Detroit TV Icon 'Seduced' Into Radio

From Neal Rubin, detnews.com

Among the things Bill Bonds is good at is laughing at Bill Bonds.


He's smart and funny and he had a great career, and he can't see any sense being bashful about any part of that. But there's something disarming about someone who can simultaneously pound his chest and make fun of himself for preening.


"None of us," the former news anchor said last week, "is as gifted as I think I am."

          And, on the unvarnished splendor of his resume: "When you've got it, you don't have to exaggerate it."

And, on how he was talked into becoming a talk show host on a 250-watt AM radio station: "The guy had a burning desire to seduce an icon, and he did it with flattery and money."


As noted in The Detroit News on Thursday, "The Bonds and Fisher Show" is scheduled for an Oct. 3 debut on 1090 AM WCAR. Having once dominated the evening ratings on WXYZ-TV (Channel 7), Bonds will take a shot at the 3-6 p.m. drive-time audience, accompanied by former newscaster Rich Fisher and producer and co-host Rachel Nevada.


Politically, Bonds, 78, describes himself as "a well-informed objective humanist." Translated, he's frequently left of center. Fisher, 62, leans right, but not to the point that he can't see the white line or even cross over it once in awhile. They're both good interviewers and good listeners, and the show could be huge fun.


Whether or not it'll be successful, however, is only partly related to quality.


As I passed along the news that "Bonds and Fisher" is coming, I wondered how the announcement would be received by the potential audience and other broadcasters. In two somewhat contradictory words, I'd summarize the response as eager caution.

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