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A Dark and Stormy Knight
Morning ‘shock jock' Russ Knight becomes the lightning rod for radical change at once-sleepy WELI
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Business New Haven
10/19/1995
By: BNH
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Out with the old, in with the new. Since the retirement of benign general manager Stan Shields, WELI has assumed a leaner, meaner mien, plunging into a “news talk” format and unceremoniously dumping 30-year morning drive fixture Ron Roemer (who, were he still on the air, could probably tell us where Jimmy Hoffa is buried). Since May, “New Haven's Russ Knight” has been the program director for the station and its corporate sibling WAVZ (1300 AM). He's better known as the morning drive jock who asked listeners to guess U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro's brassiere size and referred to the chamber of commerce head as “Mr. Peepers.”
Why are you in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame?
I was one of the top-rated air personalities in America by actual ratings. This was when I was working as Russ Knight at KLIF in Dallas, KLIT in Houston, WXYZ in Detroit, WHK in Cleveland and programming a legendary station in New York City, WNEW.
What's your Connecticut history?
I worked at WICC in the early '90s. It had like a 23 Arbitron share. I had the highest-rated talk show in the state when it was four hours straight of talk. I also do syndicated radio out of New York, interviewing legends of the '60s and '70s. I just had a Perry Como Labor Day show that was aired here and on 140 stations all over America.
Explain your programming aim.
The goal on WELI is to be 'news talk' and turn it into New Haven's radio station, which I think it used to be but had gotten away from. We are the local station that serves our community, and we can best do that by concentrating on local news.
What induced you to come here?
I know the people who run the station, and when they told me their philosophy of putting together a local station,I thought it would be successful. And it gave me a chance to run the entire operation.
What did you think of the existing programming when you arrived?
I thought it should be more local. They were playing Beatles music, which didn't really fit local talk. It had been [local talk] a long time ago, and we're trying to get it back to the legendary status that once existed. This was one of the pioneer stations in Connecticut.
WELI was a media institution, and it took that role seriously. Is it possible for a station to have that important a role today?
Oh, yes. Any successful station in any market, whether it be in New York, New Haven or Hartford, has their own local radio station. And we are the local radio station in New Haven.
Does community responsibility conflict with the need to attract an audience?
I'll give you an example. The other morning I had a story about the little Hamden boy who needs a bone-marrow transplant. We've had his family on the air and talked about how we can help the family, who's out of work and has no hospitalization. When we had him on the show last week, an insurance man heard the show and called the family, and said: 'Maybe your insurance didn't run out.' So this guy called Hartford, and called the family back ten minutes later and said: 'Your little son is covered for the next year.'
How does Rosa DeLauro's bra size fit into the community-service role?
It really doesn't fit. But that is an entertainment side of the issue. It's tongue-in-cheek. We'll turn right around and talk about what a great job she's doing over the Allied Signal plant in Stratford.
Are you going to temper the mean-spiritedness that brought so much criticism?
Absolutely. This morning, we went behind the scenes and had the principal of Eli Whitney [Vocational Technical high] school for an hour talking about the shotguns [carried by guards on the Connecticut Transit buses conveying the students] and how it was taken out of proportion. The kids are good kids, and the guards are for their protection.
Do you think that the initial shock approach wasn't accepted, and we are seeing a little softening?
It wasn't not accepted. That's just an isolated incident. We're doing much more good than bad, but people sometimes pick on that.
How did the way Ron Roemer left affect the station?
I can't comment on that right now.
Were you surprised at the response it generated?
No, not at all. But I told you, I can't comment on that.
G. Gordon Liddy [whose show airs from 11 a.m. to noon weekdays] caught flak when he likened federal agents to Nazis. Is Liddy really someone New Haven wants to hear?
What happened was taken out of context. This guy gave $30,000, out of his own pocket, to the people in Oklahoma City. That was never reported in the media. He's the second most syndicated guy in the country after Rush Limbaugh. And each time I think about taking him off the air, [I consider the] police officers, law-enforcement people, the silent majority, who like Liddy.
What's the community response to your programming, particularly the more controversial programs?
The response has now started to be very positive.
Did [Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce President] Matthew Nemerson have a positive response when he came in and talked to you?
Yes. He said this is the area station that needs to cover local issues more. It needs to be localized. You can hear things out of New York on the national level. [We] should report more local issues. And we certainly listened to him. He had a very positive influence.
What's happened in radio that makes building WELI harder or easier today?
You have to be more focused yourself on what is going on right under your nose. If you don't do that, you're not going to make it, especially on AM radio. There's more to listen to. There's more cable television. There's more news. But there's not more news about greater New Haven.
WELI sounds more conservative now than most talk radio. That's not true. Not right now. It is when you listen to people like Liddy. But you're picking on only one hour out of 24 hours a day.
What do you see as important local issues for the community?
The economy. This has been the hardest-hit state in New England. People are leaving the state, and the economy is still not what it used to be. That, along with the income tax.
What's the role media ought to play to improve relations between the races?
Oh, we're very in tune to that. We just hired Roger Vann, president of the NAACP, as our assistant program director. I am probably the only person who would play on Martin Luther King's birthday, the “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety. I played that the other day. In Bridgeport I started the 'Black Forum,' which is a forum for minorities to air their opinions.
Based on feedback from the news people, what are the local issues you pay attention to?
I hate to beat a dead horse, but the economy. Downtown New Haven. We need to attract more businesses. It's the job of [Mayor John] DeStefano and the chamber of commerce to attract new businesses.
Is media in New Haven involved enough in economic development issues?
I really don't know that much about television, but I have a feeling it's not. That's what we want to do. We want to get more involved in the community.
Do you have a mental picture of the WELI listener?
I don't want to say it's a picture. It's somebody who lives here and loves the city. I try to focus in on people who understand the city and want somebody on the air to understand the city. They want someone to inform and entertain them.
What would you like business people to learn from this interview?
To understand that this is a station for them. To support people and local businesses. If it happens in New Haven, you'll hear about it on our station. The focus is on what is going on right here. Not New York. Not national. New Haven.
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