and beautiful understanding", while another labeled him "the father of hate radio". Father Coughlin made his radio debut on October 17, 1926, speaking over WJR via a microphone installed by the station at the altar at the Shrine of the Little Flower. His commentaries initially addressed perceived social ills, opposing prohibition, divorce and birth control as damaging to American society. During the Great Depression he moved heavily into political issues. On October 5, 1930, he began a weekly broadcast carried over the CBS network that originated at that network's Detroit affiliate, WXYZ. But a year later CBS dropped him for being too divisive, by implementing a ban on commercially-sponsored religious programs. With the assistance of WJR station manager Leo Fitzpatrick, Father Coughlin responded by forming his own network, with WJR as the key station. "The Golden Hour" broadcasts began on October 4, 1931, initially on about 20 stations. By October 16 of the next year this expanded to 26 stations, said at the time to be "the largest independent network ever arranged", and by early 1938 the network had grown to 58 stations. Coughlin's fervent anti-communism led to the perception that he was in favor of the rise of fascism in Europe, and he was accused of being anti-Jewish. Although initially supported by the local church hierarchy, his personal attacks on political figures eventually resulted in official restrictions and rebukes. In 1939 the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) adopted a code of conduct that included restrictions on controversial commercial broadcasts, which was seen as primarily directed toward Coughlin, and WJR vice president John F. Pratt argued that "the provision on controversial subjects seems to many of us the first shackle on freedom of speech on the radio". The NAB code led to a loss of participating stations, and this, combined with subject matter restrictions imposed by his church superiors, resulted in Coughlin ending his radio broadcasts. WJR personalities Past WJR personalities included J.P. McCarthy, Jimmy Launce, Warren Pierce, Mike Whorf, Murray Gula, Joel Alexander, Jay Roberts, Charles Coughlin and many others. WJR Program Directors during the Capital Cities era included Joe Bacarella, Curt Hahn and AC radio consultant Gary Berkowitz. Mitch Albom, novelist and Detroit Free Press sports writer . WJR was the flagship station when The Mitch Albom Show (formerly Albom in the Afternoon) was nationally syndicated. Frank Beckmann, former midday talk show host (also the play-by-play voice for