Bob Smith was a long time radio host and report for WXXI with his midday talk show 1370 Connection for 25 years. His first full-time radio job was as a reporter/anchor for Syracuse station WHEN (AM) while simultaneously enrolled in graduate school at Cornell University.
He earned a Ph.D. in American political and legal history from Cornell, taught undergraduate American political and diplomatic history courses at Cornell, and managed and co-owned a Rochester-based manufacturing firm supplying component parts to worldwide customers in the auto and aerospace industries as well. In April 2013, Smith suffered a stroke and went into long-term rehabilitative care. The Mayor of Rochester declared Oct 17, 2013 Bob Smith day.