"Hello, America and everyone across the sea," Jerry Springer said on Friday morning. "Let's play radio."
And so began Springer's first broadcast on the liberal political network, Air America Radio. Yes, that Springer, the rumpled talk show host who has presided over enough domestic disputes, bizarre love triangles and impromptu fistfights on his syndicated television show to earn the nickname "The Ringmaster."
His daily three-hour program, Springer on the Radio, starts at 9am, adding Springer to a chorus of talk radio personalities on the network who are tame in comparison, and replacing one of Air America's original programs, Unfiltered, a talk show co-hosted by Rachel Maddow and Chuck D (who are, respectively, a liberal intellectual and a rap star).
On Friday, Springer began his program with a lengthy and impassioned monologue about the politicization of the Terri Schiavo case, calling it "the crassest, most complete pandering to a group of voters -- in the process demeaning their religion -- making every church look like a campaign headquarters."
His critics may scoff at being called crass by the host of such television episodes as "Male Siamese Twins" and "I Refuse to Wear Clothes." But Springer insists his radio program is political, and a far cry from his television program.
"It's a totally different job," he said. "There's no relationship. One is pure entertainment and pretty much a circus about outrageousness, and this is talk about issues."
Springer's radio program, which began broadcasting in January from WCKY-AM in Cincinnati and has been syndicated to stations in Cleveland, San Antonio, Detroit and South Florida, can now be heard on 45 of Air America's 51 affiliate stations around the country. "This is a passion for me," he said. "I really love doing this. I should've started when I was younger."
Springer on the Radio is also something of a reclamation project for Springer, both as a political figure and as a media star. Speaking in his soft but resolute baritone, Springer described his own politics as "unquestionably" left of center, but "not off the charts." Last year, he donated US$2,000 to the presidential campaign of Dennis Kucinich, Democrat from Ohio, and ultimately supported Senator John Kerry against US President George W. Bush.
The radio program, for which he owns the syndication rights, also provides Springer the opportunity to regain some of the national audience he has lost over the last five years, as ratings for his television program have declined as much as 40 percent.
In recruiting Springer, Air America Radio got an established celebrity with a dedicated audience. The network has expanded substantially over its first year on the air, with more than 2 million people now listening for at least 15 minutes a week. But there is room to grow.
Springer began his long and winding career in the political arena as an aide to Robert F. Kennedy during his presidential campaign. In 1977, he was elected mayor of Cincinnati and gave a daily two-minute morning radio address on WEBN-FM called The Springer Memorandum. After leaving City Hall, Springer became a reporter and commentator for WLWT-TV in Cincinnati; by 1984, he was an anchor and managing editor at the station, where he won seven Emmy awards.
In 1991, he started The Jerry Springer Show, which piqued the nation's interest in the bizarre misadventures of modern relationships. But another run at political office is in the back of his mind.
"If I've got a voice around the country, it's pretty hard to give it up for a local office," he said, adding, "I've lived my life never shutting doors."
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