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Smerconish was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the son of Florence (''née'' Grovich) and Walter Smerconish.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3328820/michael_smerconish_birth_announcement/|title=Michael Smerconish birth announcement|newspaper=Standard-Speaker|date=March 16, 1962|page=24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.buckscountymag.com/michael-smerconish/|title = Michael Smerconish|date = February 19, 2018}}</ref> His family hails from [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] in Eastern Europe, Montenegro, and Italy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2014/12/01/michael-smerconish-when-it-comes-to-ancestry-and-immigration-we-all-have-stories/|title=Michael Smerconish: When it comes to ancestry and immigration, we all have stories|date=December 2014}}</ref> He graduated from [[Central Bucks High School West]], a public high school in [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Samuel |date=July–August 2013 |title=The Purple Passion of Michael Smerconish |work=University of Pennsylvania |url=http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0713/feature3_1.html |access-date=March 19, 2016}}</ref> He received his B.A. from [[Lehigh University]] and his [[Juris Doctor]] degree from the [[University of Pennsylvania Law School]].
Smerconish was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the son of Florence (''née'' Grovich) and Walter Smerconish.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3328820/michael_smerconish_birth_announcement/|title=Michael Smerconish birth announcement|newspaper=Standard-Speaker|date=March 16, 1962|page=24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.buckscountymag.com/michael-smerconish/|title = Michael Smerconish|date = February 19, 2018}}</ref> His family hails from [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] in Eastern Europe, Montenegro, and Italy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2014/12/01/michael-smerconish-when-it-comes-to-ancestry-and-immigration-we-all-have-stories/|title=Michael Smerconish: When it comes to ancestry and immigration, we all have stories|date=December 2014}}</ref> He graduated from [[Central Bucks High School West]], a public high school in [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Samuel |date=July–August 2013 |title=The Purple Passion of Michael Smerconish |work=University of Pennsylvania |url=http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0713/feature3_1.html |access-date=March 19, 2016}}</ref> He received his B.A. from [[Lehigh University]] and his [[Juris Doctor]] degree from the [[University of Pennsylvania Law School]].


He has been awarded several honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from [https://www.phillytrib.com/metros/widener-graduation-speakers-offer-words-to-the-wise/article_0428f3e3-481a-5fc4-a57d-68b3c1f4b743.html Widener University on May 26, 2016], a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from [https://patch.com/pennsylvania/doylestown/michael-smerconish-deliver-delval-commencement-address Delaware Valley College on May 19, 2018], and a Doctor of Science degree from [https://www.usciences.edu/news/2020/media-personality-michael-smerconish-to-address-graduates-at-2020-commencement.html University of the Sciences on May 20, 2020].
He has been awarded several honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Widener University on May 26, 2016,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Report |first=Tribune News |date=2016-06-01 |title=Widener graduation speakers offer words to the wise |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/metros/widener-graduation-speakers-offer-words-to-the-wise/article_0428f3e3-481a-5fc4-a57d-68b3c1f4b743.html |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=The Philadelphia Tribune |language=en}}</ref> a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Delaware Valley College on May 19, 2018,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-25 |title=CNN Host To Deliver DelVal Commencement Address |url=https://patch.com/pennsylvania/doylestown/michael-smerconish-deliver-delval-commencement-address |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=Doylestown, PA Patch |language=en}}</ref> and a Doctor of Science degree from University of the Sciences on May 20, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.usciences.edu/news/2020/media-personality-michael-smerconish-to-address-graduates-at-2020-commencement.html}}</ref>


== Politics ==
== Politics ==

Revision as of 21:41, 10 November 2023

Michael Smerconish
SiriusXM host, CNN and CNN International host, columnist, author, political analyst, lawyer
Political partyRepublican (before 2010)
Independent (2010–present)
SpouseLavinia Nardini
Websitesmerconish.com

Michael Andrew Smerconish

POTUS Channel (124), and hosts the CNN and CNN International program Smerconish at 9:00 a.m. ET on Saturdays. He is a Sunday newspaper columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Smerconish has written seven books: six non-fiction works and one novel. He is also of counsel
to the Philadelphia law firm of Kline & Specter.

