Michael William Lebron (born August 26, 1958), popularly known as Lionel, is an American nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Beginning May 2007, he hosted a daily three-hour radio talk show on Air America Radio. Lionel was a consistent performer for Air America and drew weekly audiences of around 1.5 million people. On March 22, 2010, Lionel began a nightly commentary[1] on New York's WPIX Channel 11 owned by Tribune Company. LionelMedia.com launched on June 23, 2010. It will cover all media activities creating the 24/7/365 World of Lionel.
In radio for many years, The Lionel Show started in 2000 and was nationally-syndicated on the WOR Radio Network, broadcasting from the studios of WOR 710 AM in New York.
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In his early years, he attended Jesuit High School of Tampa. After graduating magna cum laude from the University of South Florida in 1980, Lionel worked as a District Aide for Florida United States Senator Richard "Dick" Stone and in his unsuccessful campaign for reelection. Lionel graduated from the Stetson University College of Law, and as trial lawyer worked as both prosecutor for the Hillsborough County Florida State Attorney's Office (13th Judicial Circuit) and criminal defense trial lawyer thereafter. He began his radio career as a host at WFLA 970 AM in his hometown of Tampa from 1988 to 1993.
For years, Lionel had been a frequent caller to local shows, eventually becoming a "chronic", which is industry vernacular for frequent callers. His notoriety was such that he began using aliases and different personas to get on the air. His most enduring moniker is in honor of Francis Lionel "Lion" Delbuchi, the character played by Al Pacino in the movie Scarecrow. WPLP, WFLA's rival station across Tampa Bay, offered him a talk show; Lionel declined, both because WPLP paid very little and because he was afraid it would affect his law career. In October 1988 WFLA management called and gave him an unbeatable offer to move behind the microphone as a Sunday afternoon host. In January 1989, he moved to middays (nine to noon) Monday through Friday. Seven months later, he took the afternoon drive position where he remained until 1993. When he did, he quickly became a ratings success, using a lively mix of humor and current events. He was hired away by WABC 770 AM, a news-talk station in New York City when a former ABC network president, Jim Arcara, heard Lionel's show during vacations in Florida and lured him to the Big Apple. He set ratings records for WABC as its morning-drive host during the mid-1990s. During one period, Lionel did both morning drive and afternoon drive for a period immediately following talk radio legend Bob Grant's departure from WABC.
In the late 1990s, toward the end of his tenure at WABC, Lionel also hosted the CourtTV law show Snap Judgment. He also provided a daily update on WCBS 880 AM during the Clinton impeachment process. In 2000, he began his national radio show, The Lionel Show, originally syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks through 2001. His show was then syndicated by independent Rex Broadcasting until 2003, when it was picked up by the WOR Radio Network in New York City.It was broadcasted six days a week (9 pm-midnight ET weekdays, and 5-8 pm ET Saturdays). In 2000 and 2001, in addition to his radio work, Lionel was a morning host on an Internet-based talk radio site, eYada.com until 2001.
From May 2007 to January 2010, he hosted a daily three-hour radio talk show on Air America Radio.[2][3] Moved from the 9 am to noon (ET) slot on May 26, 2009, Lionel returned to Air America to host a show from 6 am to 9 am EST and remained until the network closed in on January 25, 2010. In both 2007 and 2009, Talkers Magazine included Lionel on their list of "The 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America" at number 23, and estimated his the show's audience at 1.75 million unique listeners per week.[4] The magazine described him as "a uniquely witty and intellectual personality" and "defying categorization".[5]
He has released a comedy album titled You Don't Look Like You Sound in 1996 and fronted a bluegrass band called Lock 'n' Load. Lebron wrote a book, "Everyone's Crazy Except You and Me... And I'm Not So Sure About You: America's Favorite Contrarian Cuts Loose". It was published by Hyperion and was released on August 5, 2008. On March 22, 2010, Lionel began a nightly commentary [1] on New York's WPIX Channel 11.
Originally espousing a largely libertarian political philosophy, Lionel describes himself as a political atheist. He personally eschews such labels and repeatedly criticizes those who hold opinions simply out of allegiance to a word like "conservative" or "liberal." He repeatedly professes the notion that the left-right paradigm is but an illusion.
Many of his stances, such as opposition to some forms of gun control, are not shared by most liberals. He opposes the death penalty on the grounds that the justice system is far too unreliable to be entrusted with that power, and favors decriminalization of drug use and of prostitution. He supported gay and "intragender" marriage, not a popular view among social conservatives. He strongly opposed the Iraq War since around 2004. He asks callers to take the Lionel Challenge: Try explicating or describing a political philosophy or point without using a label. Some, he contends, find it impossible. During a discussion on his show about illegal immigration to the United States, Lionel stated his ancestry was Afro-Puerto Rican, Sicilian, Scots-Irish, German and French.