Neal Boortz
Neal Boortz | |
|---|---|
 Neal Boortz at a FairTax Rally in February 2008 | |
| Born | April 6, 1945 |
| Education | Pensacola High School Texas A&M University John Marshall Law School |
| Occupation(s) | Radio host, author, political commentator |
| Spouse | Donna Boortz |
| Children | Laura |
| Website | boortz.com |
Neal A. Boortz, Jr. (born April 6, 1945) is an American radio host, author, and self-described libertarian[1] political commentator. His nationally syndicated talk show, The Neal Boortz Show, airs throughout the United States on Dial Global (formerly Jones Radio Networks). It is ranked seventh in overall listeners, with 4.25+ million per week.[2] The content of the show centers on politics, current events, social issues and miscellaneous topics of interest, which Boortz discusses with callers, correspondents and guests. Boortz touches on many controversial topics and refers to himself as an "equal opportunity offender."
Boortz has been involved in talk radio since the beginning of his career as a broadcaster in 1969, while a Journalism student at Texas A&M University, where he was an on-air personality at WTAW-AM. After attending A&M he moved to Atlanta and became a fan of WRNG-AM, Atlanta’s first talk radio station. Boortz was an avid listener and regular caller to the morning show, which was hosted by Herb Elfman. But the untimely passing of Elfman created an opening for a new morning show host and after a two-week “trial run,” Boortz was offered the permanent position.
Boortz has received many industry accolades including being named one of the “25 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America” by Talkers magazine, and one of “Georgia’s 100 Most Influential People” by Georgia Trend. Boortz was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2009, marking him as one of the most durable personalities in the field of talk radio.
Boortz's first book was The Commencement Speech You Need To Hear in 1997,[3] followed by The Terrible Truth About Liberals, in 1998.[4] In 2005, he co-wrote The FairTax Book with Congressman John Linder, proposing to implement a variant of a national retail sales tax in lieu of federal income taxes, payroll taxes, estate tax, etc. The FairTax incorporates a "pre-bate" of taxes up to those paid up to the poverty level. Due to his involvement with the FairTax, Boortz is featured in the documentary film An Inconvenient Tax.
Biography
Early life and education
Boortz was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, which was his mother's home. Neal's father was a World War II pilot in the Marine Corps and later served in the Korean War and Vietnam War. Describing himself as a "military brat", Neal lived in many locations throughout the country (most notably, in the small community of Thrall, Texas).[5] Boortz spent his first two years of High School at Tustin Union High School in Tustin, California. The family then moved to Florida where he attended Pensacola High School, graduating in 1963. He attended Texas A&M University from 1963 to 1967. Boortz states "I was in the Corps of Cadets. Fighting Seagram's Seven, to be exact, Ed Zatopek, C.O."[6] Boortz then attended John Marshall Law School, in Atlanta, Georgia where he earned a law degree in 1977 and immediately thereafter passed the Georgia bar exam.[7]
Personal life
Neal Boortz makes his permanent home in Naples, Florida, spending a few months in Atlanta, Georgia. He lives with his wife, Donna.[8] They have one married daughter, Laura and a granddaughter born in July of 2009. Neal is an avid pilot and enjoys spending his free time playing golf or flying. He has said that "There's nothing like flying upside down to clear your mind ... among other things." He has been known to defend aviation on-air and point out trade idiocy to aviators. Since early 2000, Boortz has been a motorcycle enthusiast. Boortz owns a Mooney Ovation3 and a Super Decathlon.[9]
Professional career and rise to fame
Before going into radio, Boortz held many jobs including writing speeches for then Georgia Governor Lester Maddox. He began his radio career in College Station, Texas in the 1960s at WTAW-AM under the name of Randy Neal while attending Texas A&M University.[10][11] After attending A&M, Boortz went to Atlanta in 1967 to visit his parents; he liked the area and decided to stay. He began searching for local broadcasting industry jobs, but experienced many rejections. For two years, Boortz worked at Rich’s Department Store as an assistant buyer in fine jewelry where he, in his words, "had the pleasure of assisting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.", and also worked in carpeting. Boortz went on to write speeches for the Governor of Georgia, Lester Maddox. In 1974, Boortz started attending law school in his spare time.