Early life and education

Smerconish was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the son of Florence (née Grovich) and Walter Smerconish.[3][4] His family hails from Galicia in Eastern Europe, Montenegro, and Italy.[5] He graduated from Central Bucks High School West, a public high school in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.[6] He received his B.A. from Lehigh University and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

He has been awarded several honorary degrees: a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Widener University on May 26, 2016,[7] a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Delaware Valley College on May 19, 2018,[8] and a Doctor of Science degree from University of the Sciences on May 20, 2020.[9]

Politics

Smerconish was raised in a

Frank L. Rizzo. Eventually the two would meet and establish a close relationship. But Smerconish's start in politics came in the spring of 1980 when his father competed unsuccessfully in a Republican primary for the Pennsylvania state legislature. Smerconish worked tirelessly in his father's campaign during his own senior year in high school, during which he registered to vote for the first time. Despite his father's election loss, Smerconish was smitten with GOP politics, having met both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush during the build-up to the Pennsylvania
Primary.

In 1980, Smerconish founded Lehigh University Youth for Reagan/Bush. While a full-time student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he ran for the Pennsylvania state legislature, losing the Republican Primary by 419 votes.

District of Columbia) under Secretary Jack Kemp
.

Smerconish interviewing President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on October 26, 2012

After supporting only Republican presidential candidates for three decades, Smerconish publicly broke with the GOP and endorsed

Salon titled "Why this lifelong Republican may vote for Obama," citing the Republican Party's failure to capture Osama bin Laden after seven years of war, he wrote, "All of this drives me bat-shit, and it just might drive me into the Obama camp. That'd be quite a departure."[14]

He has urged the Republican Party to pursue "moderation on social issues in order to advance a suburban agenda for the GOP."[15] Writing a 2010 op-ed for The Washington Post titled "On cable TV and talk radio, a push toward polarization," Smerconish said, "Buying gas or groceries or attending back-to-school nights, I speak to people for whom the issues are a mixed bag; they are liberal on some, conservative on others, middle of the road on the rest. But politicians don't take their cues from those people. No, politicians emulate the world of punditry."[16]

On February 21, 2010, he announced in a newspaper column that he had left the Republican Party.[17] Discussing Smerconish's move to the middle, Manuel Roig-Franzia of The Washington Post wrote, "It may be conventional wisdom that the only way to truly succeed in the world of talk is to occupy one of the poles. But Smerconish is betting his career that there's a great untapped center."[18]

Smerconish voted for neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Legal

Smerconish's tenure at HUD came to a close after George H.W. Bush was defeated by

James E. Beasley, who would become the benefactor and eponym of the Temple University Beasley School of Law. Smerconish became acquainted with Beasley while at HUD when he sought the latter's legal opinion for a possible defamation action against Steve Lopez, then a columnist with The Philadelphia Inquirer. Beasley was noted for his record-breaking defamation wins against the newspaper. (No lawsuit was filed by Smerconish against Lopez.) Working closely with Beasley for a decade, Smerconish specialized in complex tort
litigation. At a 2015 legal seminar sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Smerconish wrote an essay summarizing some of his lessons learned working for Beasley.

Smerconish's legal work spanned various subject areas, including contracts, medical malpractice, and products liability. His clients included: the Philadelphia

heavyweight title. In a medical malpractice action, Smerconish successfully sued abortion provider Kermit Gosnell
. While in active practice, Smerconish served one term as a member of the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Trial Lawyer's Association. Today, Smerconish's law license hangs in the office of the Philadelphia law firm Kline & Specter.

Media

His media work grew out of his unique political experiences at an early age (working for Vice President Bush, running unsuccessfully for the state legislature, running campaigns for

informercials masked as programming which Smerconish refused to honor. That led to his 1997 move to CBS affiliate WPHT (formerly known as WCAU AM). By the following year, he was moved to afternoon drive, all the while maintaining his practice of law. Only when in September 2003, after the firing of Don Imus, whose morning drive slot he took, did Smerconish become a talk show host who was a lawyer instead of a lawyer who was a talk show host.[19]

He has received many accolades for his work as a broadcaster including

Philadelphia Magazine
named him the City's best talk show host in 2004, as well as one of the City's most powerful citizens.

In February 2009, Smerconish's program was placed into national syndication by

Dial Global. On August 20, 2009, Smerconish became the first talk radio host to interview President Barack Obama live from the White House, one of seven radio conversations he's had with Obama.[24] The interview was held in the Diplomatic Reception Room, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt conducted fireside chats. The President took questions from Smerconish and his listeners on a variety of subjects including the recent debates on the then-pending Affordable Care Act. He has also interviewed Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as Vice Presidents Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden. He has often said that he has spoken with everyone who interested him with the exception of the elusive creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David
.

