The Laura Ingraham Show

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The Laura Ingraham Show is an American radio show hosted by conservative commentator Laura Ingraham on Talk Radio Network.

According to the spring 2006 issue of Talkers magazine, Ingraham's talk show has the fifth largest audience among nationally aired talk show hosts, trailing only Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Laura Schlessinger. ^[1] On her web site, Matt Fox is billed as Senior Producer. The site features online polls, "Read It or Weep" articles of note handpicked by Laura from various websites and blogs, and audio clips available via podcasting.

The format of the 3-hour weekday program is host commentary, interaction between Laura, Matt, AJ and Joe, phone calls and guests. The show covers primarily politics, pop culture, and media bias; with topics of interest including race relations, trends in schools, the Middle East and the legacy of feminism. The show features several recurring segments, each with a distinct satirical theme.

1 Show segments
2 Major issues featured

[edit] Show segments

The segment called "But... Monkey" takes someone's sound bite and divides the words before "but" (usually something positive or complimentary) from the words that follow (usually something negative or critical) with a screeching monkey sound. Other variations of the monkey cited include the "Having Said That Monkey" and the "Double But... Monkey." Other segments include "Lie of the Day," during which a sound bite is played of an alleged lie over the Anastacia song "Why'd You Lie to Me". Another satirical segment is the "Deep Thought of the Day", signaled by the sounds of piano, smooth flowing water, and chirping birds accompanied by someone making an adage-like statement. For example, one "Deep Thought" featured on the show was from Maya Angelou who said, "Don't let facts get in the way of the truth. You can tell so many facts you never get to the truth."

Other segments include the "Sound Bite of the Week", which allows callers to choose which of several noteworthy sound 'bites' (played before accepting calls) is the most outstanding, good or bad. At the end of the year, a "Sound Bite of the Year" is chosen. The segment "Looking for Leaders" profiles individuals who have made some outstanding contribution to America by example; one segment featured wrestling champion and author Kyle Maynard, born with a rare congenital disorder that left him with no elbows or knees. Other lesser-used segments include the "What's He Smokin' Moment of the Day", the "Awkward Pause Moment of the Day", and most recently, the "Black Helicopter".

The segment "Guess the Guest" — in which callers are encouraged to hypothesize as to the identity of a certain guest on selected episodes of Larry King's CNN show by listening to choice sound cuts from the interview — had been played often on Ingraham's radio show until 2005 when for no stated reason, she stopped using the segment. Later, in 2006, the segment was resumed.

The "Clash against Civilizations Update" spotlights a story in which Ingraham believes a person's or group of people's cultural beliefs are infringing upon other peoples' lives. The "Pornification Alert" spotlights a story about a cultural trend (usually involving sex or pornography) which Ingraham believes is pervading American culture in a negative way.

[edit] Major issues featured

The Laura Ingraham Show discusses a wide variety of issues from a right-wing perspective, summed up by Ingraham as "Politics, the culture, and media bias." Depending on current events, she sometimes discuss other issues in more depth.

Illegal Immigration -- Ingraham frequently advocates "securing the borders" by putting more resources into stopping illegal immigration. She has a segment called "The Illegal Immigration Sob Story" alert, in which she highlights media articles that she believs are gathering emotional sympathy for illegal immigrants whom she believes are simply breaking the law.

Islamic Jihad -- The show frequently raises the topic of radical Islam viewed from the perspective of the U.S. right wing, with Ingraham discussing current events and media reports about the so-called war against terror and what she believes is a growing faction of Islam: jihads.

Pro-Life Issues -- Ingraham is opposed to abortion rights, and often talks about human cloning, embryonic stem-cell research and abortion, taking a right-wing stance against all three. She was an outspoken advocate against Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2006), a ballot measure which she felt was deceptive and which legalized human cloning. Every January 22nd, Ingraham promotes and lauds the marchers participating in the March for Life, which calls for outlawing abortion, and takes place on the same day as the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States.

The "Pornification" of the culture -- Ingraham frequently highlights sex and pornography on her show. She has criticized people such as Howard Stern, Hugh Hefner, and others who she claims have pervaded the culture with what she describes as "filth" at the expense of "traditional American values."

- During the George W. Bush administration, Laura had been summoned with other republican friendly talk radio hosts to the White House for an "off the record" meeting hosted by President Bush. Although no specifics were divulged. The talk radio hosts that attended the meeting, did come out in concert to support issues that were prioritized by the Bush administration. The original photo from the meeting is at the following link. http://themikegallaghershow.info/NewsArticles/NewYorkTimes10_17_06.htm

[edit] Staff

The show staff consists of producers Tom Elliot, Brad Feldman and Bryan Preston, as well as several other support staff members occasionally referenced by Ingraham. Longtime producer Matt Fox recently announced he would be leaving his position, following the lead of former co-producer A.J. Rice.

[edit] Ingraham's personal life on the show

Ingraham often calls the show "Reality Radio", and this is evidenced by her and her producers constant jokes, bloopers and Ingraham's occasional lateness on the show. Coming back from Israel, the show opened with Ingraham's producer introducing her on the phone, as she rushed to get into the building, urging her taxi driver to go faster.

Ingraham often talks about her personal life in between commentary on current events. Frequent topics include tales of her yellow lab, Lucy, and her travel adventures with her producers and interns on the show. She also speaks of her conversion to Catholicism.

[edit] Music

Music is an important part of the show. Ingraham usually plays favorite songs going into and coming out of break (her favorite artists include Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley). Some commonly played songs are:

"Another Saturday Night" - Sam Cooke (typically played on Fridays)
"Everybody's Talkin'" - Nilsson (played during the "Sound Bite Contest" on Fridays)
"Friday I'm in Love" - The Cure (played during the "Sound Bite Contest" on Fridays)
"I Don't Like Mondays" - The Boomtown Rats (typically played on Mondays)
"Island in the Sun" - Weezer (often played at the end of each hour)
"Monday, Monday" - The Mamas & the Papas (typically played on Mondays)
"Monday Morning" - Fleetwood Mac (typically played on Mondays)
"Old Man" - Neil Young (played during the "Guess the Guest" segment)
"Ruby Tuesday" - The Rolling Stones (typically played on Tuesdays)
"Saturday in the Park" - Chicago (typically played on Fridays)
"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" - Elton John (typically played on Fridays)
"Walk on the Wild Side" - Lou Reed (played during the "Pornification Alert" segment)
"Welcome to the Working Week" - Elvis Costello (typically played on Mondays)
"Why'd You Lie to Me" - Anastacia (played during the "Lie of the Day" segment)
"Wishing I Was There" - Natalie Imbruglia (often played coming out of break at 25 minutes before each hour)