Howie Carr

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Howie Carr


Birth name Howard Louis Carr
Born January 17, 1952 (1952-01-17) (age 56)
Portland, Maine
Style Current events
Country United States
Website HowieCarr.com

Howard Louis "Howie" Carr (born January 17, 1952) is an American award-winning journalist, New York Times best-selling author and radio talk-show host.

Contents

[edit] Background

Carr was born at the Maine Eye and Ear Infirmary (now Holt Hall) at Bramhall and Congress Streets in Portland, Maine, to Frances Stokes Sutton and Howard Louis Carr, Sr. Carr was raised by an aunt in Portland.

He graduated from Deerfield Academy and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his second wife, Kathy, and their three daughters, Carolyn, Charlotte, and Christina ("Tina"). He also has two other daughters from his previous marriage. Up until early 2006, Carr referred to his wife as "Submit". Prior to a signing for his new book, The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century, at Wellesley Free Library on March 4 2006, Carr explained that he came across the name on a headstone in the cemetery across from his house when he lived in Acton, Massachusetts, and thought that it would be a great name for a woman because it wasn't likely to become popular again anytime soon. In the early stages of their marriage, Mrs. Carr didn't want her first name to be public knowledge, hence her husband's moniker for her. For Christmas 2005, as a gift to his wife, Carr said he would stop referring to her as "Submit".

Aside from broadcasting, he is a front-page columnist for the Boston Herald. The day after President Clinton's testimony in the Supreme Court Case Clinton v. Jones, C-SPAN broadcast Carr's radio program in its entirety.

In early 2006, Carr became a book author with the publication of his aforementioned New York Times-rated best-selling book on Billy Bulger and James "Whitey" Bulger. As well as being heard on WRKO (AM 680), he is syndicated throughout New England and streamed on-line through his Web site. He has interviewed numerous politicians, authors, and celebrities. He has worked as a reporter and commentator for Boston television stations WGBH and WLVI.

From 1980 to 1981, Carr was the Boston City Hall bureau chief of the Boston Herald American, and he later worked as the paper's State House bureau chief. As a political reporter for WNEV (now WHDH) in 1982, his coverage of then mayor Kevin White was so relentless that after the mayor announced he wasn't running again, he told the Boston Globe that one of the things he enjoyed most about his impending retirement was not having Carr chase him around the city.

In 1985, he won the National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, for Essays and Criticism. In television, he has been nominated for an Emmy Award. Carr played a radio show host, perhaps based on Jerry Williams, in the 1998 John Travolta film, A Civil Action.

For years Carr has had a feud with former Boston Globe and current Herald guest columnist Mike Barnicle, calling him a "hack" and saying he (Carr) wanted to be the Herald's "nonfiction columnist"[1] (Barnicle resigned from the Boston Globe over allegations of plagiarism and fabrication of stories).[2]

A Boston Globe column by Steve Bailey stated that Carr gave out Barnicle's home phone number, an allegation Carr denies. Barnicle called Carr "a pathetic figure", and asked "Can you imagine being as consumed with envy and jealousy toward me for as long as it has consumed him?"[3]

In 1998 Don Imus said that Mrs. Carr was having an affair with boxer Riddick Bowe. Mrs. Carr retained professor Alan Dershowitz as her lawyer. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement. In a 2007 column Carr alleged that Imus' statements were incited by Barnicle. According to Carr, Barnicle told Imus that Carr had said Imus "would die before his kid got out of high school". Carr denies having said this.[4]

In 2002, The Boston Herald was found to have libeled Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy by reporting that he'd said of a fourteen-year old rape victim: "She can't go through life as a victim. She's 14. She got raped. Tell her to get over it." In February of the same year, Carr wrote a column criticizing the judge, claiming that Murphy had a history of lenient sentencing and, in an online chat session, there were posts questioning whether or not Judge Murphy would "get over it" if his daughters had been the victims of rapes.

