When WPG Talk Radio Hurley In The Morning host Harry Hurley is named the first-ever New Jersey Broadcast Association Broadcaster of the Year later this week, no doubt he will be thinking about his dad.
About 40 years ago Hurley became one of the youngest full-time newspaper staff writers in America at The Press of Atlantic City. Hurley recalls a conversation he had with his dad just a couple of years before he died. “Son you have got to name your column ‘Hurley In The Morning.’ I was about 19 at the time, and I told him, ‘Dad, that is so corny, please don’t make me do that.’ Well I left the newspaper before I got my column, but 11 years later my dad was naming my program. This WW2 hero, my dad, named my show before he died.”
Hurley In The Morning has been a mainstay for Atlantic City’s WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM/1450 AM for nearly three decades thanks to a political campaign. In 1992, the “Mayor of the Morning” lost a real-life bid for mayor of his hometown, Ventnor City. “I was running for mayor in my hometown in May of 1992, I honestly thought I was going to win, but I was narrowly defeated. I’m very competitive, I don’t like to lose, but I came out of that not with any bad feelings but at total peace, thinking that this is exactly the way it’s suppose to be. What I found during that campaign was an absolute love of talk radio. There were only two shows in our area at the time, I appeared on both shows during the campaign. I felt talk radio is something where you can really make a difference, you can have an impact in your community, you can help people. I came out of that campaign and made a proposal to the same radio station that I’m still at 27-plus years later. What happened was that the experience of losing the election was where I won the passion for a career of a lifetime.”
Starting his employment path as a news reporter helps Hurley be at the top of his craft today. “I’ll tell you what it does. It teaches you organization, it teaches you to have your notes in order. It taught you to get it right, it taught you the value of sources. I always had at least two sources for any story I wrote. Without that I wouldn’t go with a story. These days things are a lot more ‘wild, wild west.’ I don’t like it. I still don’t play that way.”
“I call radio the people’s city hall. If you have a grievance that’s not being addressed by your government, you now have the right of redress. We also keep the rest of the media honest. I believe we are living in an incredibly dishonest intellectual age. Our media is out of control because of competition and a thirst to be first even if you are wrong. I also believe that in many cases ideologues are bringing the editorial page into the news pages. There use to be a firewall between the news pages and the editorial page. Not anymore, it’s bleeding over. I spend a lot of time on my program pointing out if I find bias. I call BS out and I spend a lot of time backing up what I say with facts. Whenever possible I try to present facts and not opinion.”
Hurley may have got that column at the newspaper if the lure of better money in the growing Atlantic City casino industry and a lucrative offer from a well-known hotel/casino owner didn’t come his way. “In 1989 I was running Merv Griffin’s hotel in Atlantic City and I heard there was an opening for the senior hotel position at what was then Trump Castle-Casino/Resort by the Bay. It was the top job, running everything except the casino operations. I had to interview with Trump for the job. Going in they told me to make the most of my time since you will be out in five minutes. I came out 45 minutes later with a handshake and an acknowledgement: ‘Harry we’re going to do great things together.’ I knew I had the job.”
Hurley remembers those days fondly. “He seemed as big a star then as he is as President. I 
had the privilege of working with him every weekend. Out of the four hotels he owned in Atlantic City, the property that I ran was where he lived. He would helicopter in Friday evening and we would meet. He was all business but he was always considerate of me and my family. He’d tell me to make sure I’m not cheating them out of time together; and if you can’t make it home because you are here all the time, bring them here so you will not be a stranger to them.”
“I was very happy there, they wanted me to stay. When I left for talk radio, Mr. Trump became the first advertiser on my program. That enabled me to pursue this passion to be on talk radio.”
“After I left the hotel/casino industry we stayed in touch. Every year a contribution arrives for my Hurley In The Morning charity. He’s a friend and has been a great friend to me even after I left.”
Charity remains a big part of what Hurley considers a privilege to be on the radio. “The Hurley In The Morning charity has raised more than $800,000 over the past 12 years. This month I’m presenting a $3,000 grant to the Broadcasters Foundation of America. It is an annual grant. It is an organization for people who may have worked all of their lives in broadcasting and then have fallen on hard times because of an unforseen medical condition or other setback.”
And how about that award?
NJBA President/CEO Paul S. Rotella said, “Harry Hurley has met all of the criteria with a high degree of professionalism and a passionate dedication to his craft, and the NJBA is very proud of our inaugural Broadcaster of the Year recipient.”
For Hurley it was a surprise. “I never expected it, you shouldn’t ever expect something like that. I’m overjoyed. It’s an acknowledgement that your hard work is noticed, that you’re making a difference. Being the first to receive the award is an incredible honor. I’m not Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, but it is a first and I’m humbled and very proud.”
The Mayor of the Morning is hoping for a long tenure. “I will be 59 years old very soon and I would like to believe that I have hit halftime. I plan to do this as long as I’m healthy and the station feels I’m worthy to keep on the air. I’m not egotistical or arrogant to think that the airwaves are permanently mine. A microphone and the ability to sign on every morning for four hours to me is a privilege.”
“I say that I am for term limits for all offices in our nation (laughing), except mine.”