As a result of his increasing radio prominence, Smerconish was increasingly invited to appear on television, first locally and then nationally. In Philadelphia, he was first asked to appear by his friend and eventual mentor,

Iraq Invasion, the program was interrupted and never returned. Smerconish then moved to MSNBC as a contributor at the invitation of Phil Griffin, the future head of MSNBC, where he began guest hosting Scarborough Country in the absence of former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough. When in 2007, MSNBC fired Don Imus for a racial slur, it was Smerconish who was invited by the network to guest host Imus' time slot during the week of April 23–27 as a replacement on a trial basis.[25] In-studio guests included Jon Anderson of Yes and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. MSNBC eventually hired Scarborough for the slot formerly held by Imus and rebranded the program as Morning Joe (where Smerconish has never been a guest). At MSNBC, Smerconish's role then became one of appearing daily with Tamron Hall, host of News Nation, and as a guest host of Hardball in the absence of Chris Matthews, a position he filled for five years. At the same time—despite the polarized media climate and differences between MSNBC and Fox News—he guest hosted The Radio Factor for Bill O'Reilly
.

In 2013, Smerconish decided to give up his

terrestrial radio platform then consisting of 80 radio stations across the country to move to the POTUS Channel 124 on Sirius XM Radio. He said at the time that this reflected his desire to be "nonpartisan" in discussing issues; having left the Republican party in 2010, adding that satellite radio would give him more freedom to talk politics without a party label.[26]

Then, in early 2014, Smerconish left MSNBC after Jeff Zucker, president of CNN, invited him to host his own program there. Said Smerconish at the time, "The type of program I do on radio is far more in keeping with what CNN does on TV than it is with FOX or MSNBC."[27] Smerconish broadcasts on CNN Saturdays at 9:00 am ET. The show also broadcast around the world by CNN International.

Smerconish has appeared on virtually every television program where politics is a staple, from

The Today Show, from The Colbert Report to The O'Reilly Factor.[20]

He also writes a Sunday column in The Philadelphia Inquirer, and his work has been reprinted in newspapers nationwide, including

Detroit News
.

On June 5, 2020, rapper Meek Mill released his song "Otherside of America". Rolling Stone writes that Mill "paints a vivid picture of life on 'the other side of America.'" In the song's final seconds, Mill includes audio from a December 2018 interview with Smerconish during which the two discussed the need for criminal justice reform.

To mark his 30 years in talk radio, Smerconish aired an autobiographical film Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking on Saturday, July 11, 2020 on CNN. In the film, Smerconish walks through his transition from a reliably Republican voter to a registered independent, illustrated by interview excerpts and anecdotes throughout his time in talk radio and television as a political commentator. He ultimately argues that the Republican party today does not resemble the one he joined in 1980, largely due to politicians taking cues from the media. The film was acquired by Virgil Films in October 2020 and aired on virtual cinemas on December 8, 2020. On June 15, 2021, the film debuted on Hulu.

Books

Smerconish's work as a radio broadcaster was consumed by the events of

9/11 for years following 2001. While paying close attention to the hearings of the 9/11 Commission, Smerconish picked up on a question put to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by Commissioner John Lehman which suggested that political correctness played a role in airport security before and after 9/11. Smerconish subsequently interviewed Lehman whereupon Lehman shared the fact that testimony in front of the Commission suggested there was a limit on the number of Arab males who could be pulled out of line at any one time for secondary screening. Smerconish wrote about Lehman's account for his (then) column in the Philadelphia Daily News and stayed on the subject, eventually testifying before a Senate subcommittee at the invitation of Senator Arlen Specter. Ultimately, Smerconish wrote his first book, Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11 (2004), about his investigation, and donated all proceeds to the Garden of Reflection, a 9/11 tribute garden in his native Bucks County, Pennsylvania
.

His second book, a

New York Times best-seller, was Muzzled: From T-Ball to Terrorism – True Stories That Should Be Fiction (2007), which sought to link the restraint of fighting the war on terror to domestic political correctness.[21]

His third book, another

Daniel Faulkner, in what was arguably the highest profile death penalty case in the world. Despite being convicted and sentenced to death by a Philadelphia jury for the murder of Faulkner, Mumia Abu-Jamal became a cause célèbre
for death penalty opponents around the world. In print, Smerconish told Faulkner's story, and donated the $200,000 he was paid to write the book to a charitable fund established in the slain officer's name.

His fourth book, Morning Drive: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking (2009) detailed his evolving political positions against the backdrop of his talk radio career. Morning Drive's chapters were evenly split between issue-oriented essays and back-of-the-house media tales.

He then returned to the subject of 9/11 for his fifth book, Instinct: The Man Who Stopped the 20th Hijacker (2009), which tells the true story of

successful raid of SEAL Team Six
.

