Ron Smith, WBAL’s ‘Voice of Reason,’ dies at 70

WBAL-AM’s Ron Smith, the long-time talk-show host known as “The Voice of Reason,” has died. He was 70.

The Baltimore radio station says Smith died Monday night at his home in Shrewsbury, Pa., surrounded by his wife and family. Smith told listeners in October that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He announced on Nov. 28 that he was retiring from his on-air duties because of his declining health.

Smith, whose politics leaned to the right, also wrote a weekly column for The Baltimore Sun. Smith moved to Baltimore in 1973 as a reporter and anchor at WBAL-TV. He left the station in 1980 and worked for several years as a stockbroker before joining the radio station in 1984.