Mike Gallagher

For other people named Mike Gallagher, see Mike Gallagher (disambiguation).

Mike Gallagher
Gallagher at the Young America's Foundation annual event, (August 8, 2008), Washington, D.C.
Born	April 7, 1960 (1960-04-07) (age 51)
Nationality	American
Education	Chaminade-Julienne High School, Dayton, Ohio; attended University of Dayton and Wright State University
Occupation	Radio personality Television host Political commentator Author
Employer	Salem Radio Networks Fox News Channel
Known for	Commentary on current events and social issues
Religion	Methodist
Spouse	Denise Newlen-Gallagher (deceased June 29th, 2008)
Children	Bryan, Trevor, Micah and Matthew
Website
www.mikeonline.com

Mike Gallagher (nee Michael Smeltsor, born April 7, 1960) is 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 eighth most-listened-to radio talk show host in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Radio

As a 17-year-old high school senior in Dayton, Ohio, 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. Today, Talkers Magazine reports that Gallagher is the eighth most listened-to talk radio host in America with over four million weekly listeners.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Gallagher has also been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and Forbes.

In 2004, after the start of the Iraq war, the question was asked on his then-Long Island, NY affiliate WLIE, whether he would support the war as much if his own kids' lives were on the line as he did knowing it was just other peoples' kids doing the fighting and dying. The following day, he substitute-hosted another show and opened with the statement that Micah, one of his twin sons, had asked for the blessing of him and his wife to join the Army and serve in Iraq.^{[citation needed]} His question to the audience was, "Do you think my son should join up?" The first caller suggested that, rather than asking the audience's advice, Mike should be bragging how proud he was that his son was joining up. Gallagher switched the question of the day to "Do you have to serve in order to support the war?" Micah never joined the military.^{[citation needed]}

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 and anti-same sex marriage. He is opposed to environmental legislation. He sides with Israel on issues concerning the Middle East, and vehemently supported the war in Iraq.^{[citation needed]}

Television

Gallagher is a Fox News Channel contributor, 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, Kansas-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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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."^[4]

Personal life

Gallagher was born in Dayton, Ohio 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.

References

1. ^ 'Insane' picketers cancel Amish funeral protest, The Age, October 5, 2006
2. ^ MikeOnLine Document
3. ^ Cjonline.com
4. ^ Talk Host Gallagher: ‘Round Up’ Olbermann, Damon, And ‘Put Them In A Detention Camp’

External links

• Gallagher's official website
• Gallagher 2002 CNN interview transcript

Persondata
Name	Gallagher, Mike
Alternative names
Short description	Radio personality, Television host, Political commentator, Author
Date of birth	April 7, 1960
Place of birth	Dayton, Ohio, United States
Date of death
Place of death