Irv Weinstein

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Irv Weinstein (b. April 29, 1930) is a retired local television news anchor. He hosted WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News in Buffalo, New York for 34 years from 1964 to 1998 and became an iconic broadcaster, well known in both the Buffalo area and in Toronto, which was within WKBW's broadcast area. Weinstein was known for his bombastic delivery and sense of humour. Weinstein, weatherman Tom Jolls and sports anchor Rick Azar have the record for being the longest running anchor team in television history fronting the broadcast from 1965 until Azar's retirement in 1988.

Born in Rochester, New York, Weinstein's career began in radio in 1947 at WHAM (AM) in his hometown. He arrived in Buffalo in 1958 as news director of WKBW radio’s "Pulse Beat News" developing the concept of fast-paced "rock ‘n’ roll radio news" with an emphasis on crime, fire and tragedy and a tabloid, over-the-top, rapid-fire delivery. In 1964 Weinstein adapted this format for television when he became news director and news anchor at WKBW-TV.

In 1968, Weinstein participated in WKBW-AM's Halloween adaptation of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast. The 1968 version had Weinstein being killed atop Buffalo's city hall by a deadly heat ray emanating from a Martian war machine.[1] Weinstein contributed to a remake of the broadcast in 1971 (the 1971 broadcast was rerun in 1998). The day of his retirement, December 31, 1998, was proclaimed Irv Weinstein Day in Buffalo to celebrate his legacy in the community.

Five days after Weinstein's retirement, David Frum wrote a tribute called "He came from Buffalo. The way the French feel about Jerry Lewis, that's how we feel about Irv Weinstein," that was published in Canada's National Post. Nearly six years later, in October 2004, Weinstein's status as "an icon of television journalism in Buffalo" was discussed on the floor of the Ontario Legislature by MPP Tim Hudak.[2]

Weinstein is also remembered for a 1970s campaign promoting his newscast that used a jingle with the lyric:

"Irv Weinstein, you're really a pro!
Ya got all the news that we wanna know.
You tell it like it is and never throw us a curve,
Nobody says it like Ir-r-r-r-v !
Eye-wit-ness News (Yes-sah!)"

[edit] Irv Weinstein catchphrases

  • "Topping tonight's Eyewitness News"
  • "Pistol-packing punks"
  • "Buffalo blazebusters"

[edit] External links

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