Bill Cunningham
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Bill Cunningham is an American talk radio host. He currently appears from 12:20 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is also a regular guest on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes.
Cunnigham was born in Covington, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, on December 11, 1947.[1]
Cunnigham made his name as an attorney in the Cincinnati area, becoming better known to radio listeners as an occasional guest, primarily on WLW. Cunnigham's first regular show on the station was at night, generally from 9:00 p.m. until midnight; this meant that his show was often not heard during the summer months, when WLW broadcast Cincinnati Reds baseball games. In the late 1990s, Cunningham's show was moved to early afternoons, which prevented such pre-emptions, but put his show directly opposite that of one of his favorite radio stars, Rush Limbaugh, whose show is heard on sister station 55KRC.
Cunningham is a Republican, and his political views are mostly conservative and sometimes libertarian. His nighttime show was noteworthy for frequent profanity and racy topics, which sometimes drew the ire of public officials. In 2001, shortly after race-related riots over the police killing of an African-American teenager who was fleeing their pursuit, Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Nathaniel Jones blasted Cunningham in a speech to the local YMCA, calling the show “trash, and filth and profanity.” (Jones is a former civil rights lawyer who worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Cunningham has been a frequent critic of the organization and civil rights activists in general, particularly Rev. Jesse Jackson, who Cunningham nicknames the "Rhyming Reverend.")
In December 2003, Cunningham drew more fire for making fun of Nathaniel Jones (no relation to the federal judge), an African-American resident of Cincinnati who died after an incident with police outside a White Castle restaurant; video of the incident again inflamed the local African-American community. Jones, who weighed more than 350 lb. (159 kg), was found to have died of an enlarged heart, and various narcotics were found to be present in his body at the time of his death, which may have contributed to his reaction to police efforts to subdue him. Cunningham made fun of Jones' obesity and apparent drug use in a skit on his show, which prompted various local civil rights groups to call for his resignation or firing.
Since his show moved to daytime, Cunningham has toned his act down, but only slightly.
In 2001, Cunnigham won the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for Large-Market Personality of the Year.
Cunningham is a friend of fellow radio host Sean Hannity, who (along with listeners) frequently uses one of Cunnigham's catch phrases, "You're a great American" — even though Hannity can't always directly attribute the source of the phrase on the air, since his show is also on 55KRC, in competition with Cunningham's WLW.
In 2005, several local news media reported that Cunnigham was seriously considering a run for the House of Representatives seat for the Second District of Ohio, which was vacated by Rob Portman, who was appointed United States Trade Representative by President George W. Bush. Cunningham later decided not to run.
Cunningham has often appeared on weekend talk shows heard around the country on stations in the Premiere Radio Networks family, usually substituting for fellow WLW host Mike McConnell, who is the regular host.
