The barbarians who own The Courier-Journal and WHAS 840 radio have never understood what made those two institutions, in their heyday, so widely beloved and respected throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana. Or, worse, they understood, but just never really cared.
Under the ownership of the Bingham family, they were more than just a newspaper and a radio station. They were family friends, welcome in homes in all 120 Kentucky counties. Farmers began the day with a cup of coffee, Joe Creason and Earl Ruby in the C-J, and Barney Arnold’s farm report on WHAS.
The Binghams employed talented people and paid them well. Profit never meant nearly as much to them as excellence. They were not in the news business as much to make money as they were to educate, uplift, and inform all the residents of the commonwealth, city and country folks alike, about the issues that were important.
The C-J and WHAS 840 were anomalies in Kentucky — citadels of sophistication and professionalism in a state that ranked near the bottom (and still does) in virtually every educational and economic index. Yet it worked, because the C-J and WHAS 840 hired people who exuded warmth and caring.
The paper and the radio station always were there for Kentucky and southern Indiana, the ties that bound us through World Wars and the Great Depression and all sorts of natural disasters, from horrific floods to the tornado of 1974.
Always, even amid the toughest of times and the ugliest of controversies, the C-J and WHAS 840 were citadels of class, models of integrity, and paragons of professionalism.
Some of the columnists, editors, and broadcasters — Creason, Ruby, Allan M. Trout, John Ed Pearce, Cawood Ledford, Wayne Perkey, Van Vance, Terry Meiners and others — became almost as famous as, oh, basketball coaches! But none was more beloved than MIlton Metz, who worked at both WHAS radio and WHAS-TV for almost a half-century.
Metz did a bit of everything in his career. On TV, he did a stint as a weatherman and even played a villain on the old “T-Bar-V Ranch” program starring Randy Atcher and Cactus Tom Brooks. But it was in radio that Metz made his mark on the community. From the early 1950s through his retirement in 1993, Metz’s nightly call-in show, “Metz Here!”, was a nighttime staple throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana.
Actually, because of WHAS’ 50,000 watts, Metz built a national fan base that extended as far west as Colorado. In the “Metz Studio,” as it was known, there was a map on the wall with pins from every place in the nation where Metz had received a call. It was imposing, to say the least.
In addition, the studio’s walls were covered with autographed photographs of some of Metz’s celebrity guests. Metz was Larry King before Larry King. Urbane, glib, witty, and sophisticated, Metz loved to chat up the rich and famous — and they always seemed almost honored to be on his show.
Metz was so widely beloved that only somebody such as Joe Elliott could have succeeded him so gracefully. For the 14 years that he did the show, Elliott didn’t try to break Metz’s record for celebrity interviews, even though he had his share. His show had more of a hard news edge to it — yet it was never too hard. Elliott was a soulmate of all the classy men and women who had made WHAS 840 one of the best and most respected nations in the country.
Over the years, Elliott seemed to become more conservative in his views, perhaps because Clear Channel, the communications giant that bought WHAS 840 from the Binghams in 1986, is owned and operated by right-wingers who seem to think that Rush Limbaugh is the epitome of intellectualism.
But if Joe changed, it was perceptible only to those who listened closely and frequently. Most people never could decide on which side of the politcial fence he sat, just as most probably never knew that he’s legally blind.
Watching Joe operated his special braile keyboard in the studio was like watching a maestro at work. His fingers danced smoothly and lightly over his keyboard, seldom hitting a bad note.
It must be made clear immediately that Joe wasn’t just a great blind broadcaster. He was a great broadcaster, period. He held his own in any debate, asking no quarter and giving none. He was a pro’s pro, asking the hard questions in a civil manner and actually listening to the answers instead of shouting over them.
The “Joe Elliott Show” was never about Joe. It was always about you and me.
Told last Thursday that he was being fired, along with several others, in a cost-cutting (read that “profit-enhancing”) move, Joe handled the news with typical dignity. He did not rail against Clear Channel. He tried, with varying degrees of success, to be philosophical about it.
But I have no constraints so let me say to Clear Channel what thousands of others in this area think about them: This decision stinks. It’s one of the biggest blows to our culture since Gannett cut back the C-J’s statewide circulation and folded The Louisville Times.
It’s simply unconscionable that a bunch of empty suits in San Antonio — corporate bloodsuckers who have no concern about what they’re doing to our level of educational and political dialogue — can make a decision that has such a negative impact on our community, state, and southern Indiana.
As good as Joe was — is, because he’s still doing his Sunday morning show — the biggest loss isn’t him personally. It’s the loss of three nightly hours of local discussion, and debate about local and regional issues. The “Joe Elliott Show” provided a unique forum where politicians and public officials were held accountable for their actions, where the average guy got to have his say, and where people got to hear newsmakers in their own words, unfiltered by newspaper editing.
