Charlie LeDuff back on the air in Detroit, this time on radio, with 'No BS' show

Julie Hinds | Detroit Free Press

Charlie LeDuff is back on Detroit airwaves with a show titled in his inimitable bleeping style.

The former Fox 2 Detroit reporter and larger-than-life media personality will be on 910 AM starting at 4 p.m. Monday with his "No BS News Hour."

The hour-long weekly show will focus on current events pertinent to Detroit, according to the station. GOP gubernatorial candidate and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is the first guest.

And, yes, it's the same content as his podcast launched in September, the identically titled "No BS News Hour," part of the DrewMikePodcast network.

The 910AM Superstation (as it's billed) is airing the podcast to see how it connects with radio listeners.

Station CEO Kevin Adell said Monday that he wants to "put my toe in the water and see what the numbers are."

Adell said he has "great respect" for LeDuff as a journalist. He also said 910 AM will have to do "a lot of bleeping" to make the podcast suitable for radio.

That helps explain why Adell chose the weekly Monday afternoon time slot.

“I couldn’t have Charlie on in the mornings, it’s like drinking straight turpentine,” he said in the station's announcement of the LeDuff show.

In late November 2016, LeDuff announced on social media that he was leaving Fox 2 Detroit. "My last day with Fox is Thursday. It has been an insane experience. Thanks to my bosses and colleagues for all they've taught me. Stay tuned," the reporter posted on his his Twitter account.

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LeDuff's career in print and TV has been colorful, controversial and hearkens back to the flamboyant journalism figures of yore who were highly opinionated and sometimes part of the story.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning LeDuff's past employers include the New York Times and the Detroit News. He's been a contributor to Vice News. His work appears frequently on the Deadline Detroit website.

In 2013, he was dubbed Madman of the Year, in GQ's Men of the Year issue for the combination of the book and an on-air reporting style. The magazine described him as "a nightly news performance artist — and also a journalist and a sinner and a saint."

In a news release about his new show, LeDuff is quoted as saying, “If you suffer from insomnia, I recommend you watch the news. If you want the news, I recommend you tune into the ‘No BS News Hour."

Adell also said Monday that he's pondering developing a late-night talk format for LeDuff at WADL-TV.

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