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WNY news fans might enjoy this Buffalo News article from October 4, 1976 -  50 years ago.  Reporter Hal Crowther interviewed leading Buffalo News Anchorman Irv Weinstein. 

News Eyewitness Interview: Just Another Pretty Face?

By HAL CROWTHER
 
Much of the runaway success of Ch. 7’s Eyewitness News has been attributed to the personal charisma of its anchorman, Irv Weinstein. Weinstein is not in fighting condition and is even rumored to be below average height. Teams of experts hired by his competitors have been unable to isolate his elusive star quality. We took their quest to Mr. Eyewitness himself.
 
News: Irv, they say a popular anchorman represents a city’s self-image. New Yorkers, for instance, identified with the suave, bemused qualities of another Eyewitness anchorman, Roger Grimsby. Does Buffalo look in the mirror and see Irv Weinstein?
 
Weinstein: If Buffalo looks in the mirror and see Irv Weinstein, I hope it’s fortified with a good night’s sleep. Whatever success I’ve enjoyed, it’s because Buffalo relates to me not only as a TV anchorman but as the warm human being that I am . . . helping old women across the street . . . helping younger women across the street. But that’s another story.

News: Just how big a story, Irv? Jimmy Carter jeopardized his image just by admitting to impure thoughts. Would Ch. 7’s ratings drop if you were known to have “sinned in your heart?”
 
Have you sinned in your heart?

Weinstein: I can’t lie to you. Impure thoughts cross my mind from time to time. Once I had this urge to bite a dachsund’s ear. I took a cold shower. I confess this only because I know it will help my ratings.

Buffalo News  
News: At the time I interviewed Roger Grimsby a few years ago, he was “linked romantically” to a movie star’s daughter. Does Buffalo offer this kind of temptation? How do you resist it?
 
Weinstein: All I can say, Hal, is that those rumors linking me with a certain movie star’s daughter are untrue . . . at this time.
 
 News: Does your audience expect absolute purity from you, Irv? Do you feel you’re forced to set an example for schoolchildren?

Weinstein: I’ve never consciously presented myself as a model for schoolchildren. But if they’d like to be short, fat, wear glasses and say bizarre things, I have no objections.
 
News: Are you subjected to indiscreet fan mail? Do you answer it?

Weinstein: I answer all mail personally and, when convenient, deliver it myself. Most of them ask where I get my hair cut, or if I know my tie’s stained. Once in a while they ask if I’m related to the Weinsteins who used to live in Lackawanna.
 
My most explicit proposal came from the sponsors of the Miss Nude World contest in Hamilton, Ont. They wanted me for a judge. My interest in events of that kind is strictly clinical, but my psychiatrist forced me to decline. He said it might be the thing that would push me over the edge. I’ve since changed psychiatrists and I hope the sponsors will reconsider me.
 
News: Next to O. J. Simpson, you probably have the widest instant recognition in the city. Is that a cross to bear? Was it better — except for the money — as a disembodied voice on radio?

Weinstein: I miss the old days in radio, but not the anonymity. You could do a newscast on a tiptoe, in a kilt and combat boots, and the audience was none the wiser. I hate shirts and ties. I’m an informal person and TV news is still rather pompous in its approach. When I wore a leisure suit on the air one of the Ch. 7 moguls nearly had a cardiac arrest. He said it didn’t fit my image. Maybe he was right.
 
Do I mind being recognized in the street? I’d mind not being recognized. Don’t let anyone kid you about that. In this business familiarity breeds success. You won’t catch me in dark glasses and a Groucho mustache.

I think it was Oscar Wilde who said “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” Incidentally, who’s O. J. Simpson?

News: They wanted me to find out if you were lovable off-camera. Are you glad they think you’re lovable? Is it a common mistake?
 
Weinstein: Listen, I’m such a pussycat, you can’t imagine. This grim facade hides the warmest heart this side of Gasport.
 
News: Does that commanding voice help you to bend others to your will? Are your kids impressed?

Weinstein: One word from me and my kids do as they please. The same holds true for my wife.

News: Is it necessary for professional reasons to maintain strict neutrality in controversies? Is that a restraint that bothers you?
 
Weinstein: I think that insofar as it’s humanly possible, a newscaster must maintain strict objectivity. Therefore, in dealing with matters of controversy, I try to give all sides the same kind of superficial treatment.
 
News: Do you ever, directly or subtly, try to lead the audience to a certain point of view? In other words, are you tempted by your power?

Weinstein: Do you mean the upward arch of my right eyebrow? It’s a congenital defect and in no way should be construed as editorial comment.
 
“I’m aware of the tremendous power and responsibility inherent in my job. The knowledge tends to humble one rather than the opposite. I hope that in some small way I serve a purpose in the daily life of this community. But let’s turn to something else, I’m making myself cry.

“. . . and now stay tuned for “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.”