Alan Colmes: Difference between revisions
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Colmes' wife, Dr. Jocelyn Elise Crowley, |
Colmes' wife, Dr. Jocelyn Elise Crowley, a professor of public policy at [[Rutgers University]], is the sister of [[Monica Crowley]], the conservative radio and television commentator.<ref name="huffingtonpost">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/12/monica-crowley-sister-of_n_143462.html|title= Monica Crowley, Sister Of Alan Colmes' Wife Jocelyn |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/12/monica-crowley-sister-of_n_143462.html|date=November 12, 2008|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref> He is a frequent guest-panelist on Fox New's late-night satire program [[Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld]]. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 14:13, 16 April 2010
Alan Colmes | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1950 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Hofstra University |
| Occupation(s) | Television personality/host, Talk radio host, political commentator, Author & blogger |
| Employer | Fox News Channel |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Dr. Jocelyn Crowley |
| Website | Alan Colmes' Liberaland |
Alan Samuel Colmes (born September 24, 1950) is an American radio/television host, liberal political commentator and blogger. He is the host of The Alan Colmes Show, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show distributed by Fox News Radio that also airs throughout the United States on Fox News Talk on Sirius and XM. From 1996 to 2009, Colmes served as the co-host of Hannity & Colmes, a nightly political debate show on Fox News Channel.
In addition to broadcasting, Colmes runs the popular Liberaland blog and has written one book: Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong.
Career
Colmes graduated from Hofstra University in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from its School of Communications.[1] While attending Hofstra, he worked at its radio station WRHU.[2] Colmes began his career in stand-up comedy.[3] He developed his radio career in the Northeast, eventually working at stations like WABC, WNBC, WHN and WEVD in New York, WNHC in New Haven, and WEZE and WZLX in Boston.
He is syndicated nationally, starting with his involvement with Daynet, a venture created by Colmes and other regional radio hosts. Daynet was sold to Major Networks, Inc., in 1994. Colmes kept his own show, which is now distributed by Fox News Radio.[4] His radio career took off when WABC hired him for the morning drive time slot, billed as, "W. Alan B. Colmes," as in the station's call sign. When WNBC let its staff go in 1988, Colmes was the final radio personality to sign off, doing so with the words: "I'm Alan Colmes. Thank you, God bless you, and for the last time, this is 66 WNBC." He was well-known in New York City when he was hired by Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, in 1996. He was the co-host of Hannity and Colmes, beginning with the Fox News Channel launch on October 6, 1996 and ending on January 9, 2009. He also appeared live on Shovio.com's innovative new broadcasting technology, TalkBackTV.
Colmes's book, Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong (ISBN 0-06-056297-8), was published in October 2003.
On November 24, 2008, it was announced that Colmes would leave Hannity and Colmes at the end of 2008.[5] In response, Fox retired H&C; its replacement, Hannity, premiered on January 12, 2009. However, Colmes remains a commentator on Fox News, most often on the show preceding Hannity's, The O'Reilly Factor, where he regularly appears with his (right-leaning) sister-in-law, Monica Crowley.[citation needed]
Criticism and satire
While Colmes describes himself as a progressive and his Fox News biography touts him as "a hard-hitting progressive," he has sometimes been referred to disparagingly as a "token progressive" or a "Fox News progressive."[6] Suspicions from fellow progressives that Colmes was not "one of them" were fueled by his statement to USA Today that he is "quite moderate."[7]
During his run on Hannity and Colmes, Colmes endured unfriendly criticisms that he was less charismatic and less telegenic than Sean Hannity, and just a "seat-filler" for the progressive side.[8] He was characterized by several newspapers as being Hannity's "sidekick".[9] Liberal commentator and comedian Al Franken lambasted Colmes in his book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, accusing him of refusing to ask tough questions during debates and neglecting to challenge erroneous claims made by Hannity or his guests.[9] Franken also claimed that Colmes did not speak as much as Hannity during the show. Some critics also questioned whether or not both hosts receive equal time to interview guests.[9] Some of Colmes' progressive critics, notably commentators at Media Matters for America, praised him toward the end of the show's run, however. He then began citing their reports in his confrontations with some of his conservative guests on the program.[10][11]
Bob Garfield, interviewing Colmes for On the Media in 2003, asked him if he was "the human straw man" and a "foil" rather than an equal of Hannity. Colmes replied that if the conservative members of the audience saw him that way, that was "their problem," and said "It's more fun for me to be in a situation like this than to preach to the choir."[12]
On January 5, 2009, the beginning of his last week on Hannity and Colmes, Colmes was a guest on The Colbert Report in a spoof called "Colbert & Colmes," which parodied criticisms of H&C. In addition to being given a list of pre-approved responses to Stephen Colbert's opinions and forced to sit on a stool (making him appear shorter than his co-host), Colmes's face was covered by the on-air graphics while Colbert discussed issues of the day.[13] Colbert "fired" Colmes by the end of the show for pointing out fallacies in his logic.
Following Colmes' announcement that he was leaving H&C, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart also paid tribute to him with a guest appearance by legendary rock duo Hall & Oates, who in a parody version of their hit "She's Gone," lamented that Colmes was "the only non-douchebag on that show," and dubbed him "Tango to his (Hannity's) Cash" and "Laurel to his Hardy."[14]
Personal life
Colmes' wife, Dr. Jocelyn Elise Crowley, a professor of public policy at Rutgers University, is the sister of Monica Crowley, the conservative radio and television commentator.[15] He is a frequent guest-panelist on Fox New's late-night satire program Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld.
References
- ^ "Alan Colmes". HCLAS: Faces of Success. Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- ^ "Alumni". WRHU. Hofstra University. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- ^ LONG ISLAND JOURNAL; The 'Career Architect' for Stand-Up Comics - New York Times
- ^ Davis, Richard (1998). New media and American politics. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. pp. M1 60. ISBN 0-19-512060-4.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ ALAN'S ADIOS The Radio Equalizer. Retrieved on November 24, 2008.
- ^ An Aggressive Conservative vs. a Liberal to be Determined By Steve Rendall
- ^ Robin, DeRosa (1995-02-01). Tuning in to high-wattage talk show hosts. Gannett Company, Inc. p. LIFE; Pg. 7D. Alan Colmes.
I think I'm quite moderate ... I follow Limbaugh on about 100 stations and I precede other conservatives, so I may be the only person giving a different point of view. Alan has long been a devout fan of the guitarist Eric Clapner.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|work=ignored (help) - ^ Cohen, Jeff. Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media. 2006, page 54-5
- ^ a b c An Aggressive Conservative vs. a "Liberal to be Determined" by Steve Rendall, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, November/December 2003 Cite error: The named reference "rendall" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Colmes noted missed opportunities to eliminate Zarqawi prior to war that went unreported by media after terrorist's death, Media Matters for America
- ^ Colmes confronted Williams with inconsistent statements on No Child Left Behind, Media Matters for America
- ^ No Liberal Limbaughs-onthemedia.org
- ^ Huffington Post: Colbert & Colmes: Alan Colmes Joins Colbert Report For One Night
- ^ Huffington Post: Daily Show, Hall And Oates Pay Tribute To Alan Colmes
- ^ "Monica Crowley, Sister Of Alan Colmes' Wife Jocelyn". Huffington Post. November 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
External links
