Al Peterson's ntsmediaonline.com ran this story today and thought I'd share it. ntsmediaonline.com is one of the best trade publications for news talk radio and Al is an extremely cool guy. Thank you, Al.

"YOUR CAREER OR YOUR KIDS"

Although they’ve not been away long enough to warrant one of those proverbial “Where Are They Now?” features, it has been awhile since we’ve heard any news about former Detroit Talk duo Deminski & Doyle. Following a decade of individual solo on-air work, Jeff Deminski and Bill Doyle first hooked up as a team at New Jersey 101.5 (WKXW/Trenton) in 1994, where they spent the next five years hosting afternoon drive at the pioneering FM talker before making a move to The Motor City. There they spent just over eight years generating dominant numbers in afternoons at then “Hot Talk” WKRK-FM, opting to not renew their deal with the station when CBS Radio flipped it from Talk to Sports in 2007. After sitting out a 12-month non-compete, Deminski & Doyle resurfaced at crosstown Greater Media Classic Rocker WCSX where they hosted mornings for a year before all parties concluded that perhaps the duo’s show was not the best ‘fit” with the music-intensive radio station. Following an amicable parting, before long the pair got set for a move back to afternoons at a station in a major East Coast market. That’s when fate stepped in by way of an unexpected divorce for Jeff. Nevertheless, the duo continued moving forward on finalizing a deal with their soon-to-be-new radio home when Deminski received this ultimatum from his lawyer: “Make a choice, your career or your kids.” I caught up with Jeff this week to talk about the impact of that day, and to find out what’s next for the veteran Talk team.

Pick things up for us at the point where you left WCSX in early 2010.

That’s when the personal turmoil in my life first started. I don’t really want to talk about the whole divorce, but the filing had to take place in Michigan. Anyone who has been through that proceeding knows the term ‘change of domicile,’ meaning you can’t move more than 100 miles away when there are kids involved, unless you don’t care about being with your kids. The three things I loved most in my world was my job, my son and my daughter -- for me that was my life. Long story short, things turned into a pretty ugly custody fight and one day my lawyer sat across the table and said, “Jeff there is no way you are going to get a change of domicile unless you’ve first won primary custody. So you’ve got to decide right now, it’s your career or your kids.”

Wow, talk about getting a ton of bricks dropped on you.

Between radio and stand-up comedy, I have been doing what I do pretty much since I was a teenager. I always knew this is what I was meant to do. But once I had kids, I knew being a dad was the other thing I was meant to do, so this was truly ‘gut check’ time. My lawyer said I could take the weekend to think about it, but I told him there was nothing to think about -- there was no way I was ever going to leave my kids. I figured I chose the career I had, but they didn’t choose to be my son and daughter. They needed me, so it really didn’t matter what else I wanted at that point.

So the story has a pretty happy ending, right?

Yes, I was awarded custody of my children and the settlement we reached allows me to look for work anywhere. With all of that behind me, I’m now more passionate than ever about getting back on the radio. The toughest part of making that decision was that I honestly didn’t know how it would all end. I didn’t know if I’d get my kids and I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to get back on the radio after a year or so off. But now that I have my five-year old son, Jack and my four year old daughter, Mina, I know it was all worth it.

You have a partner, Bill Doyle, whose life and career have also been impacted by your situation, right?

I love that guy and his wife and kids, too. The hardest conversation I think I’ve ever had to have with anybody was the day I had to call Bill and tell him I couldn’t move to the new job we’d lined up, I had to stay in Detroit and fight for my kids. This is the guy who I’ve done great stuff with on the radio and have had wonderful chemistry with for over 15 years. Honestly, Bill’s the longest relationship I’ve ever had in my life. I told him I’d understand if he chose to move on without me, but he said he understood what I was doing and supported my decision. He said he would wait as long as he possibly could because his first priority was for us to work together again.

"The three things I loved most in my world

was my job, my son and my daughter."

Any regrets, anything you’d change about the decisions you’ve

made this past year?

No. I do wish I could’ve known more about the problems in my marriage before I did, and that I could’ve given my partner more warning. But for myself -- no I don’t regret anything. Even if things don’t turn out the way we hope they will, as long as I can take care of my kids -- whatever I have to do -- it’ll all have been worth it. My son brought home one of those arts and crafts projects from school the other day, a poster that says, ‘My hero is my daddy because he helps me and my sister and keeps us happy.’ If there were a fire in my house today, the one material thing I would grab on my way out would be that.

So, what’s next?

Well we’re hooked up with Gabe Hobbs who represents us. Gabe’s a great guy and he knows everybody, so I’m really optimistic about finding the right situation at the right company. We’re already talking to a few folks, but nothing concrete to tell you about right now. But having the legal ‘noose’ off my neck and knowing that we can relocate anywhere sure is a huge relief. No matter what, I know I did the right thing. We’re ready and charged up for a whole new challenge -- wherever that may be.

(You can reach Jeff Deminski at jeffdeminski@comcast.net)

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