When Boortz moved to Atlanta, a new radio station named WRNG-AM came into existence. WRNG, which called itself "Ring Radio," was Atlanta’s first talk radio station. Boortz was an avid listener and would call their morning talk show host, Herb Elfman, that led to a friendship between them. While watching the news one evening, he heard that Elfman had committed suicide. The next morning Boortz showed up at the front door of WRNG and announced that he was ready to take Elfman's place. Even though the management told him that "they were going to search for a 'qualified' host to take his place", Boortz was offered to be a temporary two-week replacement. In the interim, the evening host was moved to mornings and Boortz hosted the evening. Two weeks later, Boortz was moved to the morning show and has been doing talk radio in Atlanta ever since.[7]
Radio personality
After graduating from the then-unaccredited John Marshall Law School in Atlanta in 1977, Boortz practiced law in a solo law firm from 1977 through 1993.[6] Boortz continued to work as both a radio personality and attorney until 1993, when he signed an exclusive contract with WSB to host a daily radio show. In 1999, his show became nationally syndicated through WSB's owner Cox Radio. His syndicated show originates from News/Talk WSB AM750/95.5FM in Atlanta. The Neal Boortz Show features Boortz, producer Belinda Skelton, interviewees, and callers. On the air and on his website (boortz.com) Boortz admonishes, "Don't believe anything you read on this web page or, for that matter, anything you hear on The Neal Boortz Show unless it is consistent with what you already know to be true, or unless you have taken the time to research the matter to prove its accuracy to your own satisfaction." On numerous occasions, Boortz has cautioned his listeners to take no heed nor place any credence in anything he says, as he is merely an "entertainer."[7]
In the February 1995 issue of Talkers Magazine, Neal Boortz was named one of the "25 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America" and one of the "100 Most Powerful & Influential People in Georgia" in the January 1995 issue of Georgia Trend magazine.[12][13] As an entertainer, Neal was a 2002 NAB Marconi Radio Awards finalist and Radio & Records NewsTalk Personality of the Year for 2002.[14] NewsMax.com Magazine's "Top 25 Talk Radio Host" list selected Boortz as the ninth most influential host in the nation.[15]
In 2007, Boortz and his radio show was awarded the honors of "Best Radio On-Air Personality" and "Best Radio Program, Any Type" by The Georgia Association of Broadcasters. He is also a recipient of the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame 2007 Career Achievement Award, joining fellow nationally syndicated WSB talk host Clark Howard and legendary longtime University of Georgia Bulldogs football radio voice Larry Munson, among several others.[16] The Neal Boortz Show originates from the nation's ninth (9th) largest radio market[17] and is ranked the sixth overall most listened to radio program in the country.[2] Neal was one of the finalists for the National Association of Broadcaster's 2008 "Marconi Award" as the nation's best syndicated radio personality (the award went to Glenn Beck).[18]
Author
Boortz's first foray into authorship was in 1997 with The Commencement Speech You Need To Hear, in which he delivers his opinions on various topics in the form of a commencement speech he would give to new college graduates, if ever invited to do so.[3] His second book, entitled The Terrible Truth About Liberals, was published in 1998, and contains reprinted material from his first book, along with a significant amount of new material.[4]
His third book (co-authored by Georgia Congressman John Linder) entitled The FairTax Book, explains the proposal to implement a national retail sales tax in lieu of the federal income taxes, payroll taxes, estate tax, etc.[19] The hardcover version held the #1 non-fiction spot on the New York Times bestseller list for the last two weeks of August 2005 and remained in the top ten for seven weeks.[20] The paperback released in May 2006 contains additional information, an afterword and several revisions of misstatements made in the hardcover edition. It also spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.[20] Boortz claims to have donated 100% of his royalties from the FairTax book to charity and has commented on his radio show that he has not made one cent from the book.[21] As of July 2006, Boortz claims his charitable donations from book proceeds exceed one hundred thousand US dollars.[21] The book is one of his most frequent topics of discussion.
