Father-daughter media favorites, Dick and JoAnne Purtan, bond over radio

Dick Purtan, a bona fide Detroit radio legend, is talking about the old days when he used to bring his daughters along to his Saturday shift at the old WXYZ-AM radio station.

"I’d be in the radio studio on the second floor, and I would just say, ‘Girls, it’s a big building, go where you want,' " says Purtan, referring to the Southfield offices where Detroit's ABC affiliate, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7), is still located.

One of his six daughters, JoAnne, who was around 8 at the time, already knew her professional calling. “What I found out was JoAnne was running downstairs, always to sit on the news set," says Purtan. "As I remember, I think you told me you’d sit in Billy Bonds' chair.”

 “And pretend I was doing the news," she replies.

Adds her dad, “And I forgot to mention, you were always sitting not only on Billy Bonds' chair, but on Billy Bonds' pillow on Billy Bonds' chair because he always had a pillow to sit higher than whoever his co-anchor was.”

Dick Purtan, who's 81, retired from radio in 2010 as a local icon of the medium. Larger-than-life anchor Bonds was Detroit's fiery, unpredictable news personality, but Purtan was the city's funny, unflappable radio voice for 45 years. Surrounded by his on-air team called Purtan's People, he took humorous jabs at the city's politicians and sports stars with humor and grace — much as Johnny Carson did on a national level.  

JoAnne Purtan, 49, wound up spending two decades at Channel 7, becoming one of the region's most trusted broadcast journalists in her reporter and anchor roles. But in March, she revealed on social media she was leaving the station. Her contract wasn't renewed as a result of corporate budget-cutting.

The outcry on social media was loud and clear. Viewers didn't just express their loyalty to her. They lashed out at Channel 7 for dropping such a popular, longtime personality.

Then nearly a month later, WOMC-FM (104.3) announced that she would become the co-host for the 6-10 a.m. weekday show featuring her former Channel 7 colleague Stephen Clark. He retired from the TV station in late February and launched his new WOMC-FM show in early April.

Read more:

JoAnne Purtan says goodbye to WXYZ viewers

Ex-WXYZ anchor JoAnne Purtan lands new job

It's her first foray into Detroit radio. And it's with the same station and time slot that her father left about eight years ago.

"After 27 years in television news, I'm excited for this new adventure in radio. I listened to my dad on the radio for much of my life, and I'm truly humbled to be at the same station where he spent the last 15 years of his iconic career entertaining people in the morning," Purtan said in a statement at the time.

So what did her dad think of this unexpected like-father, like-daughter twist? And what are their differing approaches to radio, which has changed drastically in recent years?

JoAnne Purtan talked recently to the Free Press about her career switch at her father and mother's lakeside home in West Bloomfield. Dick Purtan was part of the conversation.

As Father's Day arrives, it's good to hear from one of Detroit's best-known father-daughter media duos.

Proud father, proud daughter 

Like her five sisters — Jennifer, Jackie, Jill, Jessica and Julie — JoAnne Purtan grew up being supported by her parents in whatever ambitions she pursued. They emphasized empowering their daughters more than many parents from that era.

“We were raised to follow our dreams and follow our passions, wherever they might lead us, and be strong in what we do," she says.  

Dick recalls how JoAnne set out to make a name for herself after graduating from Michigan State University by driving through New York state and dropping off TV audition tapes.

 “She was doing the 6 and 11, and here she was, a kid out of college,” he says of her seven-year stint at WRGB-TV serving Albany and Schenectady in New York.

He also remembers her return to metro Detroit after her mother, Gail Purtan, a breast cancer and ovarian cancer survivor, was first diagnosed in 1997. Gail has had four recurrences. Beating incredible odds, she has been cancer-free for more than 10 years now. Gail and Dick have been married 60 years.

JoAnne says it was important for her to establish herself outside her father's broadcasting territory, even though she was in TV, not radio. "Detroit’s a major market. There was no way I was going to graduate from college and step into Detroit. I felt fortunate it only took seven years to be able to move back home. I also felt it was critical, with my last name being Purtan, to establish myself somewhere else first.”

Her pride in what her father achieved as a king of an ultra-competitive market is easy to see. But did she, like most teenagers, go through a period where she was embarrassed by everything her parents did? 

“I would like to know the answer to that, too!” chimes in Dick.

 “No," she stresses. "It wasn’t a chore to listen to you. I never went through a stage that I didn’t think Dad was cool that I remember. ... I was always proud to be your daughter. ... I was never embarrassed to turn on the radio and listen to him. It was always clean. You could listen and never had to be worried about what I was going to hear.”

Says her dad with a smile, "Hmm, then we weren’t doing it right, I guess.”

Her response: "Then Stephen and I aren't doing it right, either."

The father-daughter banter is lighthearted, but the message reflects JoAnne's new radio philosophy. She says she and Clark are committed to providing a family-friendly morning show that parents and children can listen to together in the car.

They're steering the talk away from the sort of divisive political news that permeates the nation and peppering their segments in between classic hits with chatter about topics that draw people together. Hard news creeps in, of course, but not the kind that leads to shouting matches.

Taking the high road has always been JoAnne's style, both in her TV work and during her surprise departure from Channel 7. When she revealed on Facebook that she was the latest casualty of the station owner's (E.W. Scripps Co.) plan to trim $30 million from annual operating expenses, she sounded a note of gratitude.

