Mike Gallagher (political commentator)

Last updated

Mike Gallagher
Mike Gallagher by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Gallagher in 2016
Born (1960-04-07) April 7, 1960 (age 64)
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Education Chaminade-Julienne High School, Dayton, Ohio; attended University of Dayton and Wright State University
Occupation(s)Radio personality
Television host
Political commentator
Author
Employer(s) Salem Radio Networks
Fox News Channel
Known forCommentary on current events and social issues
Spouse
Denise Newlen
​
​
(m. 1994;died 2008)​
Children4
Website www.mikeonline.com

Mike Gallagher (born April 7, 1960) is an American radio host and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Mike Gallagher Show, a nationally syndicated radio program that airs throughout the United States on Salem Radio Network and is also a FOX News Channel Contributor and guest host. According to Talkers magazine, Gallagher is the ninth most-listened-to radio talk show host in the United States. [1]

Contents

Career

Radio

Gallagher at the Young America's Foundation annual event, (August 8, 2008), Washington, D.C. Mike speaking080926.jpg
Gallagher at the Young America's Foundation annual event, (August 8, 2008), Washington, D.C.

As a 17-year-old high school senior in Dayton, Ohio, Gallagher talked his way into an on-air shift at WAVI.[ citation needed ] From there he joined WFBC in Greenville, South Carolina, eventually becoming station manager. [2] He then became an on-air host in Albany, New York, on WGY. [3] Gallagher went on to New York City, where he spent two years as morning drive host on WABC. [4]

In 1998, The Mike Gallagher Show was launched nationally with 12 radio stations. As of early 2011, Gallagher was the sixth most listened-to talk radio host in America with over four million weekly listeners. [5] He is heard daily in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, and Philadelphia as well as in small, medium and major markets all over the country. According to the Benchmark Company, he is the 8th most-recognized talk radio personality in America. [6] Gallagher has also been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers including The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , Time , and Forbes . Talkers Magazine has named Gallagher one of the 100 most influential talk hosts in America for eleven consecutive years. [7]

Gallagher's show hosts many high-profile politicians as guests, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former US President George W. Bush, [8] Speaker of the House John Boehner, [9] Republican presidential candidate John McCain during his 2008 electoral run, [10] Vice President Dick Cheney while in office, [11] and then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. [12]

Television

Gallagher co-hosted a morning news program with Dawn Meadows on Dayton's then-NBC affiliate WKEF in 1983. He is a Fox News Channel contributor and sometimes co-host, making frequent appearances on many Fox News Channel shows. [13]

Writing

In the summer of 2005, he authored Surrounded by Idiots: Fighting Liberal Lunacy in America (2005, William Morrow; ISBN   0-06-073798-0), which became a New York Times bestseller (#27 on the extended bestseller list). The Times reviewed the book writing, "You might disagree with the man's politics, but dang, you gotta love a guy who slaughters a steer live on the radio just to annoy the ideologues at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, then gives the meat to the poor. Checkmate. Fans of Gallagher will love the book, and even those liberal loons might enjoy reading it just to play Spot the Inconsistencies." [14] On his radio show, he announced he was writing a book called 50 Things Liberals Love to Hate which was released August 28, 2012. [13] The book was reviewed by former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who said of the book that it, "is smart, funny, and uses satire and wit to take apart the left. If Jon Stewart had writers who were conservative, they'd write a book like this." [15] On September 10, 2012 Gallagher gave a reading of his new book at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. [16]

Salem News Channel

Mike Gallagher also broadcasts on the Salem News Channel. [17] His show began streaming on the Salem News Channel in November 2021. [18]

Philanthropy and causes

On May 8, 2006, Gallagher used his show to raise money for the creation of homes in poverty-stricken areas of Jamaica in conjunction with Food for the Poor, during a live broadcast in the Jamaican national capital. [19] Gallagher is also the namesake of his main charity, Gallagher's Army: The Mike Gallagher Show Charitable Foundation, which he founded in 2005 after he began asking his listeners and others to support American military families. In 2008 Gallagher expanded his efforts by founding the Gallagher's Army: Fallen Officer Fund, which gathers funds from his listeners and others to support the families of police officers who have fallen in the line of duty. [20]

Gallagher has made his views on the protesting of American war dead upon their return from theatres of war, using his air time to try to prevent such protests from taking place. On October 6, 2006, Gallagher convinced the controversial Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church to appear on air with an hour of air time in exchange for not picketing a funeral for victims from the West Nickel Mines School shooting near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Initially, Gallagher offered the organization money not to picket the funeral. With this gesture being accused of being blood money, the syndicated radio host gave the church an hour to appear on air. The Amish funerals went on peacefully after the contract signed with WBC stipulated a $500,000 fine if there were picketers anywhere near the funerals.

