An era will end next Wednesday.
Legendary local broadcaster Bob Reitman, who graced Milwaukee's airwaves for 40 years at various stations, is retiring after more than a quarter-century as part of the morning team at WKTI (94.5 FM), where he shared the studio with longtime partner Gene Mueller, Amy Taylor and producer Gino Salomone.
Reitman, who turns 65 next week, isn't leaving radio forever.
At 7 p.m. on Jan. 25, he'll start a new weekly show "It's Alright Ma, It's Only Music," on WUWM (89.7 FM). As the countdown to his final WKTI show crept into single digits, Reitman settled into a booth at a restaurant near his North Shore home and talked about his past and future as a fixture in Milwaukee radio.
Enjoy this Milwaukee Talks interview with Bob Reitman.
OnMilwaukee.com: We've seen a number of high-profile media people retire recently, including Jerry Taff from Channel 12 and Mike Gousha and Paul Joseph from Channel 4, and they got extended sendoffs. What has it been like for you since you announced that you were leaving? Has it been like attending your own funeral?
Bob Reitman: It's exactly like being at your own funeral. It's really strange, especially when you've got nine months. It's like being pregnant. Time goes by. I kind of locked it into the seasons. We announced in March and there were no leaves on the trees. I said "Well, the leaves will come out; it will be a nice summer. Then the leaves will start changing, this might get more real." It really accelerated in October. October and November just zoomed. All of a sudden, I've only got a few shows left.
OMC: When do you think it will hit you that it's over? Will it be during the last show? Will it be the first day that you don't have to get up at 3 a.m.?
BR: Probably. It's right around the holidays, so we're off around the holidays anyways. It will probably hit me on Jan. 2. Maybe it will hit me the next day. I don't know.
OMC: Are you the type who stops to smell the roses? Do you walk in thinking "I won't be coming to this building this much longer" or anything like that?
BR: A little bit. That building was built the year I was born (1941). I remember going in there when I was, like, 7 years old. When they did the old Gordie Thomas show ("Top of the Morning") and they put the camera outside and the kids would wave into the camera. He said to me, "You have such long eyelashes." I remember going to that lobby. That lobby is very interesting. I remember that and never thinking I'd end up working there.
The building is just a neat building. It's a broadcast building. That's all it exists for; its sole purpose. I 'm going to miss the place, but it's time (to leave), I think.
OMC: So, do you have any immediate plans for retirement?
BR: I'm going to do a show on WUWM. I can't wait to just get down there and meet those people and get a show under my belt.
OMC: You started in radio at WUWM, didn't you? What kind of stuff will you play?
BR: That's where I started, in about 1966 or '67. It's full circle. I'm sure there will probably be an inordinate amount of (Bob) Dylan. I'll play whatever I want. It's a different way of thinking. I made road tapes for years. I think I have more than 120. I still think I'll do that. I'm very interested in putting sequences of songs together.
OMC: That's the kind of show that you could voice-track (pre-record) if you wanted. Will you do that or will you do it live and take calls from listeners?
BR: I'm going to do it live. As far as taking calls, I think I might. I've got a couple ideas about how to do that. I want it to fit into the show.
OMC: How did this all come about?
BR: When I announced my retirement in March, this (show) was in the back of my head. Could that happen? I thought, "Well, it's too early to call these guys." I was going to wait, but then they sent me an e-mail within a week and said "The door is open." I thought "Oh, my God." It was like a dream come true. I went down there and they have just treated me so nicely.
I told them I wanted to play records and they said they only had one turntable and it was broken. A week later, they e-mailed me and said "You've got to come down and see this." They got two brand new turntables. Some of the younger people working there said "What are those?" They had never seen one.
OMC: For all of the advances in technology, they still can't beat the sound of a vinyl record. It just seems to have a kind of warmth to it.
BR: You recognize that. But, there is a whole generation of people who will never hear vinyl. Maybe by playing it on WUWM … I don't think people will run out and buy vinyl, but they'll know it's there. A lot of stuff I have is on vinyl and I can't afford to replace my whole collection.
Podcast: Bob Reitman talks about relating to the radio audience
