The world lost one of its greatest storytellers when radio-broadcasting legend Paul Harvey passed away at age 90 on Feb. 28.
Sure, his demographics skewed older, more conservative and more rural than a lot of the people on the East and “Left” coasts of the U.S., but for “flyover country,” Paul Harvey’s daily news and commentary reports were a part of daily life for decades.
And for anyone who has taken a cross-country road trip and made the romantic, if foolhardy, decision to stay off the interstates and stick to the “blue highways,” Harvey’s news reports, found on many an AM station, could be heard in areas far from any FM signal.
Harvey was never shy about including his opinion in his newscasts. He knew his audience well and spoke to them directly, with plain talk, a staccato cadence and a comedian’s gift for timing.
The talk radio giants of today, the Howard Sterns and Rush Limbaughs of the world, owe a huge debt to Paul Harvey.
We won’t get to hear “The rest of the story” again, but here’s a few words from Harvey’s final broadcast:
Good Day.
— Jonathan