History of WINY Radio
MICHAEL WEINFELD WAS HIRED BY DAVID MELENDY IN THE SUMMER OF 1975 AS THE WINY AFTERNOON ANCHOR AND REPORTER. MICHAEL COVERED THE 10-TOWN AREA AT NIGHT. MICHAEL’S BIGGEST STORY AT WINY WAS IN 1976 WHEN PUTNAM HAD TO SHUT DOWN BECAUSE THE BUDGET WASN’T PASSED. IT MADE NATIONAL NEWS! MICHAEL REPLACED DAVID MELENDY AS NEWS DIRECTOR IN 1977, BECOMING MORNING ANCHOR AND HOST OF THE DAILY TALK SHOW “PUBLIC HEARING”. MICHAEL WAS PART OF WINY’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY IN 1978.
IN 1979, MICHAEL LEFT TO BECOME NEWS DIRECTOR OF WMMM/WDJF IN WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT WHERE HE DID HIS FIRST CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS WITH PAUL NEWMAN AND HIS WIFE JOANNE WOODWARD. IN 1981, MICHAEL WAS HIRED AS A REPORTER BY THE AP IN NEW YORK AND WAS TRANSFERRED TO WASHINGTON IN 1983, JOINING MELENDY, WHO’S STILL WORKING WITH MICHAEL TODAY. MICHAEL STARTED IN THE AP’S ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION IN 1987 AND SINCE THEN HAS INTERVIEWED LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF CELEBRITIES, FROM GEORGE CLOONEY TO MADONNA. MICHAEL COVERS THE OSCARS, GRAMMYS, EMMYS AND OTHER AWARD SHOWS EACH YEAR.
MICHAEL CAN STILL BE HEARD ON WINY TODAY WHEN THERE’S A BIG ENTERTAINMENT STORY THAT’S INCLUDED IN THE AP RADIO NEWSCAST THAT AIRS AT THE TOP OF THE HOUR.
MICHAEL AND HIS WIFE TIA MAYER WHOM HE WAS INTRODUCED TO BY SALLY WEIDMAN WHO WORKED IN THE OFFICE AT WINY IN 1975. THEY WERE MARRIED IN 1977 AND HAVE ONE DAUGHTER ANIKKA. ENJOY THE BELOW PHOTOS OF MICHAEL WEINFIELD’S TIME AT WINY AS WELL AS SOME CELEBRITY PHOTOS.
Slide Notes
“I’M SARAH MAGAW, WINY NEWS…..” I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE OF MEETING FORMER WINY AFTERNOON NEWS ANCHOR, SARAH MAGAW AT THE BROOKLYN FAIR ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013. SHE DID THE AFTERNOON NEWS AND OCCASIONAL TALK SHOW FILL-IN FROM 1973-1975. SHE SAID SHE CAME IN FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH SALES MANAGER PETER AUCOIN FOR AN OPENING IN THE SALES DEPARTMENT. DURING THE INTERVIEW, PETER SAID, “WAIT A MINUTE, I WANT YOU TO MEET OUR NEWS DIRECTOR, DAVID MELENDY”. DAVE WAS IMPRESSED WITH HER CRISP SPEAKING VOICE AND SAID, “YOU’RE ON IN 10 MINUTES”. SHE READ THE NEWS HEADLINES ON THE AIR AND NAILED IT. THEN HE SAID, “YOU’RE DOING THE 1:00 P.M. NEWS”. ANOTHER FLAWLESS PERFORMANCE AND SHE WAS HIRED ON THE SPOT. SHE SHARED MEMORIES OF FRANK CARROLL, DICK ALARIE, MIKE GERARDI, AND FRANK TRIPPI. SHE NOW RUNS THE PORTOFINO EQUESTRIAN CENTER NEAR RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA. I HEARD SARAH’S NAME MENTIONED MANY TIMES BY MIKE GERARDI, BUT HAD NEVER MET HER. WHEN KAREN AND I PURCHASED WINY 12 YEARS AGO, WE KNEW ALL THE OLD WINY JINGLES WERE LOVINGLY (AND DIGITALLY) PRESERVED, BUT THERE WERE PRECIOUS FEW PHOTOS AND MEMORABILIA FROM THE PAST. THIS IS A NICE ADDITION TO OUR HISTORY PAGE. WE APPRECIATE RECEIVING OLD PHOTOS FROM LISTENERS.~GARY OSBREY
If you have pictures or stories about the history of WINY, please email us at kareno@winyradio.com
