“You have to learn to let go of it,” says WEMU music director Michael Jewett, sixty-five, who announced in early February that he’ll retire at the end of June. Sure, after more than four decades spinning jazz albums, he’ll miss the daily back and forth with his colleagues and a job that immerses him in music he loves. But he doesn’t want to become “that old guy they’re keeping around,” and he does look forward to spending more time with his grandkids, cooking elaborate meals, and acting. (“I started doing theater five or six years ago,” he says.) He’ll also enjoy sleeping in—that, after all, will allow him more time for jazz, enjoying late night sets at Blue LLama and other clubs.
Related: Who’s a Townie? (July 2014)
The sixty-year-old public radio station is going through some other big changes. Leaving at the same time is news director/Morning Edition host David Fair. These departures are occurring just after the station moved to new, more modern digs, from one EMU building to another.
If Jewett’s 10 a.m. show sent him to bed before the clubs closed, Fair’s early news show woke him in the middle of the night. After adjusting his body clock, Fair will think about what’s next—something that will “help the people of our community.” He’ll also spend more time with family and friends, and can accept invitations to dinners that start after 4:30 p.m.
“There’s more than thirty years to pack up and take with me,” Fair emails. “I’ll never forget the responsibility I felt in being a conduit to needed information during the pandemic shutdown and all of the amazing people who guided the community through. The aftermath of 9/11 and exploring its local impacts was, and remains, a profound experience. … Some conversations are hard to have, but it is important to create the forum to have them. In exploring issues of racial and social justice, equity, the environment, politics and the arts, I’ve encountered truly dedicated and inspiring people.”
The impact of these retirements will be felt by those who remain. Executive director Molly Motherwell joined the staff shortly after Jewett and just before Fair came on board. “We came up together,” she reflects. “Then when Art Timko, Clark Smith, and Linda Yohn retired [in 2010, 2013, and 2017, respectively], we were the new leadership, and we had to navigate that road together.” Although Motherwell says the remaining team is great, a lot of institutional knowledge and shared experience will be gone. “The energy around here is going to be a little different.”
But not so fast. Fair is ready to support the station any way he can. And Jewett? He plans to stick around, filling in wherever and whenever needed.
Further reading: Target: Public Broadcasting (Sept. 2025)