Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1:
Takin’ A Walk with Buzz Knight.
Buzz Knight:
Gene Lavanchy. How a young lad from the mean streets of Walpole became one of the most recognizable anchors in Boston. I’m Buzz Knight, the host of the Takin’ A Walk podcast. And we are at Bird Park in Walpole to meet up with a man who’s interviewed newsmakers, celebrities, everyday citizens. He’s hit every zip code in this fine state, I guarantee you, and a field anchoring the very popular zip trips. And he’s even mastered the fine art of floating dad jokes. Welcome Gene Lavanchy, anchor of Boston 25 News to Takin’ A Walk.
Gene Lavanchy:
Buzz, great to be with you. Thanks for the invite and thanks for coming out here to beautiful Bird Park in Walpole.
Buzz Knight:
It’s so great to be here. And how does one master the fine art of floating dad jokes?
Gene Lavanchy:
Well, I’ll say this, you don’t have to necessarily be a dad to do it, you just have to like a good pun and just throw it out there and see what happens. And if you’re lucky enough, some will pop into your head here or there. There are the old standards, of course, but just having the opportunity to throw them in when they pop up it’s fun. And practice, practice, practice, I guess. Don’t be afraid. You got a dad joke, just throw it out there.
Buzz Knight:
All right. What was one recently that you think really hit it out of the park?
Gene Lavanchy:
I don’t know if they hit them out of the park, but something comes up. It’s a dad joke approach, I guess. Instead of actually telling a dad joke. Like today, we did something, marijuana is now the top product in Massachusetts. It’s almost doubled cranberries. So I was like, “Well, we had to dig through the weeds to get this one.”
Buzz Knight:
There you go.
Gene Lavanchy:
You mix the cranberries with your Thanksgiving dinner, it’s going to be your pot belly. So it’s all interconnected. So any stupid little thing you have-
Buzz Knight:
Oh, it’s the best.
Gene Lavanchy:
… you can throw out there.
Buzz Knight:
It’s the best. Did you ever think in your lifetime that you’d see marijuana legalized and gambling legalized?
Gene Lavanchy:
No. No. Gambling, maybe. I don’t know. But the marijuana, when I was growing up, I was always like, “Oh, it’s taboo.” And now it’s embraced and now it’s a big revenue generator. Casinos now, just think about the new revenue streams here in Massachusetts that we’ve had that didn’t exist before, which is part of the reason everybody’s getting a check. Because the state generated too much tax revenue, which kicked into that law from 1986. So everybody’s going to get a refund. But do you have the marijuana, casino gambling and the sports betting coming up now. It’s remarkable. And I never ever thought DC… I mean, I know people I know, friends will say, Buzz.
Buzz Knight:
That’s right.
Gene Lavanchy:
Who use it in college and you’re trying to hide and then, “Hey, you just go on the street, smoke some marijuana and nobody thinks anything about it.”
Buzz Knight:
Life is crazy.
Gene Lavanchy:
It sucks, and who knows where else we’re going from here.
Buzz Knight:
I don’t know if I want to know.
Gene Lavanchy:
Yeah, no, I know.
Buzz Knight:
Just stay in the here and now and deal with that. So set the scene. We’re at this beautiful park here called Bird Park in Walpole, and I bet you’ve taken a few walks here in your time.
Gene Lavanchy:
Yeah. Over the years, especially with four kids, we would come here to play. The big open field, there’d be a lot of youth soccer going on here, tennis tournaments. As I was telling you earlier, the tennis courts here. I won my very first trophy at 10 years old, Buzz, in a tennis tournament here. And I’m not sure that trophy still exists, but it’s a moment you remember as a kid. And it’s just a beautiful open space. We’d come here in high school, just hang out and sit around. And it’s still a beautiful place where people, families come to enjoy. And if you’re lucky enough, most towns will have a place like this. I know we do here in Walpole and it’s a gym and they take good care of it. Trustees look out for it, people respect it. It’s a great spot.
Buzz Knight:
It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. Did you ever envision that you’d become a celebrity in your own backyard, Gene?
Gene Lavanchy:
No. I’m not real comfortable with that. I mean, I’m just a guy doing a job that people happen to be able to watch you on television, I suppose. But I never really thought of it in those terms. Its nice when people come up and they may recognize you or have something nice to say. Or, maybe see a story you did or remember something they saw in the air that they liked. And if they mention it to you, to me, it’s just sort of an affirmation that as a group we’re doing a good job. And I appreciate it because the fact they are watching helps me feed and provide for my family.
