Big changes at WDAF Radio

As I reported on this morning's Page One, former AM radio giant WDAF — honored with Marconis and countless Arbitron titles over the past three decades — moved a big step away from its great past when it went to FM in 2003.  Now, it's taken another dramatic step, saying goodbye to Paul Harvey and its 25-year morning man, David Lawrence.

Story's on the jump, along with some additional quotes from David Lawrence that didn't run in the paper.

Earlier, I reported the dropping of Paul Harvey News and Comment.

Two legendary radio voices go silent at WDAF
Station drops Paul Harvey’s news program, and disc jockey David Lawrence, a longtime KC favorite, calls it quits.

By AARON BARNHART and BRIAN MCTAVISH
The Kansas City Star

After three decades, the two men best known for making the letters WDAF synonymous with excellence in radio are out at the station.

WDAF-FM (106.5) dropped the three-a-day newscasts by legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey this week, citing his failure to connect with younger female listeners.

And David Lawrence, who has been the country station’s morning man for a quarter century, will announce this morning on his program on WDAF that he’s giving up his day job. He will continue to host a weekend program and do other projects for the station, which is owned by Philadelphia-based Entercom Communications Corp.

“I’m hanging it up,” said Lawrence, 62, on Thursday. “I have a lot going on in my life. Nothing to do with radio.” He cited the deaths of his mother and two brothers in the past two years.

The departures of Lawrence and Harvey mark an end of an era. When WDAF was at 610 on the AM dial, it was known as “61 Country.” It prided itself on being a “full-service” station that delivered frequent newscasts, weather, traffic reports, farm prices and more to the whole region. It was a format made for talkers like Lawrence and Harvey. When the station switched to an FM frequency three years ago, its focus shifted to music.

“WDAF is moving straight ahead,” Lawrence said. “I could be a part of it, but I don’t want to be. It’s as simple as that. It’s a whole new generation, and I feel that I’ve fulfilled every dream in radio that I want to fulfill.”

That generational shift was reflected more starkly in the sudden disappearance of “Paul Harvey News and Comment” from WDAF. Harvey’s signature 15-minute noon broadcast, offering headlines, comments, offbeat items and announcer-read commercials, was replaced with a two-minute comedy bit featuring Jeff Foxworthy.

Cindy Schloss, market manager for Entercom Kansas City, said Harvey simply wasn’t connecting with the 25-to-54-year-old women they interviewed in research studies. She also cited the 88-year-old’s voice, which has diminished in recent years.

Across the country, the Harvey franchise is in trouble. Many stations dropped his program, which is syndicated by ABC Radio Networks, when they switched from ABC to Fox as their news provider. In other markets, including Boston, Harvey was picked up by a smaller station in the market. Some broadcasters have complained that Harvey was absent too often.

According to ABC Radio Networks, however, Harvey still draws 15 million listeners a day, more than Rush Limbaugh, and still accounts for 10 percent of ABC’s radio revenues. Thursday night, The Star was unable to reach ABC officials, who were attending a conference in Dallas. As for Harvey, he told Forbes magazine this summer, “I’d retire, only I have never found anything else that I would rather do.”

Lawrence is unusual among morning radio hosts in that he never complains about getting up early. He rises about 1 a.m. to prepare for his show and catches a nap after his shift. He did, however, miss his first night on the air, Dec. 19, 1973. “I drove over from Denver,” he said. “I don’t know why I waited until the night before I was going on to drive over, but I got caught in this monster snowstorm and couldn’t get through on I-70. I got as close as Junction City.”

He rode WDAF’s success to the top of the radio ratings, thanks in large part to program director Ted Cramer, who in 1977 turned the station into “61 Country” and created a radio phenomenon. (Cramer, who's in the Country Music Hall of Fame, returned to WDAF in the 1990s, but he and the station parted ways after the move to FM.)

The station was one of the highest-rated and most honored in the country in its heyday and was riding high when Lawrence took over as morning man in 1981. He remained No. 1 most of the years since.

But with the station eagerly pursuing a younger demographic, and with hard tasks awaiting him at home, including settling his mother’s estate, Lawrence decided it was time to get off the treadmill.

“I’m pretty certain that WDAF’s going to really take off, I really am,” Lawrence said. “But that’s going to be a lot of pressure, and I’m old enough that I don’t need it. Because I’ve been there. WDAF was No. 1 for many, many years. And I know what that’s like. And the years went by too fast because of trying to get to No. 1 and stay No. 1. It’s nothing but work.”

