didn't someone think of that before!

I still hear some news blocks in small markets. I guess they didn't get the memo.

I bolded the really important fact that everyone else seemed to be missing. It's correct that most really old people who remember Paul Harvey will regard any replacement as some upstart whippersnapper. Whever they get to fill that time slot niche will have a job that's every bit as impossible as replacing Johnny Carson would have been. We all knew that Jay Leno didn't have a chance in hell of ever replacing Johnny Carson. Carson had been around forever, he owned the Tonight Show, no one could possibly replace him. And the Leno did just that. Come to think of it, didn't everyone say that Johnny Carson couldn't fill Jack Paar's shoes.

There are lots of radio listeners out there who are too young to remember Paul Harvey from the olden days. I'm a 50-something Baby Boomer, and I regard Paul Harvey as a relic of my childhood! He's up there with Arthur Godfrey and Don McNeil's Breakfast Club or NBC's "Monitor" as a last gasp of old-fashioned radio from before television came along. If people as old as me look at Harvey that way, how do 20-somethings and 30-somethings look at him?

I think someone who'd broadcast the news content that Paul Harvey did in a more modern (like maybe the 1980's) style of delivery, the senior citizens who listen to Harvey might complain that they don't like the new guy, but they'd still listen out of habit. And, I think younger listeners who use the Paul Harvey commentary as the signal to change their stations to something else might start listening.

 

[Rusty Muck]

The lone remaning Paul Harvey affiliate in the Cleveland-Lorain-Sandusky area proper, WEOL-Elyria, recently shed it's noon news hour block. And bumped Paul from a 12:30PM timeslot (that he had ever since WEOL signed up with the ABC-Entertainment network in 1968!!!) to 11:45AM.

I don't know just how long that WEOL had that noon newshour, but it very well likely dates back to the 70s... if not earlier. (In the 50s and 60s, they had TWO seperate news studios and newscasts to accomdate their dual-city license, Elyria and Lorain!) And it was all scuttled for a third hour of Clark Howard's show.

My take was, and still is, that they are quietly preparing for the end. Putting him in the 11:45 slot (which was possible due to the structure of Glenn Beck's third hour clockwheel) now makes it expendable. Again, they NEVER moved the midday broadcast start time in over 40 YEARS. Until now.

Moreover, sister station WLKR-FM-Norwalk, abruptly dropped ABC-I and Paul Harvey last fall, several months after switching to a AAA format. (Which probably was the only affiliate he ever had that had such a format...) They went to Fox News Radio. WLKR too was an ABC affiliate for ages, IIRC, since 1968 as well. If not earlier.

Yes, WEOL (and WAKR-Akron and WHBC-AM-Canton) still have ABC and Paul Harvey. But for how long?

-nate81

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Is Paul Harvey's programs heard on any FM stations? If his show is only airing on AM stations, then how many 20-30 somethings have ever listened to his show?

My guess is ABC radio will offer some sort of commentary programs that will do fine. They may drop the 15 minute segment, but then again, if they can sell it they just might keep it.

The new host will need to have his own style to make the show his, not a copy of Paul Harvey's. Just as Jay Leno redid the Tonight Show by ditching Doc Severson and his big band and adding the Rock band format and Leno's style of humor, etc, which is different from Johnny Carsons. So yes it's still the Tonight Show with essentially the same format as it was in the 1950's, but yet a very different Tonight Show from the days of Steve Allen, to Jack Paar, to Johnny Carson, to Jay Leno. All were great shows, yet each host made the show his own. That's what any new host to that time slot of commentary formerly by Paul Harvey will have to do.

I remember too, as a kid listening to the dynamic voice of Garder Ted Armstrong on the World Tommorow on some distant AM radio station late at night. He had a unique voice that caught your attention. I didn't agree with his views, but found his voice interesting to hear. His announcer also had a great radio voice and it too caught your attention. Their program was well produced, but would sound very old fashioned today.

 

[jh]

Is Paul Harvey's programs heard on any FM stations? If his show is only airing on AM stations, then how many 20-30 somethings have ever listened to his show?

My guess is ABC radio will offer some sort of commentary programs that will do fine. They may drop the 15 minute segment, but then again, if they can sell it they just might keep it.

The new host will need to have his own style to make the show his, not a copy of Paul Harvey's.

