R.I.P.: John Watson, Longtime Wilmington Talk Host

John Watson

Longtime Wilmington-talk show host John Watson has died, reports his family.

Watson, a broadcast engineer by training, brought a smooth professional style to his talk show, which came during a quarter of a century career at WILM 1450 AM.

His show helped cement the AM station’s unique status as a news-talk station with an audience that included residents of Wilmington, as well as business, education and community leaders in northern Delaware.

Watson was known for his knowledge of history and politics. He wasn’t afraid to take views that were not popular with some of his listeners or question the claims of callers.

Watson ended up falling victim to a format change under WILM’s new owner Clear Channel, now iHeartMedia. Under the new owner, the news-talk format was scrapped in favor of syndicated conservative talk shows.

Following his career at WILM, he filled-in at WDEL 1150 AM / 101.7FM , which retains a locally-based news-talk format.

According to Delaware Business Now, he was honored as a Communicator of Achievement by the Delaware Press Association in 2014. Click here for a biography.