Customer Reviews

Larry Kanes Philadelphia

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everyone has some point of view about local news and its value to our society or its impending decline. But, few have had an insiders seat on the evolution of local news as seen from the anchor chair. In his memoir of his years in television ,Larry Kane offers a brutually honest view of life in the same city for three decades. It is a wide ranging approach that includes the high and mighty from Frank Rizzo and the venerable liberal, Senator Joe Clarke to the confused and stormy reigns of Mayor Wilson Goode and Bill Green. Kane explores the relationship between politician and anchor in away not found in other books. He doesn't judge them as much as explain their challenges and how they conquered their inner demons or exorcised them. And he is no less tough on his own colleagues who ran the three stations were he served. News chiefs with willowed spines get their due , as do those who made unpopular decisions to serve Philadelphia. When they stood by him they are treated well, but when an obvious wrong was done, Kane offers vivid recollections of closed door meetings that you rarely get from a practicing journalist. Still this not at all a book of wrath. Kane carefully balances the things that matter to his community with the personality clashes that propel other memoirs.His accounting of the MOVE crisis in 1985 and the Rizzo years are as valuable as any historians more traditional approach. And there is warmth here as well. Kane always had a common man's touch and it shows up here. He treats media phenoms ,like d.j. cum anchor, Jim Obrien with great care. And his telling of how he revered the legendary oldies disc jockey, Jerry Blavat is a classic in character definition. His sense of proportion about people is also right on , no one is given too much space whether its the Beatles or this reviewer. Everything has its place and purpose. For a guy who has spent his life in an anchor chair there is a richness and value here found in few other television books.If you think anchors are hair sprayed blowhards, Kane's book will change that view. And all readers will get a very special tour of his city that destroys the classic Philadelphia cliches. This is one honest, tough and balanced account from a weathered newsman. Steve Cohen Salt Lake City

"Larry Kane's Philadelphia" is a uniquely rich tapestry of power and the powerful in a 20th century American city. Larry Kane propels the reader through three decades with understanding, insight, and a cub reporter's enthusiasm. Woven throughout the book are fascinating and highly personal anecdotes of the events and the people who made an unforgettable impact on us all. John Lennon. Three Mile Island. Hand grenades exploding inside a restaurant in Arab East Jerusalem. Rioting that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. And even more one-of-a-kind stories about the famous of Philadelphia: Frank Rizzo, Ed Rendell, James H. J. Tate, and more. Most revealing is Kane's anatomy of the most crushing event of his career. The WCAU-TV broadcast of allegations against then-Mayor Bill Green, the retraction of the story, the lawsuit that followed, and the ostracism he experienced inside his own newsroom for a story steamrollered on the air by an egotistic general manager. My favorite part of the book is an anecdote about me, and the price I paid as a newscast producer for cutting the time of legendary weatherman Jim O'Brien's on-air segment. You can read about it on page 81. But every reader will find plenty that's special and memorable in "Larry Kane's Philadelphia."

Larry Kane is such a familiar personality in the Phila. area as a TV anchor for all three Phila stations at one time or another but surprises abound in this book. Kane has managed to capture the heart and spirit of Philadelphia politics and the communities. I couldn't put this book down after just picking it up and thinking it was the same old, same old. Not a chance! The pace flows in this book and the insider's look at Phila. politics as well as the news stations is incredibly fascinating. You actually feel as though you were there. I highly recommend this book - even if you never lived in Phila. or its surrounding areas - this is an extremely interesting insider's view of politics and tv news. The author also speaks with great candor of his personal insecurities concerning his looks. This really was interesting as most people in the area (obviously we're referring to females here) speak of him as an extremely handsome individual! Always interesting to see how other's perspectives of themselves is different than that perceived by others. Definitely could not put this one down. Interesting insights with crazy politics, personal struggles and career decisions, etc. told with wit, warmth and style. A very charismatic writer who makes you want to hear more, more, more!

