590 MIGHTY MEMORY #394

KEVIN JORDAN PASSES AWAY, WARM NEWSMAN IN THE 70s 

The late Kevin Jordan. (Photo: Face book). 

Our longtime friend Kevin Jordan died Sunday night after a long, arduous battle with lung disease. I had known Kevin since 1975 when we met on the radio trail. He was working at WBAX and then later moved on to WARM. I posted a story about our meeting on this 590 Forever WARM blog site a few years ago and Kevin was both amused and thrilled by what I wrote. In an e mail we commiserated about that car he drove as well as parking in Scranton in the mid 70s. (That story appears in 590 Mighty Memory # 501, from July 27th, 2010. )
Jordan was a true broadcast reporter who believed that no story was too big or too small to cover. As a Radio reporter he believed that two things were need to excel, accuracy and speed. He always wanted the story first but never hesitated to share any tips or information that would help any broadcasting in search of a story. He knew the consumer was not just a WARM or WYOU audience but any outlet that people were tuning into at the time. 
One of the great things about Kevin was that he loved the history of WARM. We’d spend time talking about the glory days of the Mighty 590 and he would always recount stories of his favorite broadcasters. A true inspiration he once told me was the late Terry McNulty who could easily transition from news to satire and right back. 
After broadcasting, Jordan was head of the Election Bureau in Luzerne County and then moved on to private business. We’d e mail and chat on Face book. The topic would always start out on baseball, politics, pop culture or just anything inane….but we always ended up speaking about broadcasting, remembering the old faces and voices, critiquing the new comers. Kevin Jordan was a fun person to be around with an ironic wry wit and a sense of humor. Most of us will smile every time we think of one of his remarks. 
This week there will be many Kevin Jordan stories told. He will be remembered well. With his knowledge, drive, passion and ambition, I feel Jordan could have been a player in a major market. Assessing his life’s work, perhaps it is unfortunate for him that he didn’t take that route. However, it is fortunate for us here in Northeastern Pennsylvania that he didn’t. We had the opportunity to see a real professional in our midst. 

Jordan with WARM staffers in the mid 70s. (Photo: Andy Palumbo blog, Bobby Day Face book page).  

My appearance on PA Live recounting the career of Kevin Jordan.