Following plans by the Westboro Baptist Church to protest funerals of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre, Gallagher offered the group three hours of airtime in exchange for an agreement not to protest these funerals. The WBC was the in-studio guests of Gallagher's program for its entirety on April 24, 2007. He has made a similar agreement with Westboro concerning possible protests at the funerals of those killed in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011, despite the fact that emergency legislation passed on January 12, 2011, makes such protests illegal in Arizona.

Controversy

In December 2006 Gallagher made a controversial comment on Fox News, in response to a discussion of whether film actors and television personalities should be held to account for public statements they make against the government in a time of war, specifically Joy Behar's comparison of then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to Adolf Hitler. Gallagher stated that, "I think we should round up all of these folks. Round up Joy Behar. Round up Matt Damon, who last night on MSNBC attacked George Bush and Dick Cheney. Round up [Keith] Olbermann. Take the whole bunch of them and put them in a detention camp until this war is over because they're a bunch of traitors." [21]

Gallagher has come under fire of accusations of racism and Islamophobia after stating that airports ought to have a "Muslims Only" line in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, saying "It's time to have a Muslims check-point line in America's airports and have Muslims be scrutinized. You better believe it, it's time." [22]

Personal life

Gallagher was born in Dayton, Ohio. He attended Chaminade-Julienne High School in downtown Dayton (graduating in 1978), where he was active in the school radio and TV station, theater (he had lead roles during all four years of school), the school band and chorus. [23] Gallagher is of Irish [24] descent. In 2008, his wife Denise died one day shy of her 52nd birthday, from endometrial cancer. [25]

From September 6-11, 2011, Gallagher made a week-long cameo in the Broadway show Memphis , stating it was the culmination of a lifelong dream. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Phelps</span> American pastor and activist (1929–2014)

Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. was an American minister and disbarred lawyer who served as the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, worked as a civil rights attorney, and ran for statewide election in Kansas. A divisive and controversial figure, he gained national attention for his homophobic views and protests near the funerals of gay people, AIDS victims, military veterans, and disaster victims who he believed were killed as a result of God punishing the U.S. for having "bankrupt values" and tolerating homosexuality. Phelps founded the Westboro Baptist Church, a Topeka, Kansas-based independent Primitive Baptist congregation, in 1955. It has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America". Its signature slogan, "God Hates Fags", remains the name of the group's principal website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newt Gingrich</span> American politician and author (born 1943)

Newton Leroy Gingrich is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district serving north Atlanta and nearby areas from 1979 until his resignation in 1999. In 2012, Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Medved</span> American radio show host and writer

Michael S. Medved is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, The Michael Medved Show, is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is syndicated via Genesis Communications Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westboro Baptist Church</span> American primitive baptist church and hate group

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American, unaffiliated Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. It is widely considered a hate group, and is known for its public protests against gay people and for its usage of the phrases "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". It also engages in hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and other Christian denominations. The WBC's theology and practices are widely condemned by other Christian churches, including the Baptist World Alliance and the Southern Baptist Convention, and by politicians and public figures, including former U.S. President Barack Obama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thom Hartmann</span> American political commentator (born 1951)

Thomas Carl Hartmann is an American radio personality, author, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, since 2003 and hosted a nightly television show, The Big Picture, between 2010 and 2017.