Buzz Knight:
But I think your longevity in the Boston market, I think is the fact that you are the every man who’s just doing your job. So do you think that’s true?
Gene Lavanchy:
Yeah. That’s how I look at it. Yeah. I mean, there’s nothing… I think one of the things that my parents instilled in me, especially my mother, anything can be taken away from you at any time. There’s nothing guaranteed. So you try to approach it as if, “Hey, maybe it could be the last day you’re doing this.” Or some new management comes in and they don’t like you. And then, I don’t have to tell you how that works. Someone can change their mind and say, “I don’t care how long this guy’s been around, I don’t like him.” And it’s a very subjective thing. In our business, there are ratings, but those can be spun any way you want. So it’s not like you’re in sales where they say, “Oh, well, you generated X amount of sales, this guy’s valuable.” There’s really nothing that can tie us into ratings.
You can try to make that case, but if someone doesn’t like you and they’re in the position of deciding who’s on the air and who’s not. They don’t like you, it’s all over and there’s nothing you do about it. You could be doing some of the best work you’ve ever done and then new management comes in and says, “Eh, we want to try something else.” So it just keeps you focused and appreciative of every day and the people you work with. And you do it day after day, and that leads to year after year and that leads to whatever. It’s been over 30 years now.
Buzz Knight:
Oh, that’s great. Well, congratulations on that. And how, in your view, has the media landscape really changed during this period of time that you’ve been on the air?
Gene Lavanchy:
Pretty remarkable. First of all, how we present everything. Technology has changed. We used to have those big satellite trucks, remember those things with the dish on the top, and you’d have to run yards and yards of cable to get to the truck, and then you’d have to buy satellite time. All that’s gone. We now go live anywhere we want with something that’s the size of a backpack without any cables by just getting on the internet. It’s truly more WiFi. You can go anywhere. So from the technology standpoint, it’s been huge. When I first started, there was no… CNN was in existence, but there was no MSNBC, there was no Fox News, there was no Cable News, there were none of the media outlets that are on the internet now. And those sites, none of it. So now, there’s a saturation, I think. There’s a lot of different places that people can go to get their news, to consume the news.
Even newspapers, they’re all online now. So all of this stuff has changed to the point where there’s more competition and the social media, to me is a way to get word. It’s more of a marketing tool, I think, than it is anywhere to actually put your product. I mean, you do put your product there, but you don’t use that as the be all and end all. From my perspective, the social media is used to promote your product, maybe the little brand awareness, and then people will get to know your product and then, they’ll watch you. There’s been nothing that I have seen that shows as a correlation to your presence on social media and your ratings. So they like to say, sometimes, consultants say, “Well, social media, that’ll get your ratings.” Well, there’s no proof for that. It’ll help build your awareness. People may get to know you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to tune in to watch when you’re on, when your shows is on, be morning, evening, late night, et cetera.
Buzz Knight:
So when you were sitting in class at Emerson College, were you envisioning a news angle in your career or were you exclusively focused then, in the sports side?
Gene Lavanchy:
It was all sports. Everything I did was geared toward being a sportscaster, being a sports reporter, covering teams. I realized at a young age, I wasn’t going to be good enough athlete to play for the Red Sox or whatever, but I wanted to be around sports. And growing up in Boston, I mean, what a treat. We were spoiled with the sportscasters we had and how much time was given to sports, and the teams we had and the athletes who came through here. Oh my God. It was a feast of great coverage, of great reporters and great teams. All of that came together and you wanted to find a way to be a part of it. So I don’t know. For some reason, as a kid, I was always drawn to it, broadcasting and journalism. Remember being third, fourth grade, I’d bring the newspaper into school and read it and people like, “You’re weird.” But I don’t know.
Buzz Knight:
So, you knew then. Huh?
Gene Lavanchy:
Yeah. I did. I did. It was a drive of just being curious about everything. And that led to taking journalism classes in high school and then going to Emerson. And just getting a lot of breaks along the way and being able to pursue covering sports. And it was awesome. Got to cover a lot of great events, got to cover the teams I grew up watching. And then, by the time came to make the transition over to news, I was ready to do that.
Buzz Knight:
And was that something that came to you that changed to news, or was that something that you looked at?
