Jim Quinn

Jim Quinn (born February 26, 1943) is an American radio talk show host based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His program, The War Room with Quinn and Rose, is aired on 12 stations across the U.S. and is also heard on XM Satellite Radio Channel 166 from 6–9 a.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

Disk jockey and novelty host

Before beginning his political morning show, Quinn spent a number of years doing voiceover work for WPGH-TV 53 and as a disc jockey at KQV in the 1960's and 1970s, where he would befriend his eventual political mentor Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh worked at KQV and WIXZ/McKeesport, PA as a disc jockey under the name Jeff Christie.

Quinn is best remembered in the Pittsburgh area as the nighttime screamer on KQV radio in the 1960s, during the station's peak as a Top 40 power. Quinn was hired from WING/Dayton in 1967 and had an immediate impact on the market. In 1968, he jumped at an opportunity to take a job in Philadelphia, but was back at KQV in less than a year. He stayed until 1972, then spent time in New York City at WPIX-FM.^[1]

He then moved to Buffalo, New York where in the late 1970s he became known to listeners throughout the northeast on WWKB (WKBW-AM at the time), a 50,000 watt station that took requests from as far away as Norway.^[2] Quinn's final hour included a trivia game called "Stump The Audience," where the answers had been kept "in a sealed envelope on Funk and Wagnalls' doorstep since noon today." In an emotional farewell as he returned to Pittsburgh, Quinn said, "May I get lockjaw if I ever forget how much I appreciate the people who listen."

A Pittsburgh station, 13Q or WKTQ, lured him back in 1977 to capture the adults who had grown up listening to him on KQV. During his tenure at 13Q, Quinn issued a parody 45-record of the then Top 40 hit "Undercover Angel" entitled "Undercover Pothole"; the parody lamented the atrocious condition of Pittsburgh roads during that period of time. Quinn later moved to the midday slot at WTAE radio, an adult contemporary station in Pittsburgh, under the watch of General Manager, Ted Atkins ("Captain Showbiz"). In 1983, he became half of "The Quinn and Banana Show" on B-94 FM, which ran in Pittsburgh, PA, until 1993. Their format was bathroom humor. After a course of conduct, wherein they implied that News Director Liz Randolph was promiscuous, she sued the station and Quinn and Banana for defamation and sexual harassment. On Valentine's Day, 1990, Ms. Randolph won on all counts, and a jury awarded her $694,000. Three years later, his FM morning show was canceled. Quinn largely credits this lawsuit with "opening his eyes" and inducing his conversion to political conservatism.

Talk show host

After Quinn's program was canceled on B-94, he adopted his current political talk format, a conservative talk radio program. John Lorinc, currently an anchor/editor at CNNRadio did news and traffic for Quinn's show from 1998 through 2000. The program was moved to WPGB radio in 2004 when that station adopted an all talk format.

Quinn claims to be a proponent of a constitutional government that adheres to the guiding principles of the nation's founders. He claims to champion a smaller federal government and free markets. He regularly equates modern Left Liberalism (not classical liberalism) with Marxism. He commonly refers to "Quinn's Laws," a collection of statements that sum up his world view, such as "Liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent" (i.e., the War on Poverty has led to even greater poverty)." ^[3] He also has many personal cliches he is fond of saying, such as "liberty is the solution to the human condition".

The show, broadcast with co-host Rose Somma Tennent (aka "Radio Rose"), is live weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST on certain affiliates and on XM Satellite Radio Channel 166; others replay the first hour after 9. It can be heard worldwide on the Internet via ^[4]

Quinn authored a so-called "liberal version" of The Ant and the Grasshopper in 1994.^[5]

References

• WRRK morning host points to lawsuit as turning point in philosophy, career by Dmitri Vassilaros in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review