8-29-13
He's the longtime host and producer of WXXI-AM Rochester's 1370 Connection and he's stepping down as host of the midday talk show. This past April, Bob Smith suffered a stroke and is currently in long-term rehabilitative care. WXXI President Norm Silverstein said, ?Bob?s incredible wealth of knowledge and curiosity of many varied topics made him such an engaging talk show host. His dedication to the program has made 1370 Connection essential to the Rochester community for more than 25 years.?
Smith started his career in broadcast news before his 20th birthday, when he landed his first full-time radio job as a reporter/anchor for Syracuse station WHEN (AM) while simultaneously enrolled in graduate school at Cornell University. He holds a Ph.D in American political and legal history from Cornell and taught undergraduate American political and diplomatic history courses to Cornell undergraduate students. He joined WXXI in March of 1988.
Throughout his career, Smith received several awards, including a New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association Award and an Award for Media Excellence from the United Nations Association of Rochester. Smith has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Rochester Rotary Club and the Small Business Council of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. He's also author of the first of a series of major task force reports for the Urban League of Rochester, which helped launch public school reform in the city.
A national search for a new host of 1370 Connection is currently being conducted.
(8/29/2013 6:03:56 PM)
I knew Bob, from way back, as a fellow contributor to the (excellent but now long-gone) Broadcast Professionals Forum on Compuserve. He always had good and constructive advice for fellow broadcasters, and made many wise contributions to general discussion there.
Here's wishing him a full recovery.
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