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December 2005
Turning into the Right: Jewish Conservatives in Talk Radio
Al Franken is hardly the first Jew to wander through the hinterlands of talk radio. Michael Medved and Moment columnist Dennis Prager are among those who have already carved out a Jewish niche in the medium—albeit as the kind of conservatives that Franken loves to revile.
The two are on par with the industry’s household names, says Andrew Schwartzman, who heads the Media Access Project, a Washington non-profit promoting media diversification. “Medved and Prager’s competition are Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly.” Rush Limbaugh, of course, is the largest elephant in the talk radio room, delivering his acid, jibe-tinged conservatism to nearly 600 stations. Bill O’Reilly, better known for his Fox News Channel show, broadcasts a television version of his sweaty populism to over 400 stations. Medved is heard on 186 stations and estimates he has two million listeners while Prager’s show airs on 68 stations reaching one million.
Which begs the question: What are two Jewish guys doing dealing diatribes to a mostly Christian, conservative and male audience?
Being Jewish, they say, allows them to bring something different to the talk radio mix. With a resonant baritone and chastening tone suggestive of a favored teacher or guidance counselor, Prager melds moral insights cherry-picked from Jewish writings with Ann Landers-like advice on how to survive the modern world. Judaism is a regular theme on his show, reflecting that, in addition to authoring two self-help books, he and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin have co-written two books explaining Judaism and anti-Semitism.
Michael Medved, by contrast, is one of the guys, albeit the well-liked, if slightly nerdy, student council leader. His foray into fame was jumpstarted by three best-selling books about film in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the first of which was The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. These books, co-written with brother Harry, marvel at the awfulness of films that never made the canon (and a few that did), and helped to midwife the detached, irony-laden humor that infused 1980s and 1990s culture. Since then, Medved, who makes no secret of his later-in-life embrace of Orthodox Judaism, has switched ideologies. His latest bestseller, Right Turns: Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life, chronicles his evolution from a callow sniper at the rich and famous to the heartfelt advocate for depth in entertainment that he is today. Another of his recent bestsellers, Hollywood vs. America, censures filmmakers for their negative portrayals of religion. But not all the irony-laden humor is gone: With a snicker, Medved pronounces Franken’s network “Err America.”
Both Prager and Medved view themselves as Jewish ambassadors to their conservative audiences. Prager describes himself as “a bridge between the two communities.” Medved sees his role differently: “Part of the reason I do what I do is to make very clear to fellow Jews, and to everybody outside, that Judaism and liberalism are not the same thing.”
Another Jew in the major league of conservative talk radio tries to hide the fact that he is Jewish. Michael Savage, born Michael Weiner, refuses to acknowledge his Jewish upbringing. In fact, the onetime herbalist turned bombastic populist has been criticized for ridiculing Jerry Springer’s “hooked nose” and referring to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as “the brisket baker.” In his book Savage Nation, he trashes Florida’s Jewish voters for loving “Bill [Clinton], their shameless shaygitz and Al [Gore], their Shabbos goy.”
Perhaps the most pervasive of all Jewish talk show hosts is Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a convert to Judaism who peddles conservative opinion along with advice on her syndicated show. She flirted for a few years with Jewish pride, peppering her harangues at hapless single moms with Jewish readings. In 2003, she abandoned overt displays of Judaism, citing her disappointment with Jewish criticism of her views.
Meanwhile, the bleachers in radioland are packed with conservative Jewish talk radio hosts who are angling for the big time. The conservative Jewish talker even shows signs of becoming a commodity: A New York City station—WWRL—now rotates a series of right-wing Jewish men opposite its in-house black, liberal woman, Karen Hunter. Meanwhile, Talkline, hosted by the affable Zev Brenner for 24 years, was recently picked up by the right-wing Christian Salem Radio Network, which already carries Prager and Medved.
Ultimately, the appeal of Jews in talk radio may have less to do with politics or theology than with the Jewish passion for argument. “Jews are good communicators because they tend to fight verbally more than physically,” muses Prager. Medved takes pleasure in inviting liberals to his show and has sparred on air several times with Franken. “One of our taglines is ‘Michael Medved: Your daily dose of debate,’” he says.
The bottom line, he says, is entertainment. “Franken’s show violates the one cardinal sin of talk radio,” he announces cheerfully. “It’s painfully boring.”
He asks a reporter to print that, sliding back a little into sophomoric glee. “Franken’s so easy to provoke,” he says. —Ron Kampeas
Read the feature, Al Franken Gets Serioius, here.
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