Last week, WJR host Paul W. Smith departed the morning drive timeslot and moved to a newly created 12:00-2:00 PM window on the station.
In his debut show, Smith joked that the change will certainly take some getting used to, but it ultimately was better for his family.
“I hope you woke up with Guy Gordon this morning. I did not. I slept in till 8:00 AM,” Smith joked. “For the first time in 50 years! 27 of them waking up early here at WJR. Many of them at WABC in New York, WWDB-FM in Philadelphia, and even going back to Toledo with Mike Wheeler back in the old days of WSPD and WCWA.
“Mornings were what I did. And I loved every bit of it. I missed my morning family — my morning audience — this morning, but I am going to get used to getting up at 8:00 AM instead of 4:00 AM. My wife, Kim, is clapping because she will get a rested me rather than what she has gotten for years a very tired me.”
With Smith’s move to middays, Guy Gordon took over the morning show on the Detroit news/talk station. Smith had hosted the program since legendary host J.P. McCarthy’s exit in 1996.
The debut of Smith’s new program was a remote broadcast from a newly-renovated restaurant in a Detroit suburb. Guests included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D), among others.
