[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 43 (Monday, March 13, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1772-S1773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                        REMEMBERING MILTON METZ

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to a legend 
in broadcasting. For decades, radio listeners in Kentucky and across 
the eastern United States tuned in to hear Milton Metz. El Metzo, as he 
was affectionately known, passed away in January of this year at the 
age of 95.
  Known for his show, ``Metz Here,'' Milton provided fair and well-
informed news for thousands of listeners. In his time at WHAS radio in 
Louisville, KY, Milton almost became part of listeners' families. 
During his years on the air, he covered a wide variety of topics and 
helped his listeners sort out the issues of the day.
  Like so many other Kentuckians, I grew up tuning into Milton's shows. 
When I first ran for Jefferson County judge/executive, I appeared on 
his show. We talked about the issues in my campaign, and although he 
asked tough questions, he was always fair. Milton welcomed differing 
opinions and treated his guests and callers with civility. He became a 
staple of political campaigns, and I appeared on his show multiple 
times in my campaigns for the U.S. Senate.
  Milton represented a different age of diplomatic and gracious 
programming that listeners of all opinions and interests listened to 
and trusted. He also made a name for himself covering the Kentucky 
Derby. Frequently appearing in ``Millionaires Row,'' Milton interviewed 
celebrities and guests who came to Louisville for the ``Fastest Two 
Minutes in Sports.'' In 1989, he was inducted into the Kentucky 
Journalism Hall of Fame, an honor he surely deserved.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and career of 
Milton Metz, a true radio pioneer. He earned great acclaim in Kentucky 
and across the Nation, and his legacy will not soon be forgotten.
  The Courier-Journal published an article on Milton Metz's career. I 
ask unanimous consent that a copy of the article be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Courier-Journal, Jan. 12, 2017]

               Local Radio Legend Milton Metz Dead at 95

                          (By Andrew Wolfson)

       Milton Metz, a pioneer in broadcasting in Louisville and 
     the longtime host of the talk show ``Metz Here'' on WHAS 
     Radio, died Thursday, according to former colleagues Wayne 
     Perkey and Terry Meiners.
       He was 95 and died at Magnolia Springs, a senior living 
     facility, Perkey said.
       ``El Metzo,'' as he was affectionately known, began at the 
     station in 1946. ``Metz Here'' debuted July 30, 1959, with 
     the title ``Juniper 5-2385,'' after its phone number, and 
     ended on June 10, 1993.
       ``Every time Milton Metz clicked on the mic, people across 
     middle America were guaranteed wit, wisdom, and balance,'' 
     Meiners said.
       ``On or off the air, Milton was first and foremost a 
     gentleman, bringing grace and intellect into a sometimes 
     inelegant media landscape,'' Meiners said. ``Rest easy, 
     brother. You blazed a beautiful trail and we shall follow.''
       Perkey said Metz was a role model and father figure for a 
     younger generation of broadcasters that included Meiners, 
     Perkey and Jack Fox.
       ``He was not afraid to ask difficult questions, but he 
     tried to be fair,'' Perkey said. ``He had a great wit and he 
     showed it. I loved him because he was Milton.''
       Bob Johnson, a retired political reporter on WHAS Radio and 
     TV, said that unlike contemporary talk radio, his show never 
     featured ``talking heads shouting at each other.''
       ``He had a sweet, gentle nature and his graciousness 
     carried over into his work on the air,'' said Johnson, later 
     a Courier-Journal reporter. ``I was very fond of him.''
       Perry Metz said his father enjoyed ``a good joke, a long 
     conversation and listening to different points of view.
       ``If civility is old-fashioned, you could say he was old-
     fashioned,'' said the younger

[[Page S1773]]

     Metz, who followed in his father's footsteps and now runs 
     public radio and TV stations at Indiana University in 
     Bloomington.
       Metz could be serious on the air but at a roast held when 
     he retired he recalled how a publicity agent had called 
     plugging his client's appearance.
       ``She's written `Why Diets Don't Work,' '' the agent said. 
     ``But if that doesn't appeal to you, we could talk about her 
     new book, `The One-Hour Orgasm.' ''
       He also carefully guarded his age.
       In an interview with Courier-Journal columnist Torn Dorsey 
     in 1993, he would only say, ``Let's just say I'm older than 
     Diane Sawyer and younger than Mike Wallace.'' Wallace was 75 
     at the time.
       Sportscasting legend Cawood Ledford, who spent 22 years at 
     WHAS with Metz, once recalled that when Metz started his 
     program back in the 1950s the dial was full of talk shows.
       Ledford joked that he would like to say that Metz's 
     popularity drove the other shows off the air, but the truth 
     was that Metz simply outlived them all.
       He was born in Cleveland to a Russian-born father and 
     English-born mother and started his radio career in the 1930s 
     in Cleveland after graduating from Ohio State University.
       After serving in the army in World War II, he joined the 
     staff at WHAS radio in 1946. The same year, Milton began 
     recording Talking Books at American Printing House for the 
     Blind.
       ``Metz Here'' became the longest-running show in Louisville 
     and one of the longest-running in the country. On WHAS-TV, he 
     co-hosted and co-produced ``Omelet,'' a talk and interview 
     program for nine years and was the Channel 11 weatherman for 
     19 years.
       He also interviewed countless celebrities on the first 
     Saturday in May during WHAS-TV's traditional marathon pre-
     race show before the Kentucky Derby, where he was a fixture 
     on ``Millionaire's Row.''
       Metz was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame 
     in 1989.
       Joe Elliott, who took over Metz' time slot after he Metz 
     retired, said that Metz was a legend, not only in Kentucky 
     but to listeners through the Midwest and up and down the East 
     Coast, who caught his show on WHAS's 50,000-watt clear 
     channel transmitter.
       ``What I loved about Milton was that he was a master at 
     everything he did,'' Elliott said.
       Elliott and Perkey said Metz would record shows in the 
     afternoon on WHAS-FM, then a classical station, then do a 
     daily business report on WHAS-AM, then the weather for TV, 
     then his talk show, then the 11 p.m. news on television.
       ``He did everything and anything he needed to do,'' said 
     Elliott.
       Perry Metz said his father was pained by the coarseness of 
     contemporary talk radio.
       ``Anyone who listened to ``Metz Here'' knew it was a show 
     based on listeners, not him,'' Perry Metz said. ``You could 
     listen to him for years and not know his views.''
       ``People would call him from across the country and across 
     the political spectrum because they knew they could speak 
     their piece and he wouldn't try to show them up or embarrass 
     them.''

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