Leighton Smith (radio host)

Last updated

Leighton Smith
MNZM
Born
Leighton Irwin Smith

(1946-12-13) 13 December 1946 (age 79)[ citation needed ]
Australia
OccupationRadio host
Years active1980-2018

Leighton Irwin Smith MNZM (born 13 December 1946) is an Australian-born award-winning former talkback radio host based in Auckland, New Zealand. Until December 2018, he presented the 8:30 am to midday slot from Monday to Friday on commercial talk radio network Newstalk ZB. [1] [2]

Smith started his broadcasting career on Sydney's SCH as a "junior disco jockey". He moved to New Zealand for a one-year stint with 2ZB in Wellington in 1980, but stayed for five years. [3] After a brief stint on a radio in Adelaide, Smith returned to Auckland in 1985, presenting on 1ZB, soon renamed Newstalk ZB. He remained in the 8:30am to midday timeslot until his retirement in 2018. [3]

Smith won Best Talk Back Host or Hosts - All Markets at the 2013 New Zealand Radio Awards. [4] In October 2018 he was presented with a Scroll of Honour from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for his contribution to New Zealand entertainment.

In a 2007 interview with libertarian magazine the Free Radical, he described himself as somewhat libertarian. [5] He released his book Beyond the Microphone at the end of 2013. [6]

Smith has expressed disbelief in anthropogenic climate change. He has no scientific qualifications. [7]

He used to own the Clevedon Hills vineyard, near Auckland.

Smith recently published his 300th The Leighton Smith Podcast.

In the 2026 New Year Honours, Smith was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to broadcasting. [8]

References

  1. ↑ Newstalk ZB Presenter page Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Leighton Smith on love, luck and not looking back". Newstalk ZB . 8 December 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 "There's something about: Leighton Smith, broadcaster". The New Zealand Herald. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ↑ Ryder, Susan (March–April 2007). "Newstalk ZB's Leighton Smith: What Makes Him Tick?" (PDF). Free Radical. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  6. ↑ "A host with the most".
  7. ↑ "Climate minimisation still has a foothold in media". Radio New Zealand . Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "New Year 2026 Honours: The full list of knights, dames, honourees". The New Zealand Herald . 31 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
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