PHIL DONAHUE

'Phillip John Donahue' (born December 21, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American media personality and writer, best known as the creator and star of ''The Phil Donahue Show'', also known as ''Donahue'', the first tabloid talk show.
The show had a 26-year run on national (U.S.) TV, preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, before ending in 1996.
His shows have generally focused on issues that often divide liberals and conservatives in the U.S., such as abortion, consumer protection (his most frequent guest was Ralph Nader, for whom he campaigned in 2000), civil rights and war protests. Donahue also hosted a talk show on MSNBC from 2002 to 2003.

Contents

Personal history

Early career

''The Phil Donahue Show'' / ''Donahue''

MSNBC program

Film producer

Interview with Bill O'Reilly (9/05)

References

External links

Personal history

In 1953, Donahue was a member of the first graduating class of St. Edward High School, an all-boys college prep Catholic high school run by the Brothers of Holy Cross in suburban Lakewood, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in 1957. A year later he married his first wife, Marge Cooney, who divorced him in 1975. There were five children from that marriage. He married his second (and present) wife, actress Marlo Thomas, in 1980.

Early career

Donahue began his career in 1957 as a production assistant at KYW radio and television in Cleveland. He got a chance to become an announcer one day when the regular announcer failed to show up. After a brief stint as a bank check sorter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he became program director for WABJ radio in Adrian, Michigan, soon after graduating. He moved on to become a stringer for the ''CBS Evening News'' and later, an anchor of the morning newscast at WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio, where his interviews with Jimmy Hoffa and Billie Sol Estes were picked up nationally. While in Dayton, Donahue also hosted ''Conversation Piece'', a phone-in talk show from 1963–1967 on WHIO radio. There, he interviewed civil rights activists (including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X) and war dissenters.

''The Phil Donahue Show'' / ''Donahue''

Main articles: The Phil Donahue Show

In 1967, Donahue left the WHIO stations and moved his talk program to television with ''The Phil Donahue Show'' on WLWD (now WDTN), also in Dayton. Initially, the program was shown only on other stations owned by the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation (which would later take the name of its parent Avco Company), which also owned WLWD. But, in January 1970, ''The Phil Donahue Show'' entered nationwide syndication.
The final original episode of ''Donahue'' aired in May 1996, culminating what remains the longest continuous run of any syndicated talk show in U.S. television history.

MSNBC program

Main articles: Donahue (MSNBC program)

In 2002, Phil Donahue returned to television to host a show called ''Donahue'' on MSNBC. Its debut ratings were strong, but its audience evaporated over the following months. In late August 2002, it got one of the lowest possible Nielsen ratings (0.1), less than MSNBC's average for the day of 0.2. On February 25, 2003, MSNBC cancelled the show, citing low viewership. Despite the reasons given by MSNBC, AllYourTV.com reported it had received a copy of an internal NBC memo that mentioned that Donahue had to be fired because he would be a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war"[1][2].

Film producer

In 2007, Donahue served as Executive Producer for the feature documentary film, ''Body of War'', which he also co-directed with independent filmmaker Ellen Spiro. The film tells the story of Tomas Young, a severely disabled Iraq War veteran and his turbulent postwar adjustments. The film features two new songs, ''No More'' and ''Long Nights'' by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

Interview with Bill O'Reilly (9/05)

In September 2005 Donahue was briefly back in public attention after an appearance on ''The O'Reilly Factor'' in which he rebuked Bill O'Reilly for his criticism of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and his continued support for the Iraq War. During a heated exchange, Phil turned to Bill and said: "Don't wag that finger at me, Billy Boy!"
Donahue also said that O'Reilly based his show and his interviewing style on little more than loudness and talking points, and criticized his treatment of Jeremy Glick, the son of a September 11 terror attack victim () who appeared on the show.

References

External links

★

★ Body of War

★ Donahue, Phil from Museum of Broadcast Communications

★ Interview with Phil Donahue on the state of the media from Democracy Now!

★ Video Interview from Archive of American Television