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WBEN Legend Celebrates 25 Years

D

dand5780

Guest
Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - At a time when talkradio was just taking hold in Buffalo and nationwide, WBEN launched the Home Improvement Hour with Domenic Cortese 25 years ago. Today the show is still going strong.

Each week, Domenic Cortese of Cortese Construction Services hits the airwaves of WBEN to tackle home improvement problems from a leaky roof to a leaky basement and everything in between. The Home Improvement Hour has become a staple of WBEN's weekend programming through the years and Domenic also makes regular appearances on "Buffalo's Early News" and with "Sandy Beach".

During the October Storm and several other crisis weather events, Domenic has been on the WBEN airwaves helping guide listeners through the process of pumping out their basements, keeping their electicity flowing and offering preventative tips to homeowners.

Join all of us at WBEN by leaving Domenic a congratulatory note on 25 years of home improvement advice below!
 
Now this board is used for blatant PR releases copied and pasted directly from a station website without any additional verbiage at all?

Redefining "legend" to boot?
 
Is he really a talk host when he probably does the show for free in exchange for plugging his company? Sounds like an infomercial to me. For all we know he pays for the time.

Maybe Ron Popeal should also be nominated for an Emmy award.....
 
Well, if nothing more, I've had my laugh for the day. The use of the word "legend" in the title of the thread. Sure. Right up there with Beuhly.
 
Apparently somebody confused "Dominic" and "Dominik" when it came to "legend" status. ;)
 
Those that say what a great station this once was...well, many of the shows have been on for years; this one for 25.

Would it still be on if it wasn't a great show?
 
flybynight said:
The standards for programming on the weekend (not to mention the financial arrangements) are a tad different than during the week.
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But this was a programming decision that was made back in the day, back when one might say the standards for ALL day-parts were higher.
 
It's arguable that infomercials like this one are a sign of the decline, not a reason to celebrate.
 
TheBigA said:
But this was a programming decision that was made back in the day, back when one might say the standards for ALL day-parts were higher.
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What uninformed person would say that? This type weekend programming has been around longer than 25 years.
 
TheBigA said:
So you mean that bad radio didn't just start in 1996?
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Talk about confusing an issue. Sheeesh.

And stop defending something that was clearly BAD for the industry.

Among other things, this Act you find so beneficial, relaxed ownership rules to the degree that it unleashed a feeding frenzy that cranked up prices to ridiculous amounts, creating unsustainable debt. Do I really need to outline the ramifications of THAT?
 
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flybynight said:
And stop defending something that was clearly BAD for the industry.
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Making money is not bad for the industry. The broadcasting industry is built around advertisers. It's been that was since the first ad was sold in 1922. Used to be that advertisers owned and produced the shows heard on network radio. This kind of show is a throwback to that era. The era was called the Golden Age of Radio. That wasn't bad for the industry.
 
flybynight said:
Among other things, this Act you find so beneficial, relaxed ownership rules to the degree that it unleashed a feeding frenzy that cranked up prices to ridiculous amounts, creating unsustainable debt. Do I really need to outline the ramifications of THAT?
Click to expand...

The feeding frenzy, as you call it, began long before the 96 Act. It began in the 70s, and really exploded in the 80s with Docket 80-90. It also marked the moment when a lot of heritage owners like RCA got out of radio because the money wasn't there any more. By 1996, that was 10 years after the boom, and the only people interested in buying radio were radio companies.
 
Half truth. Docket 80-90 was intended to bring more localism to radio and to some measure, succeeded. There were plenty of "people" who were interested in buying radio, but they were priced out of the neighborhood by the big companies and speculators that drove multiples to unrealistic heights, subsequently driving out the 80-90 operators who couldn't compete. It was eat or be eaten, so in large measure the 80-90 owners sold out. And with that, the localism that Docket 80-90 hoped to create, vanished. Next sound, crash.
 
TheBigA said:
Making money is not bad for the industry. The broadcasting industry is built around advertisers. It's been that was since the first ad was sold in 1922.
Click to expand...

Shortsightedness and greed led to UNPRECEDENTED deals that had hundreds and hundreds of radio stations changing hands repeatedly within only a few years. The volume and velocity of this feeding frenzy drove prices to absurd levels. The resulting debt has crippled the industry's ability to invest in the programming and technology that will allow it to compete into the future. Ultimately BAD for business.

Used to be that advertisers owned and produced the shows heard on network radio. This kind of show is a throwback to that era. The era was called the Golden Age of Radio. That wasn't bad for the industry.
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The "Golden Age of radio" is NOT a reference to infomercials, and you know that.

Are you purposely obtuse?
 
Element9 said:
Half truth. Docket 80-90 was intended to bring more localism to radio and to some measure, succeeded.
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But what it did was dilute the audience and advertising money. Markets have a finite number of dollars, and this spread that money around more people, making localism harder to do. Five years after Docket 80-90, longtime owners were getting out like rats deserting a sinking ship. The multiples were driven by people like Gary Stevens, a former WMCA Good Guy who became a broker. He got rich in the process.
 
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