Radio legend passes the mic
I read through news every day, and a scan different items all the time. Sometimes, I don’t get to see all of them when they come out, so I’ve got people that follow me and I follow on Twitter that from time to time submit an interesting link. A lot of times, those links are entertaining, but one that was sent today was kind of sad.
I learned this evening that one of radio and television’s pioneers passed away.
Paul Harvey. He filled the airwaves for years. Born in 1918, he spent most of his life in the broadcaster’s chair. At the age of 81, he was offered a new ten year contract. The man always had new things to speak about and interesting newsworthy topics. His radio show was in syndication, and heard throughout much of North America. I remember as a kid, listening to Paul Harvey’s program on CJYM Rosetown after school as I waited for my dad to finish work at Central Tractor, the local John Deere dealership. It was those memories as a child that made me smile when I went into broadcasting, and managed to work at radio stations that had Paul Harvey as one of the daily programs.
I’ll miss the voice. I’ll miss the introduction he always had to his historical comments. I’ll miss his common sense broadcasting and his no nonsense reporting. He did not show bias in his programs, although a humourous story did make him chuckle on air, which in turn made his audience chuckle. I always remember “The Rest of The Story” and his daily farewell of “Now you know, the rest of the story” and “I’m Paul Harvey. Good day.”
I worked in radio for ten years, and I always remembered Paul Harvey. He was one of the reasons why I began news reading.
The air waves, at least for me, have grown somewhat silent now.
Until next time…
…good day.