"As shocked as I was, and as disappointed as I still am, I want to focus instead on my gratitude for all of you," wrote JoAnne, thanking viewers for inviting her into their homes and news feeds. "I've never taken that trust for granted. We've laughed together, and sadly, too many times, as you've shed a tear at home over a story, I've fought back tears on the set."

She juggled several roles at Channel 7. An Emmy-winning anchor and reporter, she was also the consumer reporter for "Don't Waste Your Money" segments. In addition to that, she did weekly profiles of local female entrepreneurs for "Mom's a Genius" segments.

Upon finding out in late November that she would be leaving Channel 7, she spent a long time weighing options such as forming a business, maybe in marketing or public relations. 

Clark, meanwhile, announced his retirement from Channel 7 in December. After he was offered a job at WOMC, and knowing JoAnne's situation, he recommended her to the radio station. She met with management in early March and finalized things during her last week at Channel 7.

She remembers the initial call she got from Clark about a possible radio gig. "My mouth dropped," she remembers. "I was driving at the time, and I pulled over to the side of the road because my head was spinning.”

Throughout the process, her father wasn't concerned about her future, given his faith in her abilities.

"I was amazed JoAnne was included in the cuts," says Dick. "I thought they could somehow find little small cuts around the station to add up to the total of what they needed to cut. Was I worried about JoAnne? No. I’ve never been worried about JoAnne, ever, ever, ever. Even when she left to drive the New York state throughway to drop audition tapes off. She’s a go-getter. She’s very proactive. She’s the most honest human being I know. The old expression what you see is what you get is exactly true with JoAnne."

One door closes, another opens

On JoAnne's final noon broadcast, meteorologist Hally Vogel spoke for her colleagues and fought back tears.

"You are a wonderful person, coworker, friend. And just to say you will be missed is a sore understatement," said Vogel. "We truly love you and are going to miss you."

JoAnne had been overwhelmed by the response from thousands of viewers after they found out she was leaving Channel 7. The only thing that concerned her a little was the reaction of some fans who vowed to stop watching the station. She is close to many co-workers there and didn't want them hurt by her involuntary departure.

JoAnne and her husband, Eric, are the parents of Lauren, 17, and Adam, 15. As she has transitioned to radio, she has had to get used to talking about her personal life, something that didn't happen often in her previous job.

”I think I’ve shared more personal stuff so far than I have in 20 years on TV, and that’s not always easy," she says.

But so far, being on radio has felt comfortable. "I’m enjoying it more than I think I ever thought I would. I’m enjoying not having to report on bad news every day. We do two good news segments a morning where we try to do news stories that have a positive side to them.”

Another advantage to radio for someone who spent her working life having to stay groomed for the camera? I walk in often now with no makeup on when I get there," she says. "And Stephen calls me the progressively lovely JoAnne Purtan because as the morning moves on, I do my makeup."

 “Does he say that on the air?" her dad asks.

"He does," she says.

"That’s beautiful," he replies, chuckling. "I hadn’t heard that."

A half-century of memories 

When Dick Purtan reflects on his success in radio comedy, he gives most of the credit to the fact that he surrounded himself with funny people via Purtan's People: "Big Al (Muscovitz), your sister Jackie ,and so many others, too, Joe Noune and Jim Ochs. They were all funny.” 

These days, he says, he still does a weekly podcast with Jackie and is on his Facebook page daily.

 “So am I not allowed to be on the podcast anymore because now I’m competition?" asks JoAnne.

"Well, yes, you can, but only if you do it lying down on the floor like you did the time you had the bad back," he teases. "I had her on as a guest and we had to keep moving the microphone off the dining room table, where we do the podcast, to the floor for (her) comments.”

After spending almost 50 years at stations like WKNR, WXYZ, CKLW, WCZY and, for his last 14 years, WOMC, Dick was inducted into the national Radio Hall of Fame in 2004. He twice has been named Billboard Magazine’s Major Market Air Personality of the Year. For 23 years, his annual Salvation Army Radiothon raised almost $24 million for those in need.

He avoids giving his daughter advice on her approach to radio, but he does like her new show's nonpartisan attitude. In a country bitterly split along partisan lines, he thinks more entertainers and media personalities — especially late-night TV hosts — should strive for the middle ground.

”I think the audience of these late-night guys, everybody knows exactly where they stand. It detracts from the joke to me. It makes the joke, instead of just funny, (there's) just a meanness to it.”

Dick says radio is a different business now than it was during his heyday. The pace is much faster. When he was a morning host, a comedy skit could run three minutes. He never knew the precise times to expect beforehand because so much of the material was ad libbed.

 After he left WOMC, he admits, he didn't listen much to the station but gravitated to other choices like satellite radio.

But he's back in the audience. “Now I do listen to OMC. I feel like I have a real relationship with them again. My daughter works there. She’s doing the morning show that I did before. Wow, this is really kind of unique and neat and wonderful. I’m all in on what she’s doing.”

JoAnne insists there will never be another Dick Purtan and Purtan's People team. Via e-mail, she elaborates on her feelings:

"The cast of characters and writing were simply brilliant. And those put-on calls were priceless. They were all real, not staged, which is a rarity these days. People often say I have big shoes to fill. That’s simply not possible. He was the very best!"

She continues, "Instead, I’m looking at it like I’m breaking in a new pair of shoes. I’m just hoping to feel more comfortable in these new shoes each day!"

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.