Al Rantel

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Al Rantel (b. October 14, 1955) is a conservative talk show host on KABC radio, Los Angeles, California. Rantel is unusual in being an outspoken conservative who is openly gay.[1] He worked in Florida for many years prior to moving to KABC, and has appeared as a pundit on television news and discussion programs. Rantel received the opportunity to work in LA at KABC due to the encouragement of another East Coast transplanted talk host, Tom Leykis. Leykis has mentioned in interviews that he knew of the opening at KABC and put in a word for Rantel, urging him to apply at KABC.[citation needed] Rantel previously worked for Los Angeles station KNX and Florida stations WINZ, WNWS, and WFTL.[2]

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[edit] Show characteristics

Rantel is one of the few personalities in the industry to host two shows daily, Monday through Friday. His morning show is a 45-minute "appetizer portion" (11:00 to 11:45 a.m. PT) and his evening show fills a standard 3-hour block (6:00 to 9:00 p.m. PT). Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story is aired in between the first and second hour of the evening program. In addition, each hour of the evening program usually ends 5 minutes prior to the start of the next hour.

Rantel has characterized his program with several trademarks: live on-the-spot promotions of products and services (unusual in talk radio), frequent presentation of unusual and unknown news stories, and citation of analogies and adages, many of which are his own. Soundbites are rarely used, and bumper music is marginalized; segments sometimes begin with the word "all right", the time, or a linkage to the words of the continuity announcer. On the two Friday programs, different bumper music is used; Rantel calls the music clip "the Friday announcement." As a non-syndicated local radio personality, Rantel has a unique manner of announcing his broadcast station, KABC (he formerly elongated the letter "K" and currently inserts the phrase "real radio, live and local").

Rantel has also been known to do vocal imitations of various people. He frequently does so when criticizing statements of George W. Bush on illegal immigration. In return, Brian Whitman does a dead-on impression of Rantel whenever he is a guest on Rantel's program.

[edit] Guests

Rantel frequently features guests on his program, coordinating a weekly simulcast with British talkSport host Mike Mendoza (despite the fact that Mendoza has compared homosexuality to pedophilia[3]) and often conversing with conservative author Ann Coulter. When Coulter appears, she usually does so in the first segment of the evening program. Democratic strategist Bob Mulholland, Republican strategist Michael Wissot, public relations guru Michael Levine, and columnists John Leboutillier and Gustavo Arellano often appear on the program; former California governors Jerry Brown, Gray Davis, and Pete Wilson have made occasional appearances. Despite the numerous appearances of conservatives such as Ann Coulter, the program often features guests with very different opinions than the host. In addition, many guests are authors or leaders of a particular organization.

On the morning program, Newsmax writers often appear to discuss various issues with Rantel. Prior to February 27, 2006, his evening show usually ended with a brief conversation with Mr. KABC; this tradition ended with the expanded syndication of Mark Levin on KABC and WLS.

During the California recall election, Rantel referred to then-Governor Gray Davis as "Governor Lowbeam." He has since not described Davis by that name; Rantel has also remarked that he respects Davis as a former statesman and values his commentary.

When Rantel is absent, Carol Platt Liebau, Rob Nelson or a KABC colleague hosts the program. Rantel, for his part, occasionally hosts The Larry Elder Show when Elder is absent.

[edit] Political views

Rantel is clearly a political conservative on issues such as the role of the Judicial Branch and taxes. He is known to be a strong supporter of the policies and presidency of Ronald Reagan.[4] He is distinctively critical of what he perceives to be political correction, very supportive of Israel, and irritated by antisemitism, outsourcing of tech support, excessive body weight, and certain statements of Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamente and Madeleine Albright. Primarily in regard to differences with the Bush administration over illegal immigration issues, Rantel is noticeably at odds with specific policies of George W. Bush and Republican members of Congress.

[edit] On gay marriage

Rantel has been critical of support for gay marriage.[1] Among political talk radio personalities, KABC colleague Tammy Bruce (who is also openly gay) has a somewhat comparable perspective.[5] Rantel is opposed to the Judicial Branch defining marriage instead of the voting public.

[edit] Lymphoma diagnosis

On Jan 23, 2008, Larry Elder read a statement from Al Rantel on the air at 6:30 PM announcing to his listeners that he has been diagnosed with lymphoma and undergoing chemotherapy for it. Al's fill-in host, Tammy Bruce also made the same announcement in her segment of the show.

As of May 27, 2008, Al Rantel returned to the air on KABC.[6]

[edit] Other information

Rantel uses most of the products and services he promotes, such as supplements by Jarrow and Natren, Regenix treatments, Jiffy Lube oil changes, LASIK and cosmetic surgery, legal represenation, high speed internet access, Las Vegas vacations, patio furniture, AIS car insurance, and BOSE audio products.[citation needed] Some of his sponsors have retained spots on his program for many years.

Rantel has supported College Republican groups by coordinating live broadcasts on college campuses in Southern California. He was formerly an Advisory Board member of the Bruin Alumni Association,[7] resigning after expressing displeasure with the direction of the group.[8]

[edit] Controversy

During a discussion on US airport security on September 10, 2007, Rantel allegedly said that if his mother had to take her shoes off during a security screening, "... then why shouldn’t a Sikh be required to take off the hat that looks like a diaper ...?" The alleged remark angered the Sikh community, which reportedly planned some public protests. [9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Rantel, Al (February 11, 2004), Gay Talk Show Host Opposes Gay Marriage, NewsMax.com, <http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/2/11/140806.shtml>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 
  2. ^ Al Rantel, AlRantel.com, <http://www.alrantel.com/bio.html>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 
  3. ^ “Talksport rapped over gay jibes”, BBC News, August 20, 2007, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6955065.stm>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 
  4. ^ Rantel, Al (June 14, 2004), Hindsight on Reagan Years Provides Lessons for This Election Year, NewsMax.com, <http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/6/14/141423.shtml>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 
  5. ^ Bruce, Tammy (February 25, 2004), Respecting Marriage and Equal Rights, NewsMax.com, <http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/2/25/93416.shtml>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 
  6. ^ Rantel to return to the airwaves. Quick Takes. Los Angeles Times (2008-05-17). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  7. ^ Maclachlan, Malcolm (January 26, 2006), “Morrow resigns from Bruin Alumni Association Board”, Capitol Weekly, <http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=463>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 
  8. ^ Morgan, Melanie (January 27, 2006), “Silencing the truth”, WorldNetDaily, <http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48530>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 
  9. ^ “Comparing turban to diaper angers US Sikhs”, The Times of India, 21 September 2007, <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Comparing_turban_to_diaper_angers_US_Sikhs/articleshow/2389780.cms>. Retrieved on 18 October 2007 

[edit] External links

[edit] Television appearance transcripts