Paul W. Smith
{{short description|American talk radio host and columnist (born 1953)}}
{{Infobox presenter
| name = Paul W. Smith
| image = Paul W. Smith in 2012.jpg
| image_upright = 1
| caption = Smith in 2012
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name = Paul William Smith
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1953}}
| birth_place = Monroe, Michigan
| death_date =
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| show = The Paul W. Smith Show
| station = WJR
| network =
| timeslot = [[Drive time|Weekday afternoons (
Noon to 2 p.m.)]]
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| prevshow =
| parents =
| spouse(s) = Kim Smith
| children =
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| alma_mater = University of Michigan
| website = {{url|https://www.wjr.com/paulwsmith/}}
| module =
}}
Paul William Smith (born 1953){{cite web|last=Ankeny|first=Robert|url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/19960304/SUB/603040860/wjr-trying-to-stay-atop-with-smith|title=WJR trying to stay atop with Smith|work=Crain's Detroit Business|date=March 4, 1996|page=3|quote=Smith, 42, a Monroe native...|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117174135/https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/19960304/SUB/603040860/wjr-trying-to-stay-atop-with-smith|archivedate=January 17, 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Riley|first1=Rochelle|title=Paul W. Smith to be inducted in National Radio Hall of Fame|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20131108/COL10/311080054/Paul-Smith-hall-of-fame|website=Detroit Free Press|accessdate=October 9, 2020|date=November 8, 2013|quote=Saturday in Chicago, Smith, at 60, will follow the beloved McCarthy again into the National Radio Hall of Fame.|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109041610/http://freep.com/article/20131108/COL10/311080054/Paul-Smith-hall-of-fame|archivedate=November 9, 2013|url-status=dead}} is an American talk radio host and columnist. He currently hosts the morning show on WJR radio in Detroit, Michigan and co-hosts the weekly show Opportunity Detroit. Smith's shows typically feature in-depth interviews with a number of notable people, including politicians, authors, and business leaders within the automotive industry.
Early life
Smith's maternal grandparents, Sadie Hatem and Fred Betrus immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon, and Smith's father William D. Smith is of Dutch, English, and Irish descent. While on a boat ride to the U.S. from Lebanon, Smith's grandmother, Sadie Hatem was pregnant with Smith's mother, Helen Marie Betrus.{{citation|last=Akouri |first=John G. |title=The Lebanese Paul W. Smith |url=http://www.lebanesemonthly.com/magazines/lebanese_monthly_volume-01_issue-01.pdf |work=Lebanese Monthly |date=December 2005 – January 2006 |pages=12–13 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621140652/http://www.lebanesemonthly.com/magazines/lebanese_monthly_volume-01_issue-01.pdf |archivedate=June 21, 2006 }} William D. Smith, who died in 2007 at age 80, worked as an insurance agent and community theatre director.{{cite news|title=Insurance agent was stage actor|url=http://www.toledoblade.com/Deaths/2007/01/09/Insurance-agent-was-stage-actor.html|newspaper=Toledo Blade|date=January 9, 2007|accessdate=October 9, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113165804/http://www.toledoblade.com/Deaths/2007/01/09/Insurance-agent-was-stage-actor.html|archivedate=November 13, 2013|url-status=live}} Paul W. Smith was born and raised in Monroe, Michigan as one of three children and graduated from St. Mary Catholic Central High School in Monroe and the University of Michigan. He writes a column at The Detroit News.{{Cite web|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=OPINION0313|title=Detroit News - Home}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.wjr.com/article.asp?id=1991119|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120505144613/http://www.wjr.com/article.asp?id=1991119 |url-status=dead| archive-date= 2012-05-05|title=Paul W. Smith biography by WJR}}
Radio career
In Toledo, Ohio, Smith began his career hosting both radio and TV shows, and he has hosted programs on the New York City stations WABC and WMCA. In 1990, Smith became the morning show host at WWDB-FM in Philadelphia. Smith has hosted the current program on WJR since 1996, taking over following the death of the legendary J.P. McCarthy. His morning show has been consistently rated as the number-one radio program in metro Detroit.
Smith was an occasional guest host for The Rush Limbaugh Show, a nationally syndicated show carried by WJR until the death of Rush Limbaugh. On WJR, Smith co-hosted the weekly program Destination 313, which explored landmarks and profiles community affairs in the city of Detroit.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120208182957/http://www.destination313.com/about Destination 313 - About] (archived)
In June 2023, Smith accepted an offer to move out of his longtime morning drive time slot into Limbaugh's former time slot (filled since Limbaugh's death by Cumulus syndicated host Dan Bongino), stating that he had grown exhausted with the early morning drive time slot. The move also allowed Cumulus to make WJR's lineup fully local during the daytime hours.{{Cite web |last=Washington |first=Elizabeth |date=2023-06-05 |title=Why Paul W. Smith is moving from mornings to middays on Detroit’s WJR |url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/entertainment/2023/06/05/why-paul-w-smith-is-moving-from-mornings-to-middays-on-detroits-wjr/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=WDIV |language=en}}
In addition to hosting, Smith is the Detroit area chair of the Police Athletic League and is a member of its national board. His annual "Pals for PAL" golf fundraiser finances the bulk for the local PAL programs. Beginning March 13, 2006, Smith began authoring a Monday column for the Detroit News which borrows heavily from former Detroit Free Press columnist Bob Talbert.{{cn|date=February 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.wjr.com/paulwsmith/ The Paul W. Smith Show]
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Category:American people of Dutch descent
Category:American people of English descent
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American people of Lebanese descent
Category:People from Monroe, Michigan
Category:Radio personalities from Detroit