Tag Results for talk radio

Governor Deval Patrick says he's not going to make the same mistake Martha Coakley did in her US Senate race by ducking Boston's legion of right-wing radio talkers. Patrick's determined to go into the lion's den, but will it help him snatch victory from jaws of defeat, or will the likes of Howie Carr, Gerry Callahan, and Michael Graham simply have him for lunch?

The majority of hosts backed Scott Brown, interviewing him regularly and giving him positive exposure. Did talk radio play in the Senate election?

It did not escape anyone's notice that Boston talk radio was, for the most part, in the bag for Scott Brown. WTKK's Michael Graham, Jay Severin and Michele McPhee used every breath of their substantial airtime the last few weeks to push the candidate - with Brown frequently appearing as the only guest, as in, no Martha Coakley, or Joe L. Kennedy for that matter. Same went for WRKO's Finneran's Forum and The Howie Carr Show - even WBZ's Dan Rea was on the Brown wagon. Only 'TKK's Margery Eagan and Jim Braude offered a little balance.

Okay. But now libertarian blogger David Gold, an edgy force in talk radio, is raising the tired old saw that Scott Brown's win, fueled by talk radio, will bring more liberal pressure to regulate the air waves, even though there's no evidence that's true.

The quirky local writer and essayist, Steve Almond says of all the "lies told by the pooh-bahs of talk radio," the most desperate and deluded is that the Fairness Doctrine would quash free speech. He's even challenged any conservative talk radio yakker to a debate. No one locally has accepted.

While I don't think a Fairness Doctrine would quash free speech either, I certainly don't want to see it come back. I would however, like to see some basic fairness when it comes to balance on the airwaves.

Full disclosure: Emily Rooney is also a radio talk show host, appearing daily on "The Emily Rooney Show" on WGBH-FM 89.7 at noon.

CNN news president Jonathan Klein has ordered producers to restrain from booking radio talk show hosts as guests. Do radio talk show hosts lend substance to televised debates, or are they just making noise?

Jay Severin's suspension will end next week, and he will return to WTKK Radio (96.9 FM) on Tuesday. The following statement is from Heidi Raphael, spokeswoman for Greater Media, WTKK's parent corporation:

"We have had conversations with Jay Severin over the past several weeks about his hurtful, inappropriate remarks. He understands that we will not accept this type of commentary on our airwaves in the future. Based on this understanding, we have agreed to conclude Jay's suspension and he will return to the 96.9 FM WTKK airwaves on

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 WTKK's Jay Severin was suspended three weeks ago and there is still no official word when or if the controversial talk show host will be back on the air. Why is the fate of Severin's career being treated so mysteriously?