Gene Lavanchy:
I would like to say that I had a crystal ball and I was brilliant about where things were going in terms of sports coverage and the emphasis, or lack thereof now maybe, compared to what it used to be. But really it was a personal thing in that I had four kids at the time, all under the age of nine. And I would be off to work before they were home from school, and then they’d be off to school before I get out of bed. So it wasn’t really conducive to being a good parent. And luckily, the opportunity at then Fox 25 popped, up and it seemed to fit some of my skills well, and I knew some people there. And thank the Lord, it all fell into place and I’ve been there 20 years now.
Buzz Knight:
Wow, it’s amazing. So the concept of the zip trips, I always loved it how it just really embeds your station and your show in a community. What are some of the favorite zips that you really, really love?
Gene Lavanchy:
Well, you remember a little something about all of them. And we’ve been doing it for so long now. We’ve revisited towns, we’ve been there once, and then 10, 12 years later we’re back again. So you always remember what you did the first time. But for me, I think I’ve enjoyed the ones where we’ve had some celebrities actually come out. Martin Short came out to Milford.
Buzz Knight:
Wow.
Gene Lavanchy:
We had “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, down in Norwell. We had Eddie Money live in Westwood with us. Joe Theismann was in with us in Burlington. So you try and explain to these… They’re coming on to promote something or whatever. When you try to explain to them, “No, no, no. Well, we’re going to be out in this town. There’ll be a lot of people there and they have no idea what to expect.” And then they come out and obviously the crowd loves to see them and it turns out to be as beneficial to them as it was to us. So to get their reaction is phenomenal. And then just to see these celebrities coming out to small town Massachusetts, they don’t know what to expect. It’s hilarious and they’ve all loved it.
Buzz Knight:
Okay, quiz. What former Boston Radio DJs from Milford?
Gene Lavanchy:
Was that Laquidara?
Buzz Knight:
Yeah. However, you know. That was an easy one. A previous guest to the Takin’ A Walk podcast?
Gene Lavanchy:
And a legend, a true legend.
Buzz Knight:
Oh my God.
Gene Lavanchy:
A big mattress, all of that. I loved all those guys. Ken Shelton, who I interviewed a couple times, and I always thought he was the secret glue to the whole BCN line up there. Mark Parenteau, all those guys. I mean, we’re spoiled. I was talking about growing up in TV and watching all the sports casters, Don Gillis for example. I remember Bill O’Connell, I remember Len Berman on Channel 4. All of them had a big influence on me. And then the radio guys, like you mentioned, DC. I mean, we’re just spoiled here, with so much great media talent to grow up and watch.
Buzz Knight:
Well you could actually, if you’re listening to this podcast, subscribe and share it and-
Gene Lavanchy:
And please do, by the way.
Buzz Knight:
… and rate it and all that. But people listen to the sound sometimes, Gene, and they’re like, “Well, first of all, I hear that noise. Was that really the leaves?”
Gene Lavanchy:
Yes.
Buzz Knight:
So we are actually walking and the other thing people-
Gene Lavanchy:
A very wooded part of Bird Park here.
Buzz Knight:
Yeah.
Gene Lavanchy:
A lot of shade, a lot of foliage. And at this time of year, a lot of leaves on the ground.
Buzz Knight:
Yeah. And people also sometimes go, “Well wait, you guys were puffing and puffing a little.” We’re not puffing and puffing.
Gene Lavanchy:
No.
Buzz Knight:
We’re actually walking.
Gene Lavanchy:
That’s fair. Yeah, yeah.
Buzz Knight:
We’re actually walking. So [inaudible 00:13:48]-
Gene Lavanchy:
I’m speaking for myself, not in the greatest of shape, but managing to still carry on a conversation.
Buzz Knight:
Well, I think you’re doing just fine. Now, you are. And do you like taking walks though? I mean-
Gene Lavanchy:
I do.
Buzz Knight:
… just to clear the head and everything.
Gene Lavanchy:
Yeah, I think especially, you get to be our age. My age, certainly. I used to run a lot, but the knee started to go, and then the ankle, and then the hips and you’d run four days a week or five days a week. And then you cut it back to three, and then you cut it back to two. And then like, “Why am I even running anymore?” So it doesn’t look fun right now. You want to exercise, but you don’t want to wind up in traction when you’re done.
Buzz Knight:
So it’s not-
Gene Lavanchy:
I’ve just taken a walking there. You walk three miles. Like you said, you clear your head. Some days maybe you listen to music or Takin’ A Walk podcast.
Buzz Knight:
There you go.
Gene Lavanchy:
There you go.
Buzz Knight:
It’s a perfect companion.
Gene Lavanchy:
Yep.
Buzz Knight:
Nice art of the cross promote.
