 Michael Savage (San Francisco Chronicle) |
The Talk Radio Network announced it will begin Monday testing a pre-feed of “The Michael Savage Show” during the time slot that Fox News host Bill O’Reilly is scheduled to abandon soon.
TRN officials said that besides being ranked as the third-largest syndicated talk show in the U.S., Savage has the unique distinction of being the only nationally syndicated male talk radio show host to generate “giant” numbers like Rush Limbaugh on a “stand-alone basis,” without the benefit of a lead-in show.
“In other words, like Limbaugh, Savage is a true ‘tent pole show,'” the announcement said.
“Our Savage pre-feed in O’Reilly’s live radio slot should prove this point yet again,” said Mark Masters, CEO of TRN.
“Those stations that decide to take the early pre-feed of Savage may ultimately be the key beneficiary of larger beneficial future announcements,” Masters said.
The pre-feed will give stations hit hard by the current economy another option. “The Michael Savage Show”
airs live Monday through Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The new pre-feed will air weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific Time.
O’Reilly has confirmed he’s giving up his radio program during the same time to devote more time his Fox News Channel television show, “The O’Reilly Factor.”
“The media business is getting more and more intense,” O’Reilly said. “We’ve got to keep the TV show at the level we have it now, and that means more and more time to keep it competitive and fresh.”
The Savage show, according to TALKERS magazine ratings, is the third largest syndicated program in the nation, reaching listeners through more than 300 stations and in 43 of the top 50 markets.
Masters said the offering will be a new option for radio stations who want access to the work of Savage, who “does by himself what a team of 15 writers does for other programs.”
“Mark Masters knows syndication. I know talk. It’s a perfect marriage,” said Savage.
The program’s popularity continues to rise.
“It’s great to see that Michael has increased his dominance over all the other afternoon drive talkers here in the San Francisco market,” said Clark Reid, program director for KNEW. “People say someone is in a class by themselves, but Michael actually is.”
“You cannot ignore him,” added Bob Bruno, now a consultant to WOR in New York. “Michael is a fearless, gritty, tough, funny, street-smart, talk master – that’s why we are proud to have him on WOR.”
“When Savage is on the air, nobody is more interesting,” said Dave Sniff, program director for KFMB in San Diego.
WND previously reported when Savage reached a multi-year contract extension with Talk Radio Network.
“By continuing to syndicate ‘the Michael Savage show,’ Talk Radio Network is proud to lead arm and arm with one of the greatest national talk personalities on the air today,” Masters said then. “Michael is a true original – he is one in a million, and we are honored for this opportunity.”
TRN also syndicates popular talk hosts Laura Ingraham, Rusty Humphries and Matthew Erich “Mancow” Muller, among others, and was reported by Bear Stearns in 2007 as the second largest provider of nationally syndicated radio talk shows.
Savage is a trained scientist, with master’s degrees in medical botany and medical anthropology and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in epidemiology and nutrition science. Savage is also the author of 20 books, including four New York Times best-sellers. His latest book, “Psychological Nudity,” tells his childhood stories and is largely apolitical.
Savage is applauded by his audience, known as the Savage Nation, for lending a tenacious, street-wise edge to his educated take on politics and society.
Savage also has also garnered headlines by serving as a relentless watchdog of Islamic extremism in the U.S., including his criticism of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a group linked to terror-fundraising schemes that recently was served with a summons and complaint for various civil and criminal offenses.
As WND reported, CAIR last year waged a public campaign using excerpted Savage remarks to urge advertisers to boycott his program. CAIR stated its campaign successfully resulted in Savage losing $1 million in advertising.
Savage, in turn, filed a lawsuit claiming CAIR was illegally using his program’s excerpts. He also alleged that CAIR had received millions in foreign funding and that the Islamic group may have been wrongfully acting as a lobbyist or agent for a foreign government, violating its nonprofit status.
Savage also alleged CAIR was engaged in racketeering, describing the group as a “mouthpiece of international terror” that helped fund the 9/11 attacks, a contention strongly denied by CAIR.
But Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California threw out the case in July, arguing it is legal to use excerpts of a public broadcast for purposes of comment and criticism.