<i>The Sean Hannity Show</i> American talk radio show

The Sean Hannity Show is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity. The program is broadcast live every weekday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The show is produced in the New York City studios of radio station WOR and is transmitted via ISDN from Hannity's home in Florida, or on location if Hannity's commitments to Fox News Channel take him out of the New York area. The show is now syndicated by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, on terrestrial radio affiliates across the United States, on Sirius XM Patriot channel 125. and on American Forces Network's AFN 360 PowerTalk and The Voice channels. The primary focus of the program is the politics of the day, with interviews of liberal and conservative commentators. After conservative radio show The Rush Limbaugh Show ended its run following Limbaugh's 2021 death, The Sean Hannity Show became the most-listened-to commercial radio talk show with an estimated 16.25 million listeners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lars Larson</span> American conservative talk radio show host (born 1959)

Lars Kristopher Larson is an American conservative talk radio show host based in Portland, Oregon. Larson worked in television and radio news from the 1970s to 1990s and has hosted The Lars Larson Show from flagship station KXL in Portland since 1997. Two versions of the show exist: the Northwest show airs from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Pacific) and discussing Pacific Northwest issues. The Northwest show is syndicated on the Radio Northwest Network which is owned and operated by Alpha Media. The nationally syndicated program airs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Pacific) and discusses national issues. The national show is syndicated by Compass Media Networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Francesa</span> Sports radio host

Michael Patrick Francesa is an American sports-radio talk-show host. Together with Chris Russo, he launched Mike and the Mad Dog in 1989 on WFAN in New York City, which ran until 2008 and is one of the most successful sports-talk radio programs in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRLA</span> Radio station in Glendale, California

KRLA "AM 870 The Answer" is a commercial radio station broadcasting a conservative talk radio format. Licensed to Glendale, California, it serves Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. The station is owned by Salem Media Group, which also owns 99.5 KKLA-FM which features a Christian talk and teaching format, and 95.9 KFSH-FM with a contemporary Christian music format. By day, KRLA transmits with 50,000 watts, the maximum for commercial AM stations. Since AM 870 is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A WWL New Orleans, KRLA must reduce power at sunset to 3,000 watts to reduce interference. It uses a directional antenna with a three-tower array. The transmitter is off El Reposo Drive in Los Angeles, near the Glendale Freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks</span> American radio programming distributor

CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks, sometimes simply referred to as CRN or CRN Digital Talk, is a syndicator and distributor of radio programs and talk radio networks.

WDAO – branded Real Rhythm Of The City – is a commercial daytime-only urban adult contemporary radio station licensed to Dayton, Ohio. Owned by minority-owned business Johnson Communications, Inc., WDAO serves the Dayton metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTRB</span> Talk radio station in San Francisco

KTRB is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California. The station has a talk radio format, airing programming from the Salem Radio Network, using the slogan "860 AM The Answer." KTRB is owned by Salem Media Group, through licensee New Inspiration Broadcasting Company, Inc.; Salem uses "The Answer" as a brand for most of its talk stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMMX</span> Radio station in Dayton, Ohio

WMMX is a commercial radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. It is licensed to Dayton, Ohio, and is owned by iHeartMedia with the license held by as iHM Licenses, LLC. Weeknights, it carries the nationally syndicated show On with Mario Lopez. Its studios and offices are on South Main Street in Dayton.

WLSS is a commercial radio station in Sarasota, Florida. It is owned by Salem Communications and airs a talk radio format. It is the oldest and most powerful AM station in the Sarasota-Bradenton radio market. The studios are on West Laurel Street in Sarasota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Habeeb</span> American radio producer

Lee Habeeb is an American talk radio executive, host, podcaster and essayist. He is the creator and co-founder of The Laura Ingraham Show, the Vice President of Content for the Salem Media Group, the founder of American Private Radio, and the creator, founder and host of "Our American Stories," a weekday radio show syndicated across the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Krohn</span> American author (born 1995)

Jonathan Lee Krohn is an American journalist and writer. He has written for The Guardian, The Atlantic, Salon, and Mother Jones, among others. In March 2013, Krohn was made the International Affairs and Politics fellow for Kurdish media company Rudaw's English language news site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWRC</span> Radio station in Bethesda, Maryland

WWRC – branded AM 570 The Answer – is a commercial conservative talk radio station licensed to serve Bethesda, Maryland. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station services the Washington metro area and is the market affiliate for the Salem Radio Network and The Sean Hannity Show. The WWRC studios are located in Arlington, while the station transmitter resides in nearby Germantown. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WWRC is available online.

Newt Gingrich has declared his position on many political issues through his public comments and legislative record, including as Speaker of the House. The political initiative with which he is most widely identified was the Contract With America, which outlined an economic and social agenda designed to improve the efficiency of government while reducing its burden on the American taxpayer. Passage of the Contract helped establish Gingrich's reputation as a public intellectual. His engagement of public issues has continued through to the present, in particular as the founder of American Solutions for Winning the Future.

