Mike Gallagher
Encyclopedia
Mike Gallagheris an American
radio host
and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Mike Gallagher Show, a nationally-syndicated radio program
that airs throughout the United States on Salem Radio Network
and is also a FOX News Channel Contributor and guest host. According to Talkers magazine, Gallagher is the sixth most-listened-to radio talk show host in the United States
.
, Gallagher talked his way into an on-air shift at WAVI-AM. His broadcasting career has taken him from Dayton to WFBC-AM in Greenville, South Carolina
(now WORD-AM
) where his ratings and revenue success led to his eventual promotion to station manager. From there, he became the afternoon drive-time leader in Albany, New York
on upstate powerhouse WGY-AM. After Albany was the nation's number one market, New York City
, where Gallagher enjoyed a two-year stint as morning drive host on WABC-AM, the nation's most listened-to talk radio station.
In 1998, The Mike Gallagher Show was launched nationally with twelve radio stations. As of the Spring 2011, Talkers Magazine reports that Gallagher is the sixth most listened-to talk radio host in America with over four million weekly listeners. He's heard daily in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, and Philadelphia as well as in small, medium and major markets all over the country. According to the Benchmark Company, he is the 8th most-recognized talk radio personality in America. Gallagher has also been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers including The New York Times
, The Wall Street Journal
, Time
, and Forbes
.
Mike's views are conservative and he is somewhat libertarian, more so on economic issues versus social issues. He supports Republicans at the state and national level. He is pro-life. He sides with Israel on issues concerning the Middle East, and vehemently supported the war in Iraq.
contributor and guest-host, making frequent appearances on many Fox News Channel shows.
-based Westboro Baptist Church
to appear on air with an hour of air time in exchange for not picketing a funeral for victims from the Amish school shooting
near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania
. Initially, Gallagher offered the organization money to not picket the funeral. With this gesture being accused of being blood money, the syndicated radio host gave the church an hour to appear on air. The Amish funerals went on peacefully after the contract signed with WBC stipulated a $500,000 fine if there were picketers anywhere near the funerals.
Following plans by the Westboro Baptist Church
to protest funerals of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
, Gallagher offered the group three hours of airtime in exchange for an agreement not to protest these funerals. The WBC was the in-studio guests of Gallagher's program for its entirety on April 24, 2007.
He has made a similar agreement with Westboro concerning possible protests at the funerals of those killed in Tucson on 8 January 2011, despite the fact that emergency legislation passed on 12 January 2011 makes such protests illegal in Arizona.
Gallagher stated in December 2006 on Fox News that critics of President Bush should be imprisoned. "I think we should round up all of these folks. Round up Joy Behar
. Round up Matt Damon
, who last night on MSNBC attacked George Bush and Dick Cheney. Round up Olbermann. Take the whole bunch of them and put them in a detention camp until this war is over because they’re a bunch of traitors."
to parents Leon and Marge. He was raised in Dayton, although for a few years he lived in Fairfield and Hamilton, Ohio
, where his parents owned and operated a pair of Cassano's Pizza King franchises. As a little boy, he would don an apron and red bow tie and make pizzas with his folks. When Gallagher was 11 years old, his father died on Christmas Day, 1971 from leukemia
. His mother died ten years later of bladder cancer
. He attended Chaminade-Julienne High School in downtown Dayton (graduating in 1978), where he was active in the school radio and TV station, theater (he had lead roles during all four years of school), the school band and chorus. Perhaps his first official broadcasting gig took place at his high school as he was the daily morning announcer on the school Public Address(PA) system.
In 2008, his wife Denise died one day shy of her 52nd birthday, from endometrial cancer
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio host
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Mike Gallagher Show, a nationally-syndicated radio program
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
that airs throughout the United States on Salem Radio Network
Salem Radio Network
Salem Radio Network is a United States-based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian talk, music, and secular news/talk programming...
and is also a FOX News Channel Contributor and guest host. According to Talkers magazine, Gallagher is the sixth most-listened-to radio talk show host in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Radio
As a 17-year-old high school senior in Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, Gallagher talked his way into an on-air shift at WAVI-AM. His broadcasting career has taken him from Dayton to WFBC-AM in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
(now WORD-AM
WORD-AM
See also: WYRD-FM, WYRDWORD-AM, known on-air as News Radio WORD, is an News/Talk-formatted radio station in the Greenville-Spartanburg area of Upstate South Carolina...
