SirRoxalot
Walk of Fame Participant
I'm surprised that nobody's posted about this year's radio winners for the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
John Murphy came up through radio and maintained a career there as both Van Miller's broadcast partner and now as the Voice of the Bills. He continues to be a big part of WGR's programming as part of a daily simulcast with MSG network on "One Bills Live." He's one of the few simulcast guys who remember that he's on both radio and TV and is aware of what audio-only audiences have access to when moderating the program. He's careful about including radio-only audiences and tries to make video content an add-on, not a primary focus.
Don Tomasulo is the first radio honoree I can remember who primarily gained the honor out of the sales department, not programming or as a GM. That alone indicates that he's a special talent who's about a lot more than just bringing dollars through the door. He's guided a lot of other sales people to successful careers and acted more as an agency or partner than most sales people. He's built a lot of long-term relationships with customers and other broadcasters in the area. He's also a heck of a drummer.
Larry Anderson put together legendary staffs at WGR in the '70s to create a legacy that still echoes on the station today. He established it as the Sabres station. He also gave Ben Hummel/Randy Michaels his first break into a Top-30 market (oh, how things have changed). He had success in other markets during the years when listening was transitioning from AM to FM. His only misstep in Buffalo was killing off 97-Rock for WRLT (Lite FM). The return of 97-Rock after he left and its continued success have demonstrated that a tune-up, not a take-out would have been a better decision. In fairness, we all serve our masters in this business, so the ultimate decision likely wasn't his.
It's nice to see more radio people being honored. IMO, radio has a lot of catching up to do in the Hall of Fame.
http://www.buffalobroadcasters.com/introducing-the-2019-hall-of-fame-inductees/
John Murphy came up through radio and maintained a career there as both Van Miller's broadcast partner and now as the Voice of the Bills. He continues to be a big part of WGR's programming as part of a daily simulcast with MSG network on "One Bills Live." He's one of the few simulcast guys who remember that he's on both radio and TV and is aware of what audio-only audiences have access to when moderating the program. He's careful about including radio-only audiences and tries to make video content an add-on, not a primary focus.
Don Tomasulo is the first radio honoree I can remember who primarily gained the honor out of the sales department, not programming or as a GM. That alone indicates that he's a special talent who's about a lot more than just bringing dollars through the door. He's guided a lot of other sales people to successful careers and acted more as an agency or partner than most sales people. He's built a lot of long-term relationships with customers and other broadcasters in the area. He's also a heck of a drummer.
Larry Anderson put together legendary staffs at WGR in the '70s to create a legacy that still echoes on the station today. He established it as the Sabres station. He also gave Ben Hummel/Randy Michaels his first break into a Top-30 market (oh, how things have changed). He had success in other markets during the years when listening was transitioning from AM to FM. His only misstep in Buffalo was killing off 97-Rock for WRLT (Lite FM). The return of 97-Rock after he left and its continued success have demonstrated that a tune-up, not a take-out would have been a better decision. In fairness, we all serve our masters in this business, so the ultimate decision likely wasn't his.
It's nice to see more radio people being honored. IMO, radio has a lot of catching up to do in the Hall of Fame.
