| Jay Diamond | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 14, 1956 U.S. |
Jay Diamond is an American talk radio host from the Manhattan Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn who began his move to the mic by being a frequent caller to other radio programs, especially New York City's popular Bob Grant show. Initially conservative, Diamond's politics began shifting leftward sometime in the late 1990s as he became dissatisfied with the pro-big business, pro-wealthy corporate conservatism of the 1990s and 2000s.
His last scheduled broadcast was in Boston, Massachusetts his Jay Diamond Show appearing on WRKO until 2005. Prior to that, he broadcast for several years in New York City, first on WABC (then home to Bob Grant, who at the time considered Diamond a sort of protége), then as he moved sharply to the left, on WEVD, and finally WOR. Diamond can now be seen on Ubatv.
He is a voice impressionist and has had short plays on-air which he said were performed by "The Mighty Diamond Art Players." One of Jay's famous impersonations was of Al Sharpton. Sharpton was not alone among Diamond's subjects of impressions. Diamond also parodied the speaking style of other staples of the New York City political scene, notably, then-Governor Mario Cuomo and former Mayor Ed Koch.[1] [2] [3] Left-wing media watchdog organization FAIR recognized Diamond as unusual among broadcasters for his calling attention to Trent Lott's and Bob Barr's associations with the right-wing Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), during December, 1998. [4]