His fourth book entitled Somebody's Gotta Say It was released on February 20, 2007,[22] and debuted at #2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list, second only to Barack Obama's "Audacity of Hope".[23] He occasionally writes columns on the Internet news/commentary site Townhall.com and other online magazines.
His latest book is titled FairTax: The Truth.[24] This book attempts to answer the critics of the Fair Tax proposal and claims to correct some of its myths and misrepresentations. It achieved #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list for the week of March 2, 2008 for paperback nonfiction.
Politics
Boortz supports a complete overhaul of the U.S. tax system and the release of all non-violent drug offenders who are currently in prison. He tends to support Republican candidates and Republican tax policy, though he occasionally clashes with Republicans on social issues.[25] He has stated that he is a libertarian,[25][26] however, some feel his views are more in line with "republitarian" philosophy that embraces incrementalism domestically,[19] and a generally interventionist foreign policy based on self-interest, national defense and the expansion of freedom.[27] Neal disagrees with the Libertarian Party platform on several key issues including his firm support of the war in Iraq,[27] incremental tax reform,[19] and his opposition to the unrestricted immigration policy advocated by the Libertarian Party.
While Boortz criticizes the major parties saying "I believe that the principal difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats just want to grow our Imperial Federal Government a bit faster than the Republicans do."[9] He sides with liberals on some social issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and civil liberties.[22] He agrees with fiscal conservatives in advocating less government spending and decreasing corporate regulation. He is an advocate for freedom of speech. In line with the traditional views of the Libertarian Party, Boortz supports eliminating the war on drugs, lowering taxes, shrinking the size of government, and emphasizing personal responsibility.[22] He has repeatedly stated his belief that global climate change is not man-made. His stances on many of these issues make him popular among conservative Republicans, who, due to their larger numbers in comparison to Libertarians, make up the majority of his listeners and callers.[citation needed] Boortz is perhaps most widely known for his enthusiastic support of the FairTax plan.[7]
Boortz tends to advocate Conservative platforms. Boortz's post-9/11 politics include support for the US-led War on Terror, a more aggressive foreign policy,[27] and the USA Patriot Act. Boortz is also strongly in favor of a crackdown on illegal immigration, including harsh penalties for businesses who employ illegals. These views occasionally put him in conflict with the Libertarian Party. For instance, Justin Raimondo of Antiwar.com has called Boortz a "statist, not a libertarian" and a "liberventionist" and has urged the Libertarian Party to "Boot Boortz".[28] Boortz counters that the issues of the greatest importance after the 9/11 attacks are those in which terrorism has dominated.
Prior to the 2006 midterm elections, Boortz opined that perhaps it would be a good thing to have the Republicans lose power in Congress, forcing them to wake up and stop taking their base for granted. Boortz told one disgruntled caller:
I am happy about it [the defeat]. It's the only way to get these Republicans to wake themselves up and say, 'You have abandoned what you were put in office for.'[29]
Boortz creates controversy among conservatives for his support of abortion rights (on which Boortz does not allow calls), for his refusal to condemn homosexuality or gay marriage,[22][30] and for his negative comments regarding Baptists and the Biblical story of creation, though he considers himself to be a Christian who keeps his religious views very private.[22] Additionally, he causes a stir among some Southerners, coining the term "Flaggots" for his frequent jabs at them and at Confederate issues (such as governmental support of the Confederate flag).[31]
Honors
Boortz was inducted in the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2009.[32]
The Neal Boortz Show
| Genre | Talk show |
|---|---|
| Running time | 8:30am-1:00pm Eastern Time Monday-Friday |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | News/Talk WSB / Atlanta, Ga |
| Syndicates | Cox Radio Syndication / Dial Global |
| Hosted by | Neal Boortz |
| Produced by | Cox Radio |
Boortz hosts the nationally syndicated talk show, The Neal Boortz Show, which airs live from 8:30 AM to noon ET Monday through Friday. His nicknames include: "The Talkmaster", "Mighty Whitey", "The Mouth of the South", "America's Rude Awakening", and the "High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth".[10] He routinely criticizes politicians, Muslim extremism,[33] the homeless, public schools (which he calls 'government schools'), liberals, opponents of the Iraq war, teachers, smokers, the obese, Chevrolet Camaro drivers, cats, and welfare recipients. On air, Boortz refers to himself an "equal opportunity offender".