<i>Glenn Beck Radio Program</i> Radio show

The Glenn Beck Radio Program is an American conservative talk radio show, hosted by commentator Glenn Beck on over 400 radio stations across America, his company's own TheBlaze Radio Network, with a live television simulcast weekdays on TheBlaze TV. Since its inception as a nationally syndicated show in 2002, the program has become one of the highest rated radio programs. Furthermore, it led to television shows on CNN and the Fox News Channel, six New York Times bestselling books, a magazine, and a stage tour. In 2009, many editorials, such as those on The Huffington Post, singled out Glenn Beck's radio and television programs for raising issues which led to the resignation of Obama advisor Van Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protests by Westboro Baptist Church</span> Protests carried out by the Westboro Baptist Church

Westboro Baptist Church carries out daily picketing in Topeka, Kansas, and travels nationally to picket the funerals of gay victims of murder or gay-bashing, as well as those of people who have died from complications related to AIDS. It also pickets other events related or peripherally related to homosexuality. It is the protesting of military funerals that led to the organization receiving much attention for its small size. Protests done by Westboro Baptist Church are characterized by defacement of the American flag, hate speech said by members to onlookers, and members holding signs with predominantly homophobic and anti-American statements.

References

  1. ↑ "Top Talk Audiences | TALKERS magazine - "The bible of talk media." : TALKERS magazine – "The bible of talk media."". May 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Talk-radio host Mike Gallagher to visit Tucson for show, fair". Arizona Daily Star . April 21, 2003. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  3. ↑ "TWO MICHAELS, ONE DAY". Centre Daily Times. October 22, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Mike Gallagher". Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Mike Gallagher". Talkers via 1550talk.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  6. ↑ Kathleen Gorden (October 19, 2006). "TOP 5 TALK SHOW HOSTS/INFLUENCERS MEET WITH BUSH". East Valley Living Magazine. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Mike Gallagher". Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  8. ↑ "MIKE GALLAGHER 10 AM TO NOON". Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  9. ↑ Katie Boyd (April 26, 2012). "Speaker Boehner on Mike Gallagher Radio Show: POTUS "Belittling the Presidency" with Manufactured Fights & Taxpayer-Funded Campaign Swings". Speaker.gov. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  10. ↑ Mike Gallagher (October 3, 2008). "Mike Gallagher's Exclusive Interview With John McCain". Townhall.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Interview of the Vice President by Mike Gallagher, The Mike Gallagher Live Radio Show". WhiteHouse.gov. November 2, 2007. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with the Mike Gallagher Show". Defense.gov. October 30, 2002. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Biography: Mike Gallagher". Simon and Schuster. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  14. ↑ Neil Genzlinger (August 28, 2005). "Review: SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS: Fighting Liberal Lunacy in America. By Mike Gallagher". New York Times . Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  15. ↑ Newt Gingrich. "This Was Not a Good Week for the Democrats". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  16. ↑ James Byron (August 16, 2012). "Popular Radio Talk Show Host Mike Gallagher to Talk New Book, 'The 50 Things Liberals Love To Hate'". The Richard Nixon Foundation. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Salem News Channel | The Most Respected and Reliable Conservative Voices Today".
  18. ↑ "Mike Gallagher | Salem News Channel". October 13, 2020.
  19. ↑ "VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK: Mike Gallagher". Jamaica Gleaner. May 27, 2006. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  20. ↑ "About Us". Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  21. ↑ ThinkProgress (December 20, 2006). "Talk Host Gallagher: 'Round Up' Olbermann, Damon, And 'Put Them In A Detention Camp'". ThinkProgress . Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Fox News Airs Suggestion for 'Muslim-Only' Airport Line". The Huffington Post . August 16, 2006. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  23. ↑ Bob Batz (March 28, 2003). "FORMER WAVI TALKER TAKES ON THE CHICKS". Dayton Daily News . Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  24. ↑ "my mom is irish" - https://twitter.com/radiotalkermike/status/206415493890977792 Archived February 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  25. ↑ Mike Gallagher (July 14, 2008). "Good-bye to Tony Snow and Denise Gallagher". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  26. ↑ "MIKE GALLAGHER ON BROADWAY". Radio Ink. September 12, 2011. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.