He's on quite a few small market FMs, but probably not too common in rated markets. Although when CC dropped ABC from WHO in Des Mones, ABC/I and Paul Harvey was picked up by the FM talker.

I think the mandatory 15-minute noon show will probably be history. But I could see ABC maybe have something like a 6-minute (to get in 2 minutes of spots) followed by an optional segment with only local breaks. ABC/I did something similar years ago when they had a couple of 15-minutes newscasts... the regular 5-minute cast followed by an optional 10 minutes.

Yes, whoever ends up replacing him will need his own style to be successful, not trying to copy Paul. I think the person who came the closest to the Paul Harvey style without sounding like a copy was WLS-TV reporter Hugh Hill, who was Paul's regular replacement for at least several years. Of course, that was probably 30 years ago. Hugh was probably older than Paul, and I believe he passed away some years ago.

 

[BossJock1947]

Wow. You guys really don't get it. I am especially surprised at Holland Cooke on this one.

Paul Harvey is a one-of-a-kind and has been around for far too long. He WILL NOT be replaced in the minds of his audience. Gil Gross and Paul Harvey Jr. sound NOTHING like Paul Sr. and I actually find it to be OFFENSIVE when these guys come on and try to do a Paul Sr. impression! Don't kid yourself, that IS the way the audience percevies these fill-ins: they TOLERATE them.

The mere fact that Paul Jr. writes the "rest of the story" is meaningless. It is about Paul Sr. and Paul Sr.'s delivery, PERIOD. Immitations will sound hollow and insultingly stupid. Anyone other than Paul Sr. reading that materail is an entirely different product---one without any history or place in anyone's heart or memory. Good luck with that.

I'm sure you'll try and innumerate dozens of *identical* situations where someone was successfully replaced. Uh huh. Don't bother. Sometimes radio people are WAAAAAAY TOO CLOSE to the situation to see(hear) clearly. This is one of those moments.

You can try to rationalize your premise all you want. The franchise retires with Paul Sr. You'll see the affiliates drop like flies.

In time, EVERYONE will be replaced and eventually forgotten. Ask a 20 year old about Elvis, the beatles their answer "Huh"? Others talents with as much talent but different will come down the pike. Time marches on...

 

[Prais]

Coupla things;

1. It's GARNER TED ARMSTRONG, whose speaking style and voice quite resemble Paul Harvey. He was on WFLD tv at 11:30am when they just signed on, and (briefly) I thought PH had a tv show, too (he did, but many years later).

2. The Announcer for "The World Tomorrow" was ART GILMORE, who was also the announcer for Red Skelton, Bob Cummings ("Love That Bob") and a zillion movie trailers.

BossJock1947 is probably2 years older than me - but he is spot on.
Wow,jh. Hugh Hill. Great reporter when I was a kid. He was at the Our Lady of the Angels school fire in '58. I was jumping out a window that day.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

Thanks for the info about Art Gilmore. It makes you wonder with all the big time announcing gigs he had, if he was a follower of Garner Ted Armstrong's beliefs or simply a "gig" for him as an announcer.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Is Paul Harvey's programs heard on any FM stations? If his show is only airing on AM stations, then how many 20-30 somethings have ever listened to his show?

WWTN-FM "Super Talk" in Nashville and WKKO-FM in Toledo, Ohio come to mind...

 

[BlueHen]

I've changed my thoughts after reading this thread again. The appeal of Paul Harvey News & Comment has always been Paul Harvey's delivery. At least that's what I always thought since I live in a Paul Harvey-less radio market and look forward to scanning the dial at noon in the car every time I travel. I don't search for a 15-minute newscast, but rather that distinguishable voice announcing, "Hello, Americans... stand by for news."

I tend to agree with the comments about scheduling issues for a 15-minute newscast. I don't remember when Paul Harvey News started, but he used to be a staple at the noon hour. Anymore, however, he's getting harder to find, often before noon as news/talk stations make room for 3-hour syndicated programs. So, with no Paul Harvey as strike 1, and scheduling conflicts as strike 2, I would not be surprised by a called strike 3 for Paul Harvey News.

As for acceptance by the public for a replacement, I wonder if anyone remembers when Paul Harvey News started and if he was a success initially, or if it took time for him to develop a following.

