Class Note 1970
Issue
January-February 2022
The College’s decision to sell WFRD did not sit well with classmates who spent countless hours in Robinson Hall learning news reporting, ad sales, finance, engineering, and management. Some of us enjoyed careers in the media world as a direct result of that.
David Graves recalls his media career start at a local Connecticut station while he was still in high school. He writes, “That made WDCR a reason to choose the College. Highlights included being taught by Bob Reich how to do the 6 p.m. news.” David’s first job in the commercial radio world was as a low-paid producer at WBZ Radio/Boston. He stayed with WBZ’s parent company (Westinghouse Broadcasting) for the next 25 years, moving up the ranks (and around the country). Program director positions in Pittsburgh (KDKA) and Chicago (WIND) led to a VP/general manager job at all-news KFWB (L.A.). As the internet unfolded, “New Media Dave” became president of Reuters Media worldwide. His last big gig was being the first senior VP of media at Yahoo!, then the dominant search engine site.
Paul Gambaccini writes, “Because I was the Rolling Stone reporter in London, I was invited to join BBC Radio in 1973. My countless hours on WDCR’s Sounds for the Tri-Town helped me cope. That led to an invitation to be on BBC’s arts channel. Because I hosted interview programs on WDCR, I could cope with that assignment too.” Paul is still heard on Radio 4 hosting the musical quiz Counterpoint and on Radio 2 (the popular adult music network) presenting Pick of the Pops. On a new channel, Greatest Hits Radio, Paul is a natural choice to serve up America’s Greatest Hits. He considers his successful career to be a “direct line from my years on WDCR.”
After Tuck Bill Moyes started working on-air at radio stations in Portland, Oregon; Boston; and Chicago. From there he became VP of radio at Frank Magid Associates, a research and consulting firm. He left to launch the Research Group, which grew to serve stations in most of the top U.S. markets and 22 countries. Bill also partnered with fellow Tuck classmate Terry Robinson to own 35 radio stations. The Research Group went public in the early 1990s as part of an IPO in combination with radio networks owned by Dick Clark. Two years after the IPO Bill launched a second radio research company, which still serves clients.
My early broadcast experiences were managing WCAS Radio (Boston), where we launched a new folk rock format, and promoting KBHK TV (San Francisco). I switched to ad sales at Metromedia Television in New York, staying with that station group when Fox bought it as the base for its fledgling new network. These experiences served as a great foundation for my “second act” (beginning in 1998) finding corporate sponsors for national PBS programs—from Teletubbies to Nightly Business Report, from Three Tenors in Paris to BBC World News.
—Stu Zuckerman, P.O. Box 85, Bridgehampton, NY 11932; (917) 559-0063; stuartz@gmail.com
David Graves recalls his media career start at a local Connecticut station while he was still in high school. He writes, “That made WDCR a reason to choose the College. Highlights included being taught by Bob Reich how to do the 6 p.m. news.” David’s first job in the commercial radio world was as a low-paid producer at WBZ Radio/Boston. He stayed with WBZ’s parent company (Westinghouse Broadcasting) for the next 25 years, moving up the ranks (and around the country). Program director positions in Pittsburgh (KDKA) and Chicago (WIND) led to a VP/general manager job at all-news KFWB (L.A.). As the internet unfolded, “New Media Dave” became president of Reuters Media worldwide. His last big gig was being the first senior VP of media at Yahoo!, then the dominant search engine site.
Paul Gambaccini writes, “Because I was the Rolling Stone reporter in London, I was invited to join BBC Radio in 1973. My countless hours on WDCR’s Sounds for the Tri-Town helped me cope. That led to an invitation to be on BBC’s arts channel. Because I hosted interview programs on WDCR, I could cope with that assignment too.” Paul is still heard on Radio 4 hosting the musical quiz Counterpoint and on Radio 2 (the popular adult music network) presenting Pick of the Pops. On a new channel, Greatest Hits Radio, Paul is a natural choice to serve up America’s Greatest Hits. He considers his successful career to be a “direct line from my years on WDCR.”
After Tuck Bill Moyes started working on-air at radio stations in Portland, Oregon; Boston; and Chicago. From there he became VP of radio at Frank Magid Associates, a research and consulting firm. He left to launch the Research Group, which grew to serve stations in most of the top U.S. markets and 22 countries. Bill also partnered with fellow Tuck classmate Terry Robinson to own 35 radio stations. The Research Group went public in the early 1990s as part of an IPO in combination with radio networks owned by Dick Clark. Two years after the IPO Bill launched a second radio research company, which still serves clients.
My early broadcast experiences were managing WCAS Radio (Boston), where we launched a new folk rock format, and promoting KBHK TV (San Francisco). I switched to ad sales at Metromedia Television in New York, staying with that station group when Fox bought it as the base for its fledgling new network. These experiences served as a great foundation for my “second act” (beginning in 1998) finding corporate sponsors for national PBS programs—from Teletubbies to Nightly Business Report, from Three Tenors in Paris to BBC World News.
—Stu Zuckerman, P.O. Box 85, Bridgehampton, NY 11932; (917) 559-0063; stuartz@gmail.com