Sean Hannity
Dave Ramsey
Category: Interviews
The TALKERS Interview:
A conversation with MSNBC and Dial Global
progressive talk star Ed Schultz
Ed Schultz is one of the most-listened-to progressive radio talk show hosts on the air in America today and a burgeoning presence in the cable news/talk television scene. His daily radio show syndicated by Dial Global Radio Networks –– now in its eighth year –– broadcasts live weekdays from New York City 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm ET on more than 100 affiliates across the country. In addition, he hosts a prime time 10:00 pm ET weekday cable television program (Monday through Thursday) on MSNBC. The Talkers Interview with Ed Schultz was conducted by Michael Harrison.
TALKERS: On behalf of all of us at TALKERS who’ve been watching your career for years, all the way back to Fargo, congratulations on all the multi-media success that you’ve been having. How’s life going for you these days?
ES: Well, it’s pretty intense, Michael, and it’s been a long run. We start our ninth year in January and we’re awfully excited about the fact that we were able to go through one of the toughest economic times in the history of the country. I have all the same team members –– nobody lost their benefits, nobody lost their wages. And we have survived and I’m very proud of that because it’s all about the business model. When we started back in 2004, Twitter wasn’t around. Facebook wasn’t around. I think the internet interaction presence wasn’t anywhere near what it is today. Podcasting wasn’t around. So there’s been so many changes since we started and I’m very proud of the fact that we’ve been able to do all the things we need to do to make sure our sponsors get the kind of response they’re looking for. And that really is the name of the game. At the end of the day, we’re selling a commercial. At the end of the day we have to put a product out there that people are going to be proud of and also desirable to be a part of. Obviously, I never would have gotten the opportunity on MSNBC had I not done a syndicated radio show. It’s tough doing three hours of radio a day, then of course doing the television show at 10:00 at night Eastern Time. You know, Michael, it’s proven that you can do it. It’s a funny instinct that’s inside us as broadcasters that you don’t give up; you can’t give up. You accept every challenge you can and you make the most of it. It’s been a great ride. I wouldn’t change a thing.
TALKERS: Let’s go back a bit for those who are new to Ed Schultz. You weren’t always a “liberal,” were you?
The TALKERS Interview:
A Conversation with Entercom’s Julie Kahn
Julie Kahn is vice president and market manager of Entercom New England. In this position, she manages seven stations including the mega-successful sports talker WEEI and news/talk WRKO, Boston. WEEI carries the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics games as well as exclusive New England Patriots programming. She also presides over Entercom’s New England-wide syndication of WEEI and Howie Carr –– a unique model of regionally syndicated content production and distribution that has rightly attracted the attention of the national industry. Kahn began her career in 1980 in sales at WGN, Chicago (home of the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears) and then moved on in 1984 to become vice president and director of sales for Susquehanna’s radio cluster in the San Francisco Bay Area where her stations covered the Oakland Raiders, Oakland A’s, Golden State Warriors, San Jose Sharks, San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants. In early 2004, Julie Kahn was given responsibility for all of Entercom’s Boston properties (including several FM music outlets) and in 2006 assumed her current role as VP/New England market manager. She is widely admired as one of the most important female executives in radio broadcasting today and was one of the main solo speakers at the recent New Media Seminar 2011 delivering a powerful address during the event’s Sports Talk Radio forum. The TALKERS interview with Julie Kahn was conducted by Michael Harrison.
TALKERS: Congratulations on the forthcoming 20 year anniversary of WEEI’s broadcasting sports talk in Boston.
JK: Yes, WEEI will be celebrating its 20th birthday this year and it will be my 32nd year in sports radio.
The TALKERS interview:
A Conversation with Stephanie Miller
Dial Global talk star receives 2011 Judy Jarvis Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to Talk Radio by a Woman
Stephanie Miller is the 2011 recipient of the TALKERS “Judy Jarvis Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to Talk Radio by a Woman” also referred to as the “Woman of the Year” award in the talk radio industry. Her successful morning show, produced by Ron Hartenbaum’s WYD Media Management and syndicated by Dial Global Networks, has been on the air nationally since 2004 and stands as one of the relative handful of examples that prove “progressive” or liberal talk radio, when properly executed on both content and business levels, can survive and actually thrive.
Her show is a high-energy, meticulously produced ensemble program that covers everything from politics to celebrity gossip in which Miller presides over a cast of comedic characters punctuated by co-hosts, impressionist Jim Ward and producer Chris Lavoie, and outstanding regulars highlighted by stand up comics John Fugelsang and Hal Sparks, among others.
Miller’s on-air radio career dates back to the late 1980s with positions on major music FMs in New York and Chicago. Her history as a major league talker began in 1993 when she began a successful stint at KFI, Los Angeles where she hosted a highly rated nighttime program. She also worked at Los Angeles stations KABC and KTZN during the 1990s as well as performing as host of several television projects. She even did some film and TV acting.
The TALKERS Interview:
A Conversation with Brian Kilmeade
Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade co-hosts the Fox News Channel morning show “Fox & Friends” and hosts his daily radio talk show, “Kilmeade & Friends,” on the Fox News Radio network. Kilmeade’s media experience prior to joining Fox News includes anchor/reporter positions in local TV news, sports reporting at the local and network level, co-host of the “Jim Brown Show” on the XTRA-AM sports radio network, sideline reporter for the MSG Network plus authorship of two books: The Games Do Count: America’s Best And Brightest On The Power Of Sports (It Books 2005), and It’s How You Play the Game: The Powerful Sports Moments That Taught Lasting Values to America’s Finest (It Books 2007). The TALKERS Interview was conducted by Michael Harrison.
TALKERS: You spent most of your early broadcasting career in sports. How would you describe the differences and similarities in sports broadcasting and news broadcasting?
BK: I have found sports and news to be similar for many reasons: First, they both require research and passion. Like news, it’s not enough to say Fred Wilpon should be forced to sell the Mets because the callers have a habit of asking, well…Why? And then, you gotta know what to say…Not enough to say, “John McCain is a hothead who didn’t have the composure to serve in the oval office”–– your audience needs to know you have facts to back up your opinion.
Unlike sports, I really sense the news and this talk network serves the core of people’s lives. Where sports is really the escape portion of their lives. People may cry and cheer when their team wins or their favorite player is traded. In reality, jobs, taxes, war and elections have a direct impact on how our audience lives rather than what jersey they choose to wear on Sundays. There is just much more on the line. As much as I love interviewing Bill Parcells and Phil Jackson –– the newsmakers I get on this show oftentimes affect world history –– fight wars, or fight against them.
