| Lars Larson | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 6, 1959 |
| Residence | Vancouver, Washington |
| Occupation | Conservative talk show host |
| Spouse | Tina Michele Larson |
Lars Larson (born Lars K. Larson March 6, 1959 in Taipei, Taiwan) is a conservative[1][2][3] U.S. talk radio show host based in Oregon. Larson hosts a national talk radio show, which as of 2009 is syndicated by Compass Media Networks. His talk show's flagship station, 101.1 KXL-FM in Portland, Oregon has hosted the program since 1997.
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Larson began his broadcasting career at age 16, at KTIL in his hometown of Tillamook, Oregon.[4] He attended the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon and was a radio news broadcaster on KATR, KUGN, and KBDF. He was later news director at KZEL before moving to KJRB in Spokane, Washington in 1979.
In 1980 Larson moved to Portland, Oregon and KXL for what would become the first of two positions. Larson did the afternoon news. In 1983, he moved back to Eugene and was a reporter and anchor for KVAL-TV. In 1985, Larson moved back to Portland, but this time to KPTV, hosting the TV news magazine program Northwest Reports. In 1988, Larson also hosted a weekend talk show on KEX which moved to KGW later in the year and continued to 1990.
He left the award-winning Northwest Reports TV program in 1997, joining KPTV's 10 o'clock News as anchor until 1998. Larson then moved to KOIN TV, hosting a morning program The Buzz until 2000. In his radio career, Larson had moved back to KXL in 1997, this time hosting a talk show. The Lars Larson Show which aired noon to 4 p.m.
On January 31, 2000 The Lars Larson Show began airing on nine radio stations (currently 17) via "The Radio Northwest Network". In 2002, Larson was listed in Talkers Magazine's Heavy Hundred (the most important radio hosts of 4,000 nationwide) for the first time. In July 2003, Larson began filling in for Talk Radio Network talk host Michael Savage. On August 14, 2003 Larson was hired by Westwood One Radio Network to host his own show for national syndication. The Lars Larson Show officially debuted on Westwood One on September 1, 2003 with 105 affiliates. (The show was on 175 affiliates.)[5] On March 19, 2009 Westwood One canceled The Lars Larson Show. Larson's national network show re-launched on newly-formed Compass Media Networks on March 30, 2009.[6]
On October 15, 2007, Larson requested that the Oregon State Bar Association investigate whether current Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski lied about having knowledge about the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl by ex-Governor of Oregon Neil Goldschmidt in the 1970s.[7] Kulongoski, a lawyer, has denied knowing anything about Goldschmidt having sex with an underage girl. In a story reported in The Oregonian in June 2004, however, former Goldschmidt speechwriter Fred Leonhardt said he told Kulongoski about the abuse as far back as 1994, 10 years before Goldschmidt publicly admitted to it.[8] Larson wants the state bar to determine if Kulongoski lied about the matter, and whether his bar license should be suspended or revoked.[9] After an investigation, the state bar determined that both Kulongowski and Leonhardt were "credible" in their accounts of the matter, and closed the investigation for want of sufficient evidence to continue. Larson appealed the decision, calling it contradictory; upon appeal, the decision was upheld. The general counsel to the bar wrote an email to Larson stating that "given the directly contradictory accounts of the parties and the total absence of any other evidence, I cannot conclude that there is sufficient evidence to form a reasonable belief that misconduct may have occurred", noting that the only evidence against Kulongowski was the testimony of Leonhardt. She added that "it is indisputable that memories fade with time and that two people can walk away from the same conversation with very different ideas of what was said." Larson has accused the state bar of having "swept this matter under the rug".[10]
In 2008, Talkers Magazine rated Larson as the 27th most important radio talk show host in America.[11] The same magazine estimates his audience to be approximately 2,250,000 listeners.
Larson is a proponent for stopping all illegal immigration to the United States and greatly increasing requirements for immigrants to become citizens, such as learning to read, write, and speak English. Larson opposed President Barack Obama's health care reform plan.
He married Tina Michele Larson in Nevada on June 22, 1997[12]. They live in Vancouver, Washington.
On March 18, 2008, Larson called former president Jimmy Carter an anti-semite on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight.[13]
In December 2005, Larson declared on-air that he was protesting the renaming of the traditional Christmas Tree placed in Pioneer Courthouse Square a "Holiday Tree" by placing his own Christmas Cross in the square. The idea was reversed because of threats made against Larson and the Christmas Cross, as well as legal concerns for his flagship station. [14]