 

[Mark Giardina]

Maybe nobody cares, 'cause there's not a peep about it on the net. My theory: Paul Harvey is never coming back. Especially after the heartbreaking death of Angel. An announcement to that effect would be devistating to the affiliate count. You could never be certain who would drop the show like a rock, before becoming a solid contracted flagship of whomever the replacement host is. On the other hand, stringing the audience and affiliates out with the promise of his eventual return is a very Citadel thing to do.

Thoughts? Insights?

Oh somebody cares if Harvey isn't on and that's the stations that carry him. I've read the comments about how old the guy is and all that stuff, but despite his age, type of delivery, whatever, Paul Harvey still has a huge audience and that translates to revenue for stations who carry his program.

If Paul Harvey has decided to "retire" then I'm sure the affiliates that carry him are scrambling to find a replacement ASAP.

I disagree with those who think the Harvey program should continue without him. Once Paul is gone, so should his show.

 

[Evangelist]

Thanks for the info about Art Gilmore. It makes you wonder with all the big time announcing gigs he had, if he was a follower of Garner Ted Armstrong's beliefs or simply a "gig" for him as an announcer.

I believe Art Gilmore is still around. He was as of last year when he was honored for something--I remember reading he was 95.

He was also in several episodes of Dragnet, usually as a Captain. During the first season of Adam-12, he played Lt. Moore.

 

[Biz Listener]

As for acceptance by the public for a replacement, I wonder if anyone remembers when Paul Harvey News started and if he was a success initially, or if it took time for him to develop a following.

Considering how long Paul Harvey has been on the air, does how long it took for people who were adults then (and are mostly dead now) provide any insight into how long it might take this generation of listeners to start to follow a replacement? I'd be curious to know the answer to your question myself, but it would just be idle curiosity.

From what I've heard of broadcasters' voices from way back then, Paul Harvey's distinctive style wasn't all that unique. I wish I'd have been alive back then to hear the famous names of yesteryear live. The few recordings I've heard of of HV Kaltenborn, Edward R. Murrow, Walter Winchell, and all the other famous broadcasters from the golden age of radio whose names I didn't memorize gave me the impression that having a distinctive style in your voice was pretty common way back then. It seems like Paul Harvey is just the last survivor of the era when an uncommon vocal style was common.

I don't think that anyone can accurately predict if a broadcast with a distinctive vocal style could replace Paul Harvey in terms of listener acceptance. I think the only accurate observation is that there are some broadcasters with distinctive styles who might be accepted, and others with distinctive styles who might be rejected. When you're talking about "distinctive vocal styles", you have to take them on a one-by-one basis.

 

[fb219]

folks,

let's get back to the heart of the matter....... PAUL HARVEY.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM? Why won't anyone, including ABC, CITADEL, CLEAR CHANNEL,
etc release an update on his current health condition?

Rumors are flying. One rumor being proliferated wildly in the blogs is, he's suffered a debilitating
stroke - a common occurence in those 90 and above.

Paul Harvey Sr. seems to be fitting the pattern of 90 something or near 90 celebrities who make token public appearances and pictures, hospitalized for undisclosed ailments with deceptively optomistic press releases from the family regarding health. The culmination of this pattern is usually just a quiet death one day followed by a press release (i.e. Gerald Ford, Lady Bird Johnson).

Someone who knows (and there must be someone out there who really knows what is going on
with him) needs to step up and tell his radio audience what the hell has happened to him.

It's time we all hear the 'rest of the story!'

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Someone who knows (and there must be someone out there who really knows what is going on
with him) needs to step up and tell his radio audience what the hell has happened to him.

It's time we all hear the 'rest of the story!'

I guess I don't understand your anxiety.

One of the traits of decent civilization is that people are entitled to at least a modest amount of privacy if they so choose.

Do you call a daily news conference to advise the public of you bowel habits for the past 24 hours? Following your annual physical exam, do you feel compelled to post a copy of your EKG on the office bulletin board? Do you have a spouse.... if so, do you ask the pastor of your church to publish a score-card of your sex-life in the church bulletin each week?

I would hope that as we mature, grow feeble and dance with the messenger of death, that might each do so quietly and out of sight if we choose to do so. Why is Paul Harvey not entitled to some dignity?

For those who have asked about his earlier years, there is a Paul Harvey website with some bio info. First time behind a mic as a teen-ager: 1933. The beginning of a career as a nationally broadcast news/commentator: 1951.

There has been some discussion about whether his program could continue ONLY if someone could be found to mimic his VOICE and would anyone want to hear such a mimic.