Talk: A Novel (2014) is Smerconish's sixth book and first fictional work, about the life of conservative talk show host Stan Powers. Powers, a former slacker and stoner with no political knowledge, is nevertheless able to quickly ascend the talk radio world by his entertainment skills and recitation of red-meat talking points (which conflict with his own opinions). The more Stan Powers says on fictionalized radio station WRGT with which he personally disagrees, the higher he sees his star rising. With a Republican convention coming to his hometown of

Warner Horizon Television has optioned the rights to the novel.[28]

Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, Michigan, February 10, 2019

Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right (2018) is Smerconish's seventh book, a compilation of 100 of Smerconish's more memorable newspaper columns in The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, each with a new Afterword, drawn from the 1,047 he published between 2001 and 2016. As characterized by Foreword Reviews: "Michael Smerconish's collection is compelling and entertaining—not as a filtering of daily news through a predictable ideological lens, but as a group of insightful entries into conversations about current events and issues….This sampling of Smerconish's columns exemplifies the kind of discourse, based on reason and evidence, that makes a newspaper, in print or online, indispensable to citizens of democracy." As characterized by The Daily Beast, "[The columns] make for enjoyable reading and remind us that journalism properly practiced requires a good deal of nerve, honesty, and insight, along with openness to dialogue and the determination not to live in a bubble." All author proceeds are being donated to the Children's Crisis Treatment Center, which provides social services to children in Philadelphia who are the victims of trauma.

After the release of Clowns, Smerconish composed a one-man show in which he draws on columns reprinted in the book and weaves them together with his explanation of the political divide. He has since toured the country in support of what he calls "American Life in Columns", appearing at the Paley Center in Los Angeles, Hobby Center in Houston, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, Sellersville Theatre outside of Philadelphia, the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Michigan, and at City Wineries located in Boston, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta and Nashville.

References

  1. ^ Smerconish, Michael. "CNN". CNN.com. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "CNN's Michael Smerconish comes to Joe Biden's defense". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  3. ^ "Michael Smerconish birth announcement". Standard-Speaker. March 16, 1962. p. 24.
  4. ^ "Michael Smerconish". February 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "Michael Smerconish: When it comes to ancestry and immigration, we all have stories". December 2014.
  6. ^ Hughes, Samuel (July–August 2013). "The Purple Passion of Michael Smerconish". University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Report, Tribune News (June 1, 2016). "Widener graduation speakers offer words to the wise". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "CNN Host To Deliver DelVal Commencement Address". Doylestown, PA Patch. April 25, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  9. ^ https://www.usciences.edu/news/2020/media-personality-michael-smerconish-to-address-graduates-at-2020-commencement.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ Fox, Tom (March 6, 1988). "At 25, He's Been Around The Kid Who Advises The Veteran Politicians". Philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  11. ^ Hunter, Al Jr. (November 9, 1999). "Wpht's Mr. Right With A Name Like Smerconish, He's Got To Be Good". Philly.com. Philadelphia Daily News. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  12. ^ Gewargis, Natalie (October 19, 2008). "In Philly, Conservative Talk Radio Host Backs Obama". ABC News. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  13. ^ Smerconish, Michael (October 20, 2008). "Head Strong: McCain fails the big five tests". Philly.com. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  14. ^ Why this lifelong Republican may vote for Obama
  15. ^ Smerconish, Michael (November 16, 2006). "A Suburban Gop Manifesto". Philly.com. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  16. ^ On cable TV and talk radio, a push toward polarization
  17. The Huffington Post
    . Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  18. ^ Roig-Franzia, Manuel (April 24, 2014). "Radio/TV talk host Michael Smerconish tries to appeal to the middle". The Washington Post.
  19. ^ "Smerconish Gets a Wake-Up Call." Bucks County (PA) Times, August 26, 2003, p. 4E.
  20. ^ a b "And Starring Michael Smerconish, as Himself". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  21. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ "The PA Report "Power 75" List" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capital Growth, Inc. January 31, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2006.
  23. ^ "2011 NAB Marconi Radio Award Finalists Announced". National Association of Broadcasters. July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  24. ^ Franke-Ruta, Garance. "Conservative Radio Host Smerconish to the White House". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  25. ^ Chiachiere, Ryan. "Radio host Michael Smerconish to be simulcast on MSNBC in place of Imus". Media Matters. Media Matters. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  26. ^ Timpane, John. "Smerconish leaving WPHT for SiriusXM". Philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  27. ^ Gold, Hadas. "Michael Smerconish kicks off new CNN show". Politico. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  28. ^ Gold, Hadas. "Smerconish book optioned for TV show". Politico. Retrieved August 3, 2015.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Smerconish&oldid=1184511311"