Gene Lavanchy:
We try.
Buzz Knight:
Yeah. Next to teaser from Gene Lavanchy from Boston 25. So you mentioned some of the folks that have come out to the zip trips.
Gene Lavanchy:
Yeah.
Buzz Knight:
So I would imagine those were some great interviews and ones that you particularly had fun with and the guest was terrific. Any that went the other way?
Gene Lavanchy:
Sure.
Buzz Knight:
I don’t know if you want to mention them by name or just vaguely refer to a… Whatever you like.
Gene Lavanchy:
Two celebrities that were bad, just bad interviews. Minnie Driver came in and I guess she was having a bad day. I don’t know, I can only base it on my experience with her. But she was not very friendly at all.Not very cooperative, was very uncomfortable. And the other one, Tommy Lee Jones.
Buzz Knight:
Wow.
Gene Lavanchy:
We did an interview with him, one word answers, looking at the floor, he was rude. And the problem with that is, “Hey listen, maybe I could have done a better job. I don’t know.” But usually people who are agreeing to do an interview about something, they’re promoting an item, they’re very cooperative, sometimes playful. Neither one of them were, the times I interviewed them. And what they need to understand is, “Oh, it’s just another interview to them. They’ve done millions of them.” But it’s got to be seen by people in the Boston area and whatever they’re promoting, you would figure that they’d be excited about it because they want everybody else to be excited about it. So play along, make it fun. Look like you’re glad to be there, but neither one of them were very interested in that. And it get to be uncomfortable too. When you know it’s not… You know what it is. When you do an interview and you know it’s not going well, it can get uncomfortable.
Buzz Knight:
Oh my God. Yeah. And there’s no turning back.
Gene Lavanchy:
No, there’s not. So the Tommy Lee Jones one we had taped, that. Minnie Driver was live, so there was no getting around it. We had talked about the Tommy Lee Jones one, and it was like, “Well, should we air it?” So we did air it. It was awful. But we opened up the microphones while the interview was going on, the taped interview. And Guy Doug Gotti Vidivy used to work with us, we just talked back and forth about, well what’s he doing here? Because there’s one time his eyes were looking down at the floor and I said, “Well, there’s a cockroach. He’s distracted by it.” So we tried to make the most of it, but it was bad.
Buzz Knight:
I’m laughing now, but I’m sure you were not laughing then.
Gene Lavanchy:
No, no, no. And I’ve read subsequently that he’s been difficult to deal with, so I’d like to think maybe it wasn’t me, but I don’t know.
Buzz Knight:
But you do wonder, it’s like, “Well, why would you do it?”
Gene Lavanchy:
Right. It’s just-
Buzz Knight:
I mean, it’s painful then don’t do it.
Gene Lavanchy:
He’s promoting a movie that he actually wrote and produced. So you figure, “Hey, this is my project and I want everybody to see it. And it’s awesome and it’s great.” But apparently he doesn’t believe in that approach.
Buzz Knight:
Didn’t he go to Harvard?
Gene Lavanchy:
He did.
Buzz Knight:
Yeah.
Gene Lavanchy:
He did. Hey, brilliant actor. Don’t get me wrong, but-
Buzz Knight:
Oh yeah, he is-
Gene Lavanchy:
That was not fun.
Buzz Knight:
He is brilliant for sure. So if someone was in this position listening to the podcast that is hell bent on a career somehow in media, what advice would you give them?
Gene Lavanchy:
Well, I would say, first of all, and hopefully, this is not going to be a problem for a lot of people, it already has been. Be very careful about what you post on social media. I’ve seen a lot of people lose jobs over it. I know you have too. There have been plenty of stories about it. People who won’t get hired. I had a friend of mine whose son was interviewing for a job down in Atlanta and they asked him and required him to provide all of his social media accounts, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and they wanted to go through it just to make sure it was clean. So anything that you may have on there that could cost you a job, you got to remember, it’s not you. You’re also representing the organization you work for. And that’s first and foremost. So one, that’s a hurdle that’s a new hurdle for people to clear.
But hopefully, you don’t have that issue. And if you do want to get into media, you have to work hard, you have to sacrifice, you got to understand the hours aren’t great, the pays not going to be great at the beginning. But I always felt if you have that passion, you have that voice in your gut that’s telling you, “Yes, this is what I want to do.” And you’re willing to learn at the outset, pay some dues, it’ll be great. It’ll be great. Because it’s, like they say, “Find something that you love to do and you never work a day in your life.” And I’ve been fortunate with that. I’ve done a lot of work, I’ve worked hard, but I’ve enjoyed the work. So that’s important. And as far as journalism goes, be honest, tell the truth, be skeptical, be curious.