Want to know what happened to Larry Kane after he got off the Beatles tour? Check out "Larry Kane's Philadelphia". Here's a great yarn by a great newsman, a look at one of America's oldest and most colorful cities as seen by arguably the best local newscaster in America. I'd only visited Philly once before reading this, but learned a lot about everything from its hardball politicos to the tough-but-caring quality of its people.
Larry was there to meet, talk to and report on just about everything and everyone in the area for 35 years- and on three stations. Filled with a bottomless supply of anecdotes both gritty and witty, the book not only takes you to "Rocky"'s turf but far afield- did you know he went all the way to Anchorage, of all places, for a papal audience? (He had one in the Vatican too.) Larry's open-hearted, warm personality worked well for him in front of one of the toughest audiences around- ask anyone who's seen those raucous Philly sports crowds- for many years, and it works here too. In short, Larry Kane's a class act, and Philadelphians are incredibly lucky to have him. I'd have been proud to watch him myself- even if I wasn't raised on "Rocky", cheesesteaks, and "da Iggles"!

Being from the Philadelphia area, I was pretty intrested in what Larry Kane would write about. Larry tells good stories and helped me fill in what little details on stories that were reported when I was a kid.You almost have to cheer on a guy who went back to Phildephia to report news despite it being a "smaller market" than New York.If you don't really know the Philadelphia area you my be lost reading this but if you know Philadelphia , you'll be pleasantly suprised at how detailed this is and even laugh out loud at a good Ed Rendell anticdote

A great book for those interested in recent Philadelphia history and culture, or those just looking for an insight into major market TV news. The book seems to reflect Larry's on screen persona: fast paced, open, sometimes cloying, but never dull. Larry's seen a lot of history in his career, and relates it in a highly entertaining book.

Larry Kane retired from KYW 3 in December 2002 after 40 years of broadcasting.
I really enjoyed reading _Larry Kane's Philadelphia_ by Larry Kane. I really liked Larry Kane. When I was in high school, I was up until 11:30 almost every weeknight watching Larry Kane on KYW-TV 3 (also known as CBS 3) at 11.

In April 1994, when Bruce Hamilton and Jennifer Ward were the co-anchors of the station's newscasts weeknights at 6 and 11, things weren't going good for KYW 3. So, they got Larry Kane to replace both of them and be the sole anchor weeknights at 11.

It was really fun seeing Larry being the sole anchor weeknights at 11. I really liked his reporting and how he signed off. I really liked the fact that he WAS the newsman in Philadelphia. He was better than Ken Matz (his successor at WCAU-TV 10 when Kane went to KYW-3, and also his predecessor when dealing with affiliates, because when Kane came to KYW, it was then NBC. Because the station's parent company then, Group W Westinghouse, bought CBS, the station became CBS, WCAU became NBC. Thus, Matz was his successor at NBC's local affiliate in Philadelphia, because he was the lead anchor at WCAU) or even Larry Mendte, his successor at KYW (and even Matz's at WCAU).

I feel that after reading th book, Larry Kane showed excellence in broadcasting in Philadelphia, more than Ken Matz, Larry Mendte (Mendte has lived in the Philadelphia area most of his life), or even Tim Lake, Mendte's successor at WCAU.

Larry Kane, a Philadelphia fixture for 35 years, has outdone himself with this book. It's really well written, and takes you on an unusual ride through the tv business. So far, I understand in its fifth printing, and no wonder. This book should be read by anyone interested in improving the quality of tv news.

I especially enjoyed Kane's self deprecating sense of humor, and his description of Philadelphia. It makes me want to get to know Philadelphia.

this book brings back memories of the last quarter century and will be enjoyable to anyone who has lived in the philadelphia area and maybe anywhere else in the world.....

Larry Kane has been a fixture on Philadelphia newscasts for the past 30 years and this is a must read for Fluffian's and those interested in media warfare. Despite some fawning passages about the late mayor & demagogue Frank Rizzo, Kane isn't too far off the mark about the Fluffia political scene. The characterizations of media legend, John Facenda (WCAU anchor and voice of NFL Films), however strain credulity.

Kane focuses more on his work at WCAU and KYW rather than the ground breaking work at WPVI in the early '70's. His contribution to WPVI's Action News continues to make it the #1 broadcast 30 years hence yet little is dished on crosstown rivals like Jim Gardner, Marc Howard, and company. The book closes on a weak note with a lot of local name dropping.

However, the book still rates four stars for it's content, writing, and tight structure. This is a must buy for Fluffian's everywhere.