In June 2002, Murphy filed a civil lawsuit against The Boston Herald and Carr. Murphy denied all of the allegations. Judge Ernest B. Murphy sued the Boston Herald claiming that an article written by Herald reporter David Wedge which stated that Murphy said that a 14-year-old rape victim: "She can't go through life as a victim. She's 14. She got raped. Tell her to get over it." and that of a 79-year-old robbery victim: "I don't care if she's 109." libeled him ruining his physical and emotional health and damaging his career and reputation as a good man. Ultimately, Murphy won the suit proving the libel and a resulting $2.09 million payment. During the trial, when asked what his reaction was to the Carr column, Murphy had said he "wanted to kill him".[5]

Following the lawsuit, The Boston Herald reported Murphy's letter and a demand for $3.26 million (the court award, plus pre- and post-judgment interest) in its headlines because it was written on official court stationery. The libel case was based on his actions as a judge and therefore the Bar Association, when contacted by the media, stated that since it was his actions as a public official that were at the heart of the libel, it was appropriate for him to use the stationery. Judge Murphy's libel case.

On July 9 2007, it was reported that Carr had reached an agreement to move his show to Boston's WTKK, starting on October 1 2007. Greater Media, owner of WTKK, was said to have signed him for a five-year deal, though Entercom denies this has happened.[6] Carr would move to morning drive-time radio, airing from 5:30 to 9 a.m. But legal decisions prevented Carr from making the jump and on November 15, 2007, Entercom announced that Carr would return to their airwaves on Friday November 16, in his current 3 to 7 pm time slot.[7] Carr's current contract expires in 2012.

[edit] The Howie Carr Show

Main article: The Howie Carr Show

[edit] James "Whitey" Bulger

Carr is an expert on Boston Irish mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger of the Winter Hill Gang; he even has a section of his website called "Whitey Watch".[8] Carr's book, The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century (ISBN 0-446-57651-4), which documents the crimes and actions of Bulger and his politically influential brother William Bulger and their impact on Massachusetts, was released in early 2006 by Warner Books. In its first week on sale, the book made the New York Times' Top 10 Best-Sellers List.

[edit] "License Plate lottery"

In Massachusetts, a low-digit license plate was often seen as a status symbol. Politicians and those connected to them were the only people, seemingly, able to obtain these plates with four, three or sometimes even only two digits. The plates are often handed down from generation to generation making it nearly impossible for someone that has no connections to get one. Howie Carr, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles holds drawings for Massachusetts residents to "win" the plates.[9] Carr was the "winner" of the plate #9823 in 2004.[10]

[edit] Awards and recognition

  • Placed 50th on trade journal Talkers Magazine's" list of the 2007 "Heavy Hundred". The list ranks what the magazine considers the most popular, influential, or entertaining talk-show hosts from around the country.[11]
  • Nominated for the Radio Hall of Fame, active local or regional radio host category.[12]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Non-fiction

  • The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century, New York: Warner Books, 2006 (ISBN 0-446-57651-4).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Barnicle's comments re Howie Carr
  2. ^ Boston.com / Latest News / Region
  3. ^ Barnicle's comments on Howie Carr
  4. ^ Howie Carr (2007-04-12). Imus’ demise no surprise. Boston Herald.
  5. ^ Judge Murphy libel case
  6. ^ Carr files suit against WRKO for trying to stop new deal with rival - BostonHerald.com
  7. ^ BostonHerald.com - Blogs: Messenger Blog» Blog Archive » It’s official: Howie Carr back to WRKO
  8. ^ "Whitey Watch"
  9. ^ Massachusetts DMV lottery
  10. ^ Carr won license plate #9823 in 2004
  11. ^ Simon, Clea (2007-03-02). Area talk hosts among biz's. Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
  12. ^ Radio Hall of Fame Announces Posthumous Inductees and 2008 Nominees. The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.

[edit] External links