) where his ratings and revenue success led to his eventual promotion to station manager. From there, he became the afternoon drive-time leader in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
on upstate powerhouse WGY-AM. After Albany was the nation's number one market, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where Gallagher enjoyed a two-year stint as morning drive host on WABC-AM, the nation's most listened-to talk radio station.
In 1998, The Mike Gallagher Show was launched nationally with twelve radio stations. As of the Spring 2011, Talkers Magazine reports that Gallagher is the sixth most listened-to talk radio host in America with over four million weekly listeners. He's heard daily in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, and Philadelphia as well as in small, medium and major markets all over the country. According to the Benchmark Company, he is the 8th most-recognized talk radio personality in America. Gallagher has also been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, and Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
.
Mike's views are conservative and he is somewhat libertarian, more so on economic issues versus social issues. He supports Republicans at the state and national level. He is pro-life. He sides with Israel on issues concerning the Middle East, and vehemently supported the war in Iraq.
Television
Gallagher is a Fox News ChannelFox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
contributor and guest-host, making frequent appearances on many Fox News Channel shows.
Writing
In the summer of 2006, he authored Surrounded by Idiots: Fighting Liberal Lunacy in America (2005, William Morrow; ISBN 0-06-073798-0), which became a New York Times bestseller (#27 on the extended bestseller list).Views
On October 6, 2006, Gallagher convinced the controversial Topeka, KansasTopeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
-based Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
to appear on air with an hour of air time in exchange for not picketing a funeral for victims from the Amish school shooting
Amish school shooting
The Amish school shooting was a shooting at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order Amish community of Nickel Mines, a village in Bart Township of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 2006...
near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania
Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania
Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania is a hamlet in Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA.The nickel mines that give the town its name were worked in a deposit of sulfide ore, principally millerite. The mines were originally opened in the early 18th century for copper, but were given up as...
. Initially, Gallagher offered the organization money to not picket the funeral. With this gesture being accused of being blood money, the syndicated radio host gave the church an hour to appear on air. The Amish funerals went on peacefully after the contract signed with WBC stipulated a $500,000 fine if there were picketers anywhere near the funerals.
Following plans by the Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
to protest funerals of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
, Gallagher offered the group three hours of airtime in exchange for an agreement not to protest these funerals. The WBC was the in-studio guests of Gallagher's program for its entirety on April 24, 2007.
He has made a similar agreement with Westboro concerning possible protests at the funerals of those killed in Tucson on 8 January 2011, despite the fact that emergency legislation passed on 12 January 2011 makes such protests illegal in Arizona.
Gallagher stated in December 2006 on Fox News that critics of President Bush should be imprisoned. "I think we should round up all of these folks. Round up Joy Behar
Joy Behar
Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...
. Round up Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
, who last night on MSNBC attacked George Bush and Dick Cheney. Round up Olbermann. Take the whole bunch of them and put them in a detention camp until this war is over because they’re a bunch of traitors."
Personal life
Gallagher was born in Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
to parents Leon and Marge. He was raised in Dayton, although for a few years he lived in Fairfield and Hamilton, Ohio
Hamilton, Ohio
Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....
, where his parents owned and operated a pair of Cassano's Pizza King franchises. As a little boy, he would don an apron and red bow tie and make pizzas with his folks. When Gallagher was 11 years old, his father died on Christmas Day, 1971 from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. His mother died ten years later of bladder cancer
Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is any of several types of malignant growths of the urinary bladder. It is a disease in which abnormal cells multiply without control in the bladder. The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that stores urine; it is located in the pelvis...
. He attended Chaminade-Julienne High School in downtown Dayton (graduating in 1978), where he was active in the school radio and TV station, theater (he had lead roles during all four years of school), the school band and chorus. Perhaps his first official broadcasting gig took place at his high school as he was the daily morning announcer on the school Public Address(PA) system.
In 2008, his wife Denise died one day shy of her 52nd birthday, from endometrial cancer
Endometrial cancer
Endometrial cancer refers to several types of malignancies that arise from the endometrium, or lining, of the uterus. Endometrial cancers are the most common gynecologic cancers in the United States, with over 35,000 women diagnosed each year. The incidence is on a slow rise secondary to the...
.