Boortz markets his talk radio show as "insensitivity training", with some of his statements have created controversy over the years. For example, Boortz believes that ADD and ADHD are "medical frauds" and a scam that teachers, parents, and drug companies use.[34][35] Boortz has also received criticism because he refers to homeless people as "urban outdoorsmen".[36][37][38] Boortz controversially refers to public education as "tax payer funded child abuse" and accuses parents of child abuse for sending their children off to "government schools".[38] Boortz has made controversial statements that are critical of politicians and other statements that offend Christian conservatives. He has repeatedly criticized Senator Hillary Clinton, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, former Senator Max Cleland, former Representative Cynthia McKinney.[39]
Boortz has expressed a negative opinion about the lack of Muslim outrage for the actions of Muslim Terrorists and the riots that erupted in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[40] Boortz has sparred with Bill O'Reilly, goading O'Reilly to call Boortz a "vicious son of a bitch" on The O'Reilly Factor.[41] Boortz has made controversial statements about Muslim extremists."[42] At the height of the Terri Schiavo case, Boortz strongly criticized groups that fought against the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube.[43] After the Virginia Tech shootings, Boortz criticized the media, saying, "When the history of this event is written, we will have 25 students standing meekly waiting for this guy to execute them."[44] When public outrage resulted from his comments, members of the Virginia Legislature tried to have Boortz's show removed from local radio stations.[45] In March 2008, Boortz attracted controversy by playing an audiotape of a nine-year-old where he repeatedly ridiculed the child’s speech,[46] leading to an unsuccessful FCC petition to deny Boortz’s employer the right to purchase five local radio stations.[47][48][49]
Boortz announced his retirement from radio on June 4, 2012; the last show will air in January 2013, with Boortz's regular fill-in host, Herman Cain, slated to replace him.[50] For most of the show's run, Boortz aired until 1:00 PM ET; in October 2012 (three months prior to the show's scheduled end), the last hour was jettisoned to make room for The Rush Limbaugh Show, which moved to Boortz flagship WSB at that time.[51]
Death of Royal Marshall
On Saturday January 15, 2011, the show’s longtime engineer and board operator Royal Marshall died. Marshall collapsed at his Atlanta home. Paramedics responded to his wife's 911 call but were unable to revive him. Marshall was pronounced dead at Grady Hospital at about 1 AM that Saturday morning. Marshall was 43. He had worked with Boortz’s show for 17 years according to the WSB (AM) (Boortz’s flagship station) biography for Marshall. After Marshall’s death was announced at noon that day on WSB, a moment of silence was held followed by an hour of Boortz’s show in honor of Marshall.[52] Georgia has dubbed the intersection of Courtland Street and Ralph McGill Boulevard in Atlanta the "Royal Marshall Memorial Intersection".[53]
See also
Notes
Further reading
- Boortz, Neal (1997). The Commencement Speech You Need To Hear (Hardcover ed.). Longstreet Press. ISBN 978-1-56352-434-9.
- Boortz, Neal (1998). The Terrible Truth About Liberals (Paperback ed.). Longstreet Press. ISBN 1-56352-685-9.
- Boortz, Neal (2006). The FairTax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS (Paperback ed.). Regan Books. ISBN 0-06-087549-6.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Boortz, Neal (2007). Somebody's Gotta Say It (Paperback ed.). Regan Books. ISBN 0-06-087820-7.
- Boortz, Neal (2008). The FairTax: The Truth (Paperback ed.). Regan Books. ISBN 978-0-06-154046-2.
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External links
- Neal Boortz website
- Neal Boortz at IMDb
- Neal Boortz on Twitter
- 750 WSB Radio - Boortz's "home" station
- Cox Radio Syndication
- Harper Collins (Publisher) - Biography at Publisher's website
- Premier Speakers Bureau - More Biography
- Various Boortz Webcasts (Live and Delayed)
- List of radio stations streaming The Neal Boortz Show
- Listen to The Boortz Show Online
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog site on Atlanta's radio stations.
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