***

More quotes from Lawrence, courtesy of my colleague Brian McTavish:

"I’m going to miss going to the concerts, interviewing the stars. I’ve always been star-struck, you know. To this day I am, and I really enjoyed that — going backstage at all the concerts. I just love it. And the meet and greets, all that stuff. I’m going to miss my turkey day for the Salvation Army, that was our one big fundraiser…and then into the Christmas season was always really good. I’m going to miss all the people I work with."

“You know what I want to do: I’ve got four pals and every year we took a golf trip. We’ve been doing it for 25 years. And what I want to do in my free time is learn to play golf. I’m serious. I suck and these guys are all good. And they drag me along. Now I want to show up as a player.”

In 2000, I interviewed David, who revealed that he had divided his retirement portfolio between investments in XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.  I asked Brian to ask David how that worked out. He laughed.

“I probably would have been out of this business before now had I not invested. And I am very serious. I don’t invest in it any longer, but I did up until about six months ago. I’ve ridden the rollercoaster of satellite radio. I’ve done anything but well. Horrible."

Any special on-air plans for his final day Oct. 13?

“No, I don’t really want anything. My wife threw me a huge 25-year anniversary at WDAF, which was some time ago. And just this year in July, I had another big party for 25 years at morning drive. So I’ve had my parties and I just kind of want to put everything behind me and move forward.”

No tears?

“Oh, God, yes. Tears today from the press release, and Johnny Dare really had something nice say on end that was very sweet.” (Johnny Dare, who's on Entercom's hard rocker and eclipsed Lawrence as KC's No. 1 morning man a few years ago, does about as different a program from Lawrence's as you can imagine. He credited Lawrence with being a mentor, friend and inspiration in the press release put out by Entercom.)

Comments

[Fowler]

I think it was Randy Michaels who was credited with the 61 country format flip back in the 70s, not Ted Cramer.

[Aaron]

THey were both responsible but Cramer was mentioned because of his later role at 61 Country.

[carol dougan]

I DO NOT LIVE IN K.C. ANY MORE AND I CAME INTO TOWN THE OTHER DAY AND NO DAVID. I NOW KNOW WHY. I CRIED WHEN I FOUND OUT HE IS NOT LONGER ON THE AIR. A PART OF KANSAS CITY HISTORY GONE.HE SHOULD BE IN THE HALL FO FAME FOR ALL HE HAS DONE FOR THE PEOPLE. ALWAYS A SMILE ON HIS FACE, YOU COULD SEE IT ON THE AIR. THE FIRST TIME I MET DAVID IT WAS LIKE I HAD KNOWN HIM ALL MY LIFE. ONE SWELL PERSON. I CAN NOT SAY ENOUGH NICE THINGS ABOUT YOU DAVID LAWRENCE. YOU WILL TRULY BE MISSED BUT I ALSO KNOW A PERSON HAS TO MOVE ON IN LIFE AND I WISH YOU ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD.

CAROL DOUGAN RUPE

[Richard]

David Lawrence actually did mornings for WDAF before the flip to "61 Country." I remember him in the late 70's, when the station was old-fashioned "MOR." (Does anyone have that format anymore?)

[The DB]

I remember when he was the "Golden Beacon" on WDAF late nights..when he first came to KC.

[Jeanne Allen]

I was just curious to find out where Larry Moffit fits into the new mix of things with the radio station. Any information would be appreciated.
Thank you!

[Spottswood]

This is another sad event in the collapse of quality programming. I've long since switched to satellite radio but I miss the localized and real-time feel of broadcast radio. This is quite simply another sell-out to bring in profits for companies that are force-feeding radio listeners with swill.

The move of 61 Country to FM and now this format change is almost as tragic as the insult handed to KXTR. I am depressed.

[Pat Wickam]

I am taking the change at WDAF personally. With the thousands of dedicated listeners, it would have been nice to tell us what was happening. I need more from a radio station, i.e., news, traffic, banter etc. I think it was a slap in the face to the loyals.

[David Twente]

I miss the best, 61 Country and all it stood for. No information, no news, no farm/ag/market reports, NO PAUL HARVEY, NO DAVID LAWRENCE, all means NO PERSONALITY & NO REASON TO LISTEN TO THE wolf. And my wife and I both "fit" into their targeted demographics.