| Michael Smerconish Esq. |
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|---|---|
 Smerconish signing "smart bomb" during a Defense Department aircraft and weapons display in Southwest Asia, Oct. 20, 2006 |
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| Born | March 15, 1962 Doylestown, Pennsylvania |
| Residence | Montgomery County, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Lehigh University University of Pennsylvania Law School |
| Occupation | Radio host, columnist, author, political analyst |
| Years active | 2002-present |
| Title | Regional Administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development |
| Political party | Independent |
| Website | |
| http://www.smerconish.com/ | |
Michael A. Smerconish (born March 15, 1962) is an American radio and television personality, newspaper columnist, author and MSNBC political analyst. His talk radio show is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Talk Radio 1210 AM WPHT. He began his full-time radio career in 2002.[1] From January 2009 to April 15, 2013, Smerconish's two daily nationally syndicated radio programs have been heard on 70 stations in the United States, including WOR News Talk Radio 710 in New York City and KFWB News Talk 980 in Los Angeles.[2] Smerconish canceled the morning show in November 2010[3] and the syndicated show in April 2013.
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Life and career [edit]
On August 20, 2009, Smerconish became the first talk radio host to broadcast live from the Obama White House, a show which included an interview with the President himself. The interview was held in the Diplomatic Reception Room, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats were held. The President took questions from Smerconish and his listeners on a variety of subjects including the recent debates on the pending Healthcare Reform Bill.
Smerconish has substituted for Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor, Glenn Beck on his CNN Headline News television program, Chris Matthews on Hardball, and for Joe Scarborough on his former MSNBC show Scarborough Country. He is a regular contributor with MSNBC,[2] and has appeared as a guest on NBC's Today Show, Larry King Live, The View, the Colbert Report and Real Time with Bill Maher, among others.[4] He writes separate weekly columns in the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to The Daily Beast.[5]
Talkers Magazine has consistently named him one of America's most important talk show hosts,[4] and Radio & Records named him the nation's Local Personality of the Year in 2009.[6] The Pennsylvania Report named him to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics.[7]
A simulcast of Smerconish's show aired on WPHT and MSNBC during the week of April 23–27, 2007. The program was broadcast live from the MSNBC studios in Secaucus, New Jersey as a replacement for Imus in the Morning on a trial basis.[8] The program was originally intended to be a three-day trial from April 23 to 25 but was extended for the full week after the April 23 broadcast. In-studio guests included Jon Anderson of the musical group Yes and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Smerconish stated during his stint that he would stay on MSNBC "as long as they will have me." He said several days after the simulcast that he "wanted the call" to get the position permanently, but he wasn't expecting to land the position (he predicted David Gregory would get the job). If an offer had come, he stated he wasn't sure he would accept it, given he would have to travel to MSNBC's studios outside New York City.[9] The MSNBC job instead went to Joe Scarborough, whose evening program Scarborough Country was retooled for the morning as Morning Joe.
On November 10, 2009 Smerconish's Philadelphia-based morning program was introduced to a Washington, D.C. area audience via simulcasting on The Big Talker 1580 AM WHFS.[10] On February 2, 2009, WOR-AM became the first station to pick up Smerconish's midday program.[11] Both shows – the original morning drive program as well as an additional three hour broadcast from noon to 3 p.m. eastern time – are syndicated by Dial Global in a partnership with CBS RADIO.
Smerconish plans on leaving terrestrial radio on April 15, 2013, in preparation for a move to POTUS on Sirius XM Radio.
Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Smerconish is a graduate of Lehigh University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. At age 29, he served as a federal housing coordinator in the Office of Housing and Urban Development of the administration of President George H.W. Bush.[12] He is of Yugoslav descent and married to realtor Lavinia Smerconish.
Political positions [edit]
Having voted for Republican candidates for president all his life, Smerconish endorsed Barack Obama for president on October 17, 2008.[13][14]
He has urged the Republican Party to pursue "moderation on social issues in order to advance a suburban agenda for the GOP." [15]
On February 21, 2010, he announced that he had left the Republican Party.[16]
Smerconish supports the use of torture as a "last resort."[17]
He is an outspoken critic of political correctness, and has written two books on the subject:
- Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11 (2004)
- Muzzled: From T-Ball to Terrorism – True Stories That Should Be Fiction (2006)
His other three books include:
- Murdered by Mumia – about slain Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner (co-written by Maureen Faulkner).[18]
- Morning Drive: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking, in which he discusses his political positions and his talk radio career. The book was released in April 2009.
- Instinct: The Man Who Stopped the Twentieth Hijacker (2009) about the story of Jose Melendez-Perez
Both Muzzled and Murdered by Mumia were New York Times bestsellers.[6]
References [edit]
- ^ Jeffrey Zaslow, "America's Next Top Pundit: What does it take to be a talking head?", Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2006
- ^ a b "Conservative Radio Host Smerconish to the White House". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- ^ "News : Philadelphia's "Big Talker" makes big changes with Smerconish, Beck, Hannity". Radio-Info.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
- ^ a b "And Starring Michael Smerconish, as Himself". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- ^ "Michael Smerconish". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- ^ a b http://press.drlauraactivism.com/2009/08/
- ^ "The PA Report "Power 75" List" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capital Growth, Inc. January 31, 2003. Archived from the original on September 2, 2006.
- ^ "TheBigTalker1210". TheBigTalker1210.com. May 19, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- ^ TheBigTalker1210.com[dead link]
- ^ [1] Announcement of simulcast of Smerconish's talk show. Retrieved on November 10, 2008.
- ^ Fybush, Scott. Northeast Radio Watch report. January 12, 2009.
- ^ http://www.smerconish.com/daily_news2/050709.htm
- ^ Tapper, Jake (October 17, 2008). "In Philly, Conservative Talk Radio Host Backs Obama". ABC News. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
- ^ Smerconish, Michael (October 18, 2008). "Head Strong: McCain fails the big five tests". mastalk.com. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- ^ "A Suburban Gop Manifesto". Smerconish.com. November 16, 2006. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
- ^ Smerconish, Michael (February 21, 2010). "For Me, the Party Is Over". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
- ^ Smerconish, Michael. Torture must remain a last resort. January 25, 2009.
- ^ Murdered by Mumia, official book site
External links and references [edit]
- Smerconish's Home Page
- The Big Talker staff page for Smerconish
- Michael Smerconish at the Internet Movie Database
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