On WDET’s 70th Anniversary, Veteran Staffers Reflect on Careers in Public Radio

Jon Moshier and Carmen Garcia reflect on their time at WDET and the importance of public radio in Detroit.

It’s the 70th Anniversary of WDET. That means many current and former employees are reflecting on how much has changed over the years — and how much the mission has stayed the same.

Recently, Detroit Today producer Jake Neher spoke with two long-time WDET vets who are still here in 2019. Carmen Garcia is the associate director of philanthropy and started at the station in the early 80s as an on-air host. Jon Moshier is host of Modern Music at WDET.

Moshier started in 1996 as the music librarian and fill-in host.

“I had to sub for every show, which was a really great education for me at the time because, it was really great opportunity to learn a lot more about music, because you couldn’t get on the air here and just sort of half-ass it, you had to pull it off with some authenticity,” says Moshier.

Garcia reflects on her time as part of a group of community producers who put together the longest running community-produced Latin program on public radio, El Grito de Mi Raza.

“We produced the show by committee,” says Garcia. “How much of a nightmare does that sound like? But it was fun! There was a lot packed in there, music from all over Latin America in segments.”

Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.

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