"Legacy of good radio," indeed. I'd only add, "legacy of good radio people." Buffalo was, and arguably remains to a large extent, a market that has listeners (albeit fewer now than ten and twenty years ago) that like radio. It's sometimes surprising to learn how much listeners listen and relate to what they heard 'on the radio.' I'm not saying listeners hang on every word, phone call, bit, commercial or promotion. They don't. But they do listen consistently and attentively.
As to the legacy of "good radio," all one needs to do is go down the list the names of personalities, managers and programers who work(ed) in the market. Some stayed, some moved to bigger and better things. Most of them contributed to the state of the art.
Programmers who came to Buffalo had plenty of incentive, primarily to succeed and "beat the champ," whether the champ was defined as KB, WGR, Kiss, WBEN, WBUF (the mid 80s and early 90s AC runaway train) or 97 Rock. Some PDs who "beat the champ" were king for a day, enhancing their resumes and moving on.
Will the legacy of good radio and good radio people continue? The answer depends on how managers perceive listeners' wants and needs, as well as how the value of live, local radio people are perceived by the listeners. Personalities need to be aware of this as well. Smart managers will be able to discern the difference between price and value, and do everything possible to protect and increase the value of their people and properties.
Personally, I think managers don't care about radio station, market or personalities' legacies. They're critically attuned to their own legacy. The radio realist within me has understood this for decades. The artist-performer within me has other thoughts.
