TV's Montel Williams to host Air America radio show

[a kennedy]

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran TV personality Montel Williams has signed a deal to host a new flagship talk show on Air America, the struggling radio network that comedian and would-be U.S. Senator Al Franken helped launch in 2004 as a voice for the political left.

Under his multi-year agreement, Williams, 52, will debut the new program, "Montel Across America," on April 6, and the show will air weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern time on affiliate stations nationwide, the network said on Thursday.

The bald-headed TV celebrity and author will become perhaps the best-known name on the network's on-air roster, which already includes MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, columnist Arianna Huffington, Robert Kennedy Jr., and Ron Reagan, the liberal son of conservative Republican icon and late former President Ronald Reagan.

Williams, a Baltimore native and former U.S. Marine and Navy officer, previously hosted his own syndicated TV show, "The Montel Williams Show," for 17 years, until 2008. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999.

full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSTRE52C07Q20090313

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Any idea what his politics are? nt

[frogcycle]

3. google

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montel_Williams

On January 30, 2008, Variety reported that CBS TV Distribution terminated The Montel Williams Show when key Fox-owned stations chose not to renew it for the 2008-2009 season.<5> It has been alleged that this resulted in part from an appearance on the show Fox & Friends in which Williams criticized the media's lack of coverage on the Iraq War, and took the hosts to task for their (and the media in general) excessive coverage of the death of actor Heath Ledger, contrasted with the sparse coverage of U.S. soldiers dying in Iraq. Some have noted that one of the segment's hosts told viewers that Williams would return for further conversation after a commercial break, but that Williams was no longer on the set when the commercials ended.On May 16, 2008 the last episode of The Montel Williams Show aired.<6>

[frogcycle]

2. good!

He seems to be a sincere, caring, thoughtful individual. He sometimes came across (to me) as a ratings whore on TV, but will probably do a good show on AA.

[Stevenmarc]

4. Hmmmm the guy that was selling the phoney Obama coins

[rox63]

5. He also does a lot of ads for pharmaceutical companies

But mostly for their programs to provide low-cost and free meds to the poor. So maybe he'll be ok. He also suffers from MS, so perhaps he will be a good spokesman for the disabled.