Popular ABC Reporter Murdered In New York City

RADIO IN SHOCK

ABC's Weber Had Strong News-Talk Ties







With news that a popular ABC Radio reporter / anchor has apparently been murdered, New Yorkers and radio industry professionals are joined together in shock and grief this morning.

Well-known to WABC radio listeners for his anchor role at the station's former Curtis & Kuby morning drive program, George Weber had more recently assumed a national on-air position with ABC Radio.

The New York Post has more:

Weber began at WABC in 1996, joining Kuby and co-host Curtis Sliwa when their show debuted in 2000.

A career radio man who worked in Denver and San Francisco, Weber became a fixture in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood, good-naturedly arguing with the famously anti-mob Sliwa over whether the area's wiseguy-supported eateries were off-limits.

Sliwa said Weber used his beloved Dachshund, Noodles, as an icebreaker to score interviews at news scenes.

"The guy was fearless," said Sliwa. "Him and Noodles would pursue a story no matter where it was. He had a nose for news, and an insatiable appetite."

He was let go last year, as part of a slew of changes brought on by the addition of Don Imus to the station's line-up, but landed at ABC News, which provides national network news to stations across the country, including WABC.

"He loved his work," said Mike Caragliano, the engineer for the show. "He always said he had the best job in the best city in the world. It was really sad to hear what happened. We're all going to miss him, a lot."

Cops initially visited the building this morning at 1 a.m., but got no answer and chose not to break the door down. When they returned nine hours later, a neighbor guided them to a side door Weber kept unlocked.

At the New York Radio Message Board, Mayor Bloomberg's statement has been posted:

STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON THE DEATH OF ABC RADIO REPORTER GEORGE WEBER

"I was shocked and saddened to learn about the death of George Weber, who 77 WABC listeners and radio listeners from around the country knew as 'George Weber the news guy.'

George was the kind of professional who could give you the news and his views without one getting in the way of the other, and he was an absolutely central part of my Friday WABC radio show with John Gambling and dozens of other programs. George called news events as he saw them with little regard to party politics or ideology.

On or off the air, and especially during our commercial breaks, his views were incisive and insightful. He'll be deeply missed by millions of radio listeners, including me, and my thoughts and prayers are with his family in this difficult time."

New York Times coverage can be found here.


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