Adding insult to injury, Clear Channel replaced Joe’s show with some character named Savage who is the antithesis of everything for which WHAS 840 has ever stood. His show is classless and clueless. He’s even more vicious, boorish, prejudiced, and dishonest than Limbaugh, hard as that may be to believe.
How sad to think that WHAS 840 has sunk this low. Once it was so special. Now it’s just another radio station — and that shouldn’t be construed as an insult to my friends Tony Cruise, Francene, Terry Meiners, and Lachlan McLane. They do the best they can to preserve the station’s reputation for quality. But it’s tough when it’s obvious that the suits in San Antonio only care about the bottom line.
I’ll be interested to see if one of the C-J columnists gets on his or her soapbox about this travesty. You see, it’s hard for a Gannett employee to criticize Clear Channel’s greed and avarice when the two corporate giants are so much alike.
It was heartening to hear folks of all races, religions, genders and politcial persuasions calling to express their sadness and outrage over the assassination of “The Joe Elliott Show.” They all realize that we all have lost a community treasure. They all realize that free and open speech has suffered another blow. They all realize that WHAS 840 is like the Bingham version in name only.
Putting a station like the old WHAS 840 in the hands of the Clear Channel barbarians is like putting the U.S. Constitution in the hands of Dick Cheney. They don’t get it. They don’t like it. They don’t care what they break.
In 21 years, our community has seen the C-J change from one of the nation’s 10 best newspapers into a Gannett profit center; Churchill Downs change from a national historic treasure into a garish Vegas joint; and WHAS 840 change from a magnificent station that used its 50,000 wants to inform and educate into a tawdry place that’s home to the likes of Limbaugh and Savage.
If this is progress, I want no part of it.
17 responses so far ↓
1 terry baird // Dec 4, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I didn’t realize Joe was cancelled until I read your article. Shock! I dont know what to say : Joe was the last host I cared to listen to on whas84. As a Cardinal fan I’m glad U of L is no longer affialiated with 84. Further I refuse to listen to any of the right wing driven dis-informantion shows. I will miss Joe dearly!
2 rklein // Dec 4, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Thank you for the well-written article. I am a computer listener who has picked up the Joe Elliott show for many years now, first on the radio and then on the computer. I enjoyed listening to the variety of topics, and enjoyed the professionalism and intelligence of the host. I was wondering why Michael Savage was on the air recently, and was hoping Joe was just on a vacation and the station was filling in with national programming. He will be greatly missed. In my local area, I have many opportunities to listen to these national voices, and choose not to listen to their limited scope and berating manner to those who disagree with them. I hope Joe lands another job in radio if he so chooses. Good luck to him, and thanks for the many years of quality broadcasting.
3 A. Casebeer // Dec 5, 2007 at 5:54 am
I completely agree with Mr. Reed. We’re losing a class act, a local icon - and gaining an evil, bigoted, foul-mouthed hatemonger who doesn’t belong on the radio anywhere, let alone our city.
20+ years later, I still feel the day that the Binghams sold the paper and stations was a major disaster for Louisville, ranking with the April 3, 1974 tornado, and with the 1937 flood. Barry Bingham (Sr. and Jr.) must turn in their graves to realize how far their properties have declined in class and quality. Only 11 remains at a semblance of its prior excellence.
AC
4 A. Strange // Dec 5, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I so agree. I very much appreciate the way you began with the historical perspective. We have lost so much more than Joe and his show (huge in of itself). I hope someone locally recognizes this opportunity and Joe is back on the air in the near future beyond the Sunday morning time slot. Such a loss for us all here in Kentuckiana!
5 mr x // Dec 5, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Mr Reed-I agree with you on the loss of Joe and I appreciate you providing the insightful histrical perspective of the big blowtorch. I will dearly miss him. I do take exception to your portrail of Rush as a hate-monger. Rush has done very well and has the national ratings to prove it -thank you. Maybe if you actually listened you might learn something or do you just not like hearing his dead-on factual protrail of Bill and Hilary? Until now, I didn’t realize you were a flaming hate-filled liberal. You along with the no talent McLean (the next to go) don’t realize you are alienating half your audience. Not a smart move for sports guys. PS..What’s wrong with Cheney girlie man?
6 Rob Mattheu // Dec 6, 2007 at 6:55 am
Clear Channel and Gannett’s biggest crime is business stupidity. The decline of audience for both radio and newspapers is blamed on a number of factors. The one that conveniently is always left out is the fact that both media outlets, which are by their nature local, have lost that local feel.
WHAS’ huge ratings had to do with the fact that they were the one place that we always could go to get local news, weather, traffic and closings in a hurry. They were an institution that managed to attract an audience of every stripe. And it was a beacon of QUALITY that reached far.
