Summary: We are waiting to see if
right-wing talk show host will decide to formally slit his writs on-air after
Tuesday night's election results.
OPINION
A sports columnist recently
complained to us that sports talk show hosts are able to speak out of both sides
of their mouths.
"They can say something outrageous and then claim they are
just entertainers," he said. "Then they get their press credentials yanked
(as the Royals did to two radio talkers) and all of a sudden they become
'journalists.' They like to have it both ways."
Now it seems as if new morning
talk show host on Cumulus-owned KCMO-710 AM is doing the same thing.
“Let me say, Senator, I am proud
of you…” That was just part of a fawning drive-time interview (9/20) of Senator
James Talent on the Chris Stigall talk show on KCMO710. During the
interview both Talent and Stigall went out of their way not to mention Talent's
opponent Claire McCaskill until the very end simply to say she will be on his
show sometime in the future.
This is why listeners are often confused whether
talk show hosts are journalists as Stigall has said he is, or if they are
entertainers. In less than a month into his new show, Stigall continues his
political consultancy ways. In fact, he continues to work for conservative Rep.
Sam Graves, where he has worked as a paid staffer.
Stigall does not hide his political views
(see Tim Engle's story below).
As an example, Stigall did an extensive interview with former Graves staffer and
current CEO of Axiom Strategies Jeff Roe (9/19). Stigall
was hired by Roe and they worked together for Graves
when Roe was Graves' chief of staff.
Roe now represents the tobacco
industry, which is fighting a potential tax increase. He was given prime
morning drive time on Stigall's show to outline why voters should vote against the tax.
Barbara Shelley of the Kansas City Star
has called Roe a “ruthless campaigner… Roe specializes in distortions…He likes
ads that distort the faces of his clients’ opponents…But mostly, he distorts
voting records.”
With the November election upon
us Stigall has ramped up his partisan efforts even more. On election
day (11/7) his featured guests included Ken Mehlman, the head of the Republican
party and his friend Roe. To be honest with
listeners, we believe Stigall should be transparent and announce which campaigns
are paying Roe's Axiom Strategies.
Roe and Stigall teed off on KCTV5
for its poll that showed McCaskill 9 points ahead in her race with Talent. The
two accused TV5 of running a "fraudulent" poll. The day before Stigall
called TV5's Tim Vetscher a "weasel" over his coverage of a story.
No one expects the lineup of conservative
talkers on KCMO to be unbiased. But listeners should be aware of the
agenda-driven conflicts of interest that seem to be commonplace.
Opinions will drive new morning show
Chris Stigall is host of locally focused program.
By TIM ENGLE | Sep 15, 2006
He has been working for a Republican congressman, so there shouldn't be any
mystery about Chris Stigall's political orientation.
Not that there would be much confusion anyway. On Wednesday, Day 2 of his new
morning show on KCMO-AM, Stigall spent several minutes defending Kansas Attorney
General Phill Kline, a Republican, after a campaign memo on Kline's church
strategy went public.
"The only thing he's ever persecuted for is being a man of faith, and I'm sick
and tired of it," Stigall told listeners. He also suggested that Democrat Paul
Morrison won't be able to defeat Kline by, as Stigall put it, embracing
secularism.
"Am I conservative? Yes," Stigall said in an interview. "Am I ashamed of it? No.
Does that drive my talk? Absolutely not."
Stigall, 29, grew up in Kansas City and is a familiar voice here. He co-hosted
the morning show on 101 the Fox; did afternoon drive on 97.3 FM, then known as
the Planet (now Max FM); and was afternoon host on Hot Talk 1510 AM.
Stigall says he'll still represent Rep. Sam Graves at some events, but he plans
to end his affiliation with the congressman by the end of the year. He will not
be using his show to campaign for Graves, he added.
Besides Stigall, Talk Radio 710's new 5-9 a.m. show also features news anchor
Paige Powers, Channel 9 weatherman Joel Nichols and NBC Action News sports
director Jack Harry.
KCMO program director Chris Hoffman says what sets the new morning show apart
from the competition — presumably KMBZ-AM — "is the opportunity our show has to
involve opinion, commentary and perspective."
Stigall says his show will be "local, local, local, and local talk to boot. … We
always try to work from the local angle out."
Speaking of local, the morning show is KCMO-AM's only local weekday program.
Other shows, hosted by talkers such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Michael
Savage, are syndicated, but they do air on KCMO live.
