Windsor Morning radio host Tony Doucette retires

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Listeners of Windsor radio are going to be missing a familiar voice after Thursday: Tony Doucette, longtime host of CBC’s Windsor Morning, is calling it a career.

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“I just don’t know how in the name of God I’m going to replace the enjoyment I get out of doing it,” reflected Doucette, 64, whose show on Thursday morning will be his final one.

“There’s a performance aspect to it that I thoroughly enjoy.”

Born in New Brunswick, the veteran broadcaster has been on the air in various capacities for 46 years — 33 of them here in Windsor.

CBC has been Doucette’s employer since 1984. While his resume includes many years of sports broadcasting, including on television, early risers will know him best for his morning show hosting duties — a role he’s held since 2006.

“When I got that morning job in 2006, I was really happy,” Doucette said. “It’s amazing how much fun you can have when it doesn’t mean a tinker’s damn what you look like.”

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“Television is a visual medium. Radio, I like to think of it as a storyteller’s medium.”

One professional highlight in Doucette’s memories was reporting on Team Canada in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, ​​covering such gold-medal performances as swimmer Mark Tewksbury’s victory in the 100-meter backstroke.

Over the course of decades in the business, Doucette has seen his share of transformations in the industry — especially in terms of technology. He recalls having to use manual typewriters, reel-to-reel tape machines, and razorblade editing techniques. “It’s just been stunning the way things have changed.”

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But Doucette believes the evolution of radio broadcasting has been positive, overall, and he doesn’t see the field disappearing anytime soon.

“I would argue that any sort of oral medium is going to live forever,” Doucette said. “Radio is as effective in people’s lives today as it was in the 1920s.”

Doucette said he originally intended to keep working until 2023, but the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic hastened his decision to “pull the trigger” on retirement.

He said he and his wife will be staying in Windsor. “I have nothing bad to say about Windsor. Here’s my argument: I think the people that are most critical of Windsor are people that are born and raised here, and have never lived anywhere else. And they don’t understand how lucky they are to be here.”

As for what Doucette plans to do with his newfound free time, he currently has nothing more ambitious on his mind than enjoying hobbies and family.

“I’m going to relax a while,” Doucette declared. Among his ideas of him: Learning to play guitar, exercising, and spending time with his new grandson.

But with social media, online platforms, and the pervasiveness of podcasting, there’s no shortage of avenues for Doucette to continue to express himself, if that’s what the future holds.

“Maybe it’s stand-up comedy,” Doucette suggested — jokingly. “No, not really.”

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