Michael G. Nastos left WEMU this evening
WEMU host Michael G. Nastos retired from station this evening after nearly 30 years. An explanation will appear in Saturday’s Ann Arbor News, he says. No further explanation was printed, so either the News left out information or I misheard.
I grew up with Michael G. Nastos and WEMU Jazz, nearly every day since I was conscious. It makes his departure particularly saddening for me. If anyone knows more, I’d be interested to hear.
Dave wrote:
Matt, this is all that appeared on the AA News site, at least as of 9:00 a.m. Eastern time Saturday morning:
Michael G. Nastos, longtime evening jazz host at WEMU (89.1 FM), has signed off the air. He was expected to announced his retirement on his show Friday, according to the station.
He has hosted the evening program for more than 27 years, first as a part-time employee, then for the past 12 years as a full-timer, serving as the station’s chief music librarian and “Jazz Datebook” editor when not on the air.
WEMU will conduct a national search for a successor, hoping to have someone in place by the end of September. In the meantime, other WEMU on-air hosts will cover Nastos’ shift.
“Michael G. Nastos has contributed enormously to the growth and success of WEMU’s jazz format,” said Arthur Timko, WEMU general manager, in a prepared statement. “He’s a true student of the music, both as a radio host and as a musician and took great pride in imparting his knowledge to the WEMU audience.”
Posted on 28-Jul-07 at 5:55 am | Permalink
Matt Hampel wrote:
Thanks Dave. From his last broadcast, it sounded like his retirement was a difficult choice that he wasn’t happy with — as if he had been forced or pressed out. He also mentioned the possibility that he will join another station soon. I was hoping for a clearer explanation in the News, but I also understand if he wants his reasons to remain private.
Posted on 28-Jul-07 at 12:42 pm | Permalink
Alan wrote:
Does anyone have more info on this?
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 8:07 am | Permalink
Matt Hampel wrote:
From the WEMU page, http://wemu.org/nastos.php:
Longtime 89.1 Jazz Host, Michael G. Nastos, Retires From 89.1, WEMU
Longtime evening jazz host, Michael G. Nastos, has retired from the airwaves and from WEMU, Eastern Michigan University’s public radio station, effective Monday, July 30, 2007.
Michael G. NastosA mainstay of the WEMU music programming staff, Nastos has hosted the evening program on WEMU for over twenty seven years, first as a part-time employee, then for the past twelve years as a full-timer, serving as the station’s chief music librarian and Jazz Datebook editor when not on the air.
WEMU will conduct a national search for a successor, hoping to have someone in place by the end of September. In the meantime, other WEMU on-air hosts will cover 89.1 Jazz in the evenings, 8-11p Tuesday through Friday.
“Michael G. Nastos has contributed enormously to the growth and success of WEMU’s jazz format,” said Arthur Timko, WEMU General Manager. “He’s a true student of the music, both as a radio host and as a musician and took great pride in imparting his knowledge to the WEMU audience. He’s been a tireless promoter of both recorded and live jazz and his legacy will live long here at WEMU.”
No public commemorations of Nastos’ retirement have been planned as of yet, as he preferred to quietly sign off at the end of his last broadcast Friday, July 27.
“Radio hosts are notorious loners,” said Timko. “We would like to honor Michael’s years of service to our listeners and donors, but we leave that decision to him. Whatever he decides, Michael G. Nastos will always be a part of the WEMU family and we wish him well in retirement.”
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 1:26 pm | Permalink
Alan wrote:
Can you tell me a bit more about the last show? Did Nastos seem…like he was pushed out?
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 3:25 am | Permalink
Matt Hampel wrote:
He announced that he was leaving at the beginning of the show and reminded us at the end. He didn’t sound happy about leaving, and said that we might hear him in the future on other stations. He also said that an explanation (I doubt he used those words) would be in Saturday’s Ann Arbor News. But he didn’t ever say that he was being forced out. He only spent a short time announcing his departure, and got back to playing an interesting last mix of music.
Posted on 05-Aug-07 at 9:45 pm | Permalink
Michael G. wrote:
I appreciate the sentiment you have expressed since my retirement. I would offer you an opportunity to communicate with me, but unfortunately the EMU e-mail system has been inoperable for about a week. When it is fixed please write - mnastos@emich.edu. I am sorry if this seemed sudden, but there are reasons with have to do with my respect for the radio station, and my privacy, which I hope others respect as well.
Posted on 21-Aug-07 at 12:14 pm | Permalink