To Clear Channel, it was just another 50,000 watt station in a good location. No matter that people were tuning in for something they couldn’t get anywhere else in the country.
These companies have ruined the things that kept people buying the product they took over. Yet when the bottom line starts to shrink, they point their fingers everywhere else but themselves.
Rush is a hate-monger, and his national ratings have more to do with having a syndicated show in a timeslot when there isn’t much radio listening (put him on at drivetimes and his show would start to tank).
7 Gordon // Dec 6, 2007 at 10:41 am
Agree and disagree with you Billy. Agree about Clear Channel and the total discombobulation of a heritage radio station. You haven’t seen the end yet. Disagree about Limbaugh. Remember, Disagreement is not hate. Having different views that you is not hate, it means we see the world in different ways. If you criticize me because I am conservative, should I call you a hate monger? I wouldn’t. Geez, liberals nowadays are leaning towards sounding like communists, one world, one view. That’s scary. PS, when did Senator Byrd resign from the KKK, or has he?
8 Paduke // Dec 6, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I worked in the newsroom of The Louisville Times and, after merger, for The Courier-Journal. For what it’s worth, Billy, the merger was under the Binghams, not under Gannett. It was a bean-counting move sparked by what we thought at that time were outrageous gasoline prices.
Most of my years at the papers were under the Binghams, thank God. After the sale to Gannett, I stayed for 2-3 years. I left because I could no longer stomach the incredible drop in quality and the way I saw top-flight, veteran journalists being treated.
I say all that in support of Mr. Reed’s observation that Joe’s firing is just one more embarrassing step in the dismantling of what once was a real community asset.
I don’t know what the ratings show, but there’s no question in my mind that Joe Elliott has established himself as Louisville’s top radio talk show host. If there are programming execs with a lick of sense at the other major local stations, they’ve already called and offered him a job. The minute I hear Joe is doing an evening show with another local station, that’s where I’ll be tuned at night.
I consider myself fairly conservative, but I’m repulsed by the ranting and raving I’ve heard from the obnoxious Michael Savage. His vocal cords routinely overwhelm his brain and I usually find him boring after 2-3 minutes.
What a loss for Louisville and the entire region.
9 Charles Springer // Dec 6, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Showing UK stuff in your ads is another insult to all of us.
10 mark hulsman // Dec 6, 2007 at 4:11 pm
A sad day for those of us who grew up in Louisville. There is nothing left on WHAS for this listener. I have been barely able to tolerate Meiners, McLane and Francene, but losing Joe cuts it. I am now a proud supporter of WFPL and whoever hires Joe Elliot.
11 John Smith // Dec 6, 2007 at 9:19 pm
This is evidence that WHAS is not broadcasting “in the public interest” We should all petition the FCC that WHAS should not have their license renewed by the FCC.
12 Jeff Kustes // Dec 7, 2007 at 11:41 am
“free and open speech has suffered another blow. ” Thank You Mr. Reed, for expressing it so well.
I often avoid news sources such as the Courier Journal because it’s been my experience that ‘NO News’, is often better than ’self serving news’.
It’s probably a long stretch, but I can’t help but wonder if Joe’s effectiveness in defeating some of the initiatives of local government, didn’t contribute to his removal.
I’ll miss his show greatly.
13 BILLD // Dec 8, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Hard to watch what was the apex of professional radio journalism go down the tubes. The FCC should, at some point, step in to insure that there is some kind of local programming. If they had any balls. I could only take about ten minutes of savage , and if that’s the best they can do, then they have lost a long time listener.
14 Orv // Dec 15, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I consider myself a liberal and although I did not always agree with Joe Elliot, I found his show very compelling. I wonder how many people remember that he criticized Bush and the Iraq war about 1-2 months before he was fired. Bring Joe back…we need him.
15 Chris // Dec 19, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Which President was repsonsible for the FCC deregulating the radio airwaves and allowing behemoths like Clear Channel to own every radio station they could get their hands on.
Here is a clue. Colin Powell’s son was the head of the FCC when these changes were made.
I’m a GOP member, though currently don’t vote that way. The above is why.
16 mike E // Jan 19, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Few 50,000 watt blowtorches get it. WBT and WBZ are two that do. The local radio guys are so much more enjoyable. I’m in NY, but I’d listen to WBT (John Hancock) before I’d listen to my local WGY. WGY got rid of all the unique shows (except one) and replaced them with boring nation wide shows.
I’ve only listened to Joe a few times when I was visiting family in Detroit. I really enjoyed his show. A few nights 840 would come in good enough in NY, but not always.
17 Mike // Feb 29, 2008 at 8:34 pm
i have listen to whas and joe for years forthe past few months i keep turning off the rdio from 9 till midnight
I wish we could get a letter or something to get joe back on the air
I just cant stand this michael savage any more
with his always asking for money and no scece
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