I remember listening to Paul now and then circa 1960, and then coming to appreciate him when I went to work at a station that carried his broadcast in 1963. It was not an exaggerated accent or drawl that marked him in that era, but his "reading a newspaper" and turning to Page Two and Page Three, etc that marked his delivery. Another characteristic that I remember more than any Oklahoma Twang was that in the age of deep voiced, basso-profundo radio pronouncers, here was this guy with a voice like drilling through steel which cut through the noise and static with clarity. He could have built a career by only assembling that audience of people who had a certain amount of hearing disability who could hear and understand that penetrating voice. In rural America that was important in the 1950s and 1960s.

 

[fb219]

no one's concerned about 'bowel habits',

it's Mr. Harvey's presense (or lack thereof) that has folks puzzled.

The 'dignified' thing to do - be straight with his audience and advertisers as
to when 'and if' he'll ever return to that show.

If it's clear he cannot, they should officially retire the show and the franchise and
be done with it.

'nuf said.

 

[Biz Listener]

The 'dignified' thing to do - be straight with his audience and advertisers as
to when 'and if' he'll ever return to that show.

If it's clear he cannot, they should officially retire the show and the franchise and
be done with it.

'nuf said.

Sorry, that's not quite 'nuf. If they know he won't be returning, that's one thing. But if they do not know one way or another, then that's a whole 'nother thing. It might not be clear at this point whether he will recover sufficiently to return or not.

If there's a reasonable chance that he might return, and those hopes of one day returning to the air are providing the man with the motivation he needs to help his recovery, I think that his efforts and accomplishments over almost three-quarters of a century entitle him to have that hope.

I know this is a business and people don't mean squat and are just commodities to be used up and thrown away. But for cryin' out loud, some people in here sound like a bunch of circling vultures drooling over their own chance to pick his corpse get their hands on Harvey's time slots and clearances.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

If there's a reasonable chance that he might return, and those hopes of one day returning to the air are providing the man with the motivation he needs to help his recovery, I think that his efforts and accomplishments over almost three-quarters of a century entitle him to have that hope.

Well said.

When my mother died, Dad was tired from caring for her. Said he wasn't sure he could keep up the farm house. Maybe we should sell the farm and he would move to Assisted Living. Sis told him: "Selling the farm is not necessary. You don't know if you will like the Center. Go there for the winter and then we will talk about it."

We never sold the farm until several months after his funeral. I can only imagine the anxiety and depression that he would have endured at the center without his "escape hatch". Every time I went to see him, he would ask if he could go back to the farm if he got to feeling a little better. Standard answer: You bet!

If I had it to do over, would I do it any differently? No way. I could tell what his state of mind was by the answer I got in return to the question: "Would you like to drive out and see the farm today?" We did that for five years.

Even the guy who had been promised ten years earlier he could buy the farm some day understood.

Paul Harvey deserves at least a few months.

 

[oaktree]

Paul has been gone since February 28th. That "is" a few months.

Lots of things have happened, in addition to Paul's declining health. He lost his "Angel" of over 60 years and for someone in their late 80s, that is never an easy acceptance, especially in a business environment as active as Mr. Harvey's.

It is known that the owner of Citadel visited with Mr. Harvey for lunch a month ago ... now Paul's nearly fifth month. I would imagine that every possible accommodation and effort has been made to him ... and every accommodation means a lot.

I know, with serious open-heart surgery, I was out six months before I was told, "It's time," and the radio station, in fact, carried on without me and I have nowhere near the status. It would be my thought, too, that with the business turmoil of radio in general and Citadel in particular, that the company is giving Paul every hope, prayer and thought possible ... and to take whatever time is needed.

Affiliates are a sturdy lot. They'll make do with young son Paul and Ron Chapman for as long as it takes for Paul in this difficult environment, as there are others directly affecting the company that tend to eclipse this one important element at this moment -- and probably for the better.

It's possible that the company is allowing Mr. Harvey to take whatever time he needs and deems best, and there is an incredible amount of support within the fraternity and in the surroundings encircling him.

When it's time, we'll know.

This isn't about a contract snit, as in with Laura Ingraham. Paul is durable and deserves whatever time can be reasonably afforded.

I believe this call will be Mr. Harvey's ... not corporate and, certainly, not wreckless speculation.

Our thoughts continue to be with the voice of several generations.