R.I.P.: Former Memphis Talk Host Mike Fleming

Mike Fleming

Former radio host Mike Fleming died in Covington, Tennessee, Sunday morning after a years-long battle with Alzheimer's, his son Jeff Fleming said.

He was 74, according to The Commercial Appeal.

A native of Athens, Tennessee, Fleming began working for The Commercial Appeal in 1974. He spent most of his career in the sports department, including covering the Dana Kirk scandal at what was then Memphis State in the 1980s.

Mr. Fleming left the newspaper in 1991 for a job as executive producer for sports at WMC-TV Channel 5. He was named executive news editor for the station in 1995, but his position was eliminated in 1998.

By that time, though, he'd already started hosting a radio talk show on WREC 600 AM, the media foray that he is likely most famous for. What started as a sports-oriented show eventually evolved into a conservative broadcast, with Mr. Fleming firing shots at everyone.

"I think he worked hard at the job of journalism. He was as aggressive as he could be," his son Jeff said. "He enjoyed the work. He enjoyed the issues. And toward the end when he got into political talk, he enjoyed everything that came with that. The issues, the politics, the personalities. I think he just thrived in all of that."

Fleming was eventually laid off from radio in 2009, and eased into retirement, his son said.