Buzz Knight:
It’s great advice. Who are some of the people that as you were on your way up, that you’d like to acknowledge that really helped you, mentored you?
Gene Lavanchy:
Sure.
Buzz Knight:
And to this day, that made an impact.
Gene Lavanchy:
Too many people to mention, a lot of people along the way. Some people who are in your life. And then next thing you know, you turn around and they’re gone. But they had an impact on you. This guy, I’ll go back to high school. Richard Schnobis was a guy who was a journalism instructor at Walpole High. He was great. I got to Emerson and a lot of influence there. Marsha Della-Giustina was the head of, still is, broadcast journalism. Another woman, Marilyn Manter there, was terrific. I had a guy named Steve Frazier. I don’t know if you remember Steve. He was on Channel 5, he was a reporter for a while.
Buzz Knight:
I do.
Gene Lavanchy:
He was on the old WEEI when it was News Radio. Terrific reporter, huge influence on me. Dave Cromwells was the guy who gave me my first job, can’t thank him enough. I worked with a guy named Tan Bell, Providence [inaudible 00:20:45], phenomenal. Channel 7, I worked there, I interned there. John Dennis was a huge influence. Frank Shore, Gary Gillis, people just treated me really well, gave me a lot of good advice. And I wouldn’t be the reporter, the professional I am today without all of them. And just watching how people carried out their jobs and the way they did things. Greg Kelly at Channel 25 at the time, the GM, gave me a great opportunity. I can’t forget Ken London at TV 38 and Andy Sug. I’ll tell you one quick story, Buzz.
Buzz Knight:
List.
Gene Lavanchy:
You never know who’s watching. You always got to… So Ken London, I had just got a job in Providence. I’d been there for about a year. I was 25 years old. And I get a message in the old pink message slip, and it was from Ken London and I recognized the number 38, 38. And I said, “I think that’s Channel 38.” And Channel 38 at the time had Red Sox and Bruins. Now, they were a super station for sports. And I was like, “Well geez, maybe something’s going on. So I called him and he said, “Look…” I was on Block Island with my wife. She was pregnant at the time and wasn’t feeling well. So we went back to the hotel, she slept. I turned on the local news and I was doing a sports cast on Channel 6 on some weekend in, I don’t know, September or over the summer, I don’t remember.
And he said, “You did a good job. I thought you looked pretty good. And I like your efforts. I want to see if you want to come up and audition for the studio host job at TV 38.” I ultimately auditioned. Those guys stuck their neck out for me. Sean McDonough helped me, but ultimately I got the job. So if that was a day where I didn’t really feel like working, it was the day I mailed it in, it was the day I was sloppy. Ken London would’ve never put me in the back of his head and said, “All right, I’m going to remember this guy.” And who knows what would’ve happened. That was an unbelievable job for me. Probably the biggest break I’ve ever had. All because one guy happened to be in a hotel, and happened to be watching a random day where at least I put in the full effort and did enough to get recognized by him as someone who might be worthy of that position.
So the bottom line with that is like Joe DiMaggio said, he’s… There was an old line, they were killing some team in a game in August and he was trying to leg out a double and like, “Joe, why are you trying so hard?” And he says, “Well, there may be somebody here who’s never seen me play before.” And I kind of stuck that in the back of my mind. And I think going back to advice for kids or anybody getting into this business or whatever it is you’re doing, you never know who’s watching. You never know who’s paying attention. So whatever you’re doing doesn’t matter how big or how small, make it your Picasso. Make everything you do, try to be your Picasso. The old saying goes, “Be a job, big or small, do it well or not at all.” It’s not a dad joke, but dad philosophy there, buzz
Buzz Knight:
Gene. That’s a great way to kill it and nail it toward the end here. Thanks for being [inaudible 00:23:39]-
Gene Lavanchy:
I’ve enjoyed it so much, Buzz. I appreciate you asking me and thank you very much.
Buzz Knight:
Thank you.
Gene Lavanchy:
Okay.
Speaker 1:
Takin’ A Walk with Buzz Knight is available on Spotify, apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
About The Author
Buzz Knight
Buzz Knight is an established media executive with a long history of content creation and multi-platform distribution.
After a successful career as a Radio Executive, he formed Buzz Knight Media which focuses on strategic guidance and the development of new original content.
