Alan Colmes
Encyclopedia
Alan Samuel Colmes is an American radio
/television host, liberal political commentator for the Fox News Channel
, and blog
ger. He is the host of The Alan Colmes Show
, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show
distributed by Fox News Radio
that also airs throughout the United States on Fox News Talk
on Sirius
and XM
. From 1996 to 2009, Colmes served as the co-host of Hannity & Colmes
, a nightly political debate show on Fox News Channel.
In addition to broadcasting, Colmes runs the popular Liberaland blog and contributes to AOL News. He wrote Red, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right and Right Is Wrong
(2003).
, where he graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree from its School of Communications. While at Hofstra, he worked at its radio station WRHU.
. He developed his radio career in the Northeast, eventually working at stations such as WABC
, WNBC
, WHN, WMCA and WEVD
in New York, WNHC
in New Haven, and WEZE and WZLX
in Boston
.
His radio career took off when WABC hired him for the morning drive time
slot. He was billed as "W. Alan B. Colmes," as in the station's call sign
. He moved to WNBC in 1987, but his tenure there would be short when, in 1988, NBC announced it would close its radio division. When WNBC went off the air for the last time on October 7, 1988, Colmes' was the last voice heard. He has been syndicated nationally, starting with his involvement with Daynet, a venture created by Colmes and other regional radio hosts. Daynet was sold to Major Networks, Inc., in 1994. Colmes kept his own show, which is distributed by Fox News Radio
. He was hired by Fox News CEO Roger Ailes
in 1996. He was the co-host of Hannity and Colmes, beginning with the Fox News Channel launch on October 6, 1996 and ending on January 9, 2009. He also appeared live on Shovio.com's innovative new broadcasting technology, TalkBackTV.
Colmes's book, Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong
(ISBN 0-06-056297-8), was published in October 2003.
Colmes left Hannity and Colmes at the end of 2008. Fox replaced it with Hannity
, premiering in January 2009. Colmes has continued as a commentator on Fox News, most often on The O'Reilly Factor
, which precedes Hannity. He frequently appears with his sister-in-law, Monica Crowley
. He is a frequent guest-panelist on Fox News' late-night satire program Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
.
Post-Hannity and Colmes, Colmes has also been a frequent panelist on the news analysis program Fox News Watch
alongside Cal Thomas
, Judith Miller
, and other pundits. On a June 26, 2011 show, Thomas remarked that he sensed a "disturbance in the liberal force" and then referred to Colmes as Jabba the Hutt
(afterward Colmes burst out laughing).
and his Fox News biography touts him as "a hard-hitting liberal," he has sometimes been referred to disparagingly as a "token liberal" or a "Fox News liberal
." Colmes told USA Today
that he is "quite moderate
."
During his run on Hannity and Colmes, Colmes was criticized for being less charismatic and telegenic than Sean Hannity
, and just a "seat-filler" for the liberal side. Some newspapers reported him as being Hannity's "sidekick". Democratic Senator Al Franken
criticized Colmes in his book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
, saying he refused to ask tough questions during debates and neglected to challenge erroneous claims made by Hannity or his guests. Franken claimed that Colmes did not speak as much as Hannity during the show. Some critics questioned whether or not both hosts receive equal time to interview guests. Some of Colmes's liberal critics, notably commentators at Media Matters for America
, praised him toward the end of the show's run. He began to cite their reports in interviews with some conservative guests on the program.
Bob Garfield
, interviewing Colmes for On the Media
in 2003, asked him if he was "the human straw man
" and a "foil" rather than an equal of Hannity. Colmes replied that if the conservative members of the audience saw him that way, that was "their problem," and said "It's more fun for me to be in a situation like this than to preach to the choir."
On January 5, 2009, the beginning of his last week on Hannity and Colmes, Colmes was a guest on The Colbert Report in a spoof called "Colbert & Colmes," which parodied criticisms of H&C. In addition to being given a list of pre-approved responses to Stephen Colbert
's opinions and forced to sit on a stool (making him appear shorter than his co-host), Colmes's face was covered by the on-air graphics while Colbert discussed issues of the day. Colbert "fired" Colmes by the end of the show for pointing out fallacies in his logic.
Following Colmes' announcement that he was leaving H&C, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart also paid tribute to him with a guest appearance by legendary rock duo Hall & Oates
, who in a parody version of their hit "She's Gone
," lamented that Colmes was "the only non-douchebag on that show," and dubbed him "Tango to his (Hannity's) Cash
" and "Laurel to his Hardy."
. Her sister is Monica Crowley
, the conservative radio and television commentator.
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
/television host, liberal political commentator for the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger. He is the host of The Alan Colmes Show
The Alan Colmes Show
The Alan Colmes Show is a nationally-syndicated American radio show hosted by commentator Alan Colmes on Fox News Radio.The show is aired on weeknights from 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. from Fox's New York City studios...
, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
distributed by Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network programmed by Fox News Channel.- History :In 2003, Fox News began syndicating one minute radio updates to radio stations via syndication service Westwood One. On June 1, 2005, Fox News Radio employed 60 people and provided five minute newscasts at the top...
that also airs throughout the United States on Fox News Talk
Fox News Talk
Fox News Talk is a satellite radio channel that showcases talk shows and news reports from Fox News Channel personalities, along with other Fox News and talk programming...
on Sirius
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
and XM
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
. From 1996 to 2009, Colmes served as the co-host of Hannity & Colmes
Hannity & Colmes
Hannity & Colmes was a live television show on Fox News Channel in the United States, hosted by Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, who respectively presented a conservative and liberal perspective. The series premiered on October 6, 1996, and the final episode aired on January 9, 2009. It was the...
, a nightly political debate show on Fox News Channel.
In addition to broadcasting, Colmes runs the popular Liberaland blog and contributes to AOL News. He wrote Red, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right and Right Is Wrong
Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong
Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong is the debut non-fiction book by Fox News Channel commentator Alan Colmes, the liberal half of the network's Hannity & Colmes show....
(2003).
Early life and education
Alan Colmes was born in New York City. He attended local public schools and went to Hofstra UniversityHofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
, where he graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from its School of Communications. While at Hofstra, he worked at its radio station WRHU.
Career
Colmes began his career in stand-up comedyStand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
. He developed his radio career in the Northeast, eventually working at stations such as WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
, WNBC
WNBC (AM)
WNBC was a radio station that operated in New York City from 1922 to 1988. For most of its history, it was the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network...
, WHN, WMCA and WEVD
WEVD
The call letters WEVD are associated with the following:* WWRV AM 1330 in New York City, which held the WEVD call sign until 1981* WSKQ-FM 97.9 in New York City, which held the WEVD-FM call sign from 1952 to 1989...
in New York, WNHC
WTNH
WTNH is the ABC-affiliated television station for the state of Connecticut that is licensed to New Haven. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Hamden. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate WCTX and the two...
in New Haven, and WEZE and WZLX
WZLX
WZLX is a prominent classic rock radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts market. WZLX was one of the first classic rock FM stations in America...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
His radio career took off when WABC hired him for the morning drive time
Drive time
Drive time is the daypart analog to prime time for radio broadcasting. It consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and/or head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. These are the periods where the number of...
slot. He was billed as "W. Alan B. Colmes," as in the station's call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
. He moved to WNBC in 1987, but his tenure there would be short when, in 1988, NBC announced it would close its radio division. When WNBC went off the air for the last time on October 7, 1988, Colmes' was the last voice heard. He has been syndicated nationally, starting with his involvement with Daynet, a venture created by Colmes and other regional radio hosts. Daynet was sold to Major Networks, Inc., in 1994. Colmes kept his own show, which is distributed by Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network programmed by Fox News Channel.- History :In 2003, Fox News began syndicating one minute radio updates to radio stations via syndication service Westwood One. On June 1, 2005, Fox News Radio employed 60 people and provided five minute newscasts at the top...
. He was hired by Fox News CEO Roger Ailes
Roger Ailes
Roger Eugene Ailes is president of Fox News Channel, chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group. Ailes was a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W...
in 1996. He was the co-host of Hannity and Colmes, beginning with the Fox News Channel launch on October 6, 1996 and ending on January 9, 2009. He also appeared live on Shovio.com's innovative new broadcasting technology, TalkBackTV.
Colmes's book, Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong
Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong
Red, White & Liberal: How Left is Right and Right is Wrong is the debut non-fiction book by Fox News Channel commentator Alan Colmes, the liberal half of the network's Hannity & Colmes show....
(ISBN 0-06-056297-8), was published in October 2003.
Colmes left Hannity and Colmes at the end of 2008. Fox replaced it with Hannity
Hannity
Hannity is a television show on the Fox News network, a replacement to the long-running show Hannity & Colmes. It is hosted by conservative political pundit Sean Hannity....
, premiering in January 2009. Colmes has continued as a commentator on Fox News, most often on The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, which precedes Hannity. He frequently appears with his sister-in-law, Monica Crowley
Monica Crowley
Monica Crowley is an American conservative radio and television commentator, and author based in New York City. She has her own radio show and is a regular commentator on The McLaughlin Group, a Fox News contributor, and Washington Times columnist.-Education:Crowley holds a B.A. in Political...
. He is a frequent guest-panelist on Fox News' late-night satire program Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld is a late-night/early-morning satirical talk show on the Fox News Channel, airing at 3:00 am ET Tuesday through Saturday. The show features panelists and guests discussing the latest news in politics, pop culture, entertainment, business, sports, and religion...
.
Post-Hannity and Colmes, Colmes has also been a frequent panelist on the news analysis program Fox News Watch
Fox News Watch
Fox News Watch is a current events debate program on the Fox News Channel, hosted by Jon Scott.-Format:The show features a panel composed of two conservatives and two liberals, moderated by Scott. Similar in premise to CNN's Reliable Sources, the panel on Fox News Watch discusses how the media...
alongside Cal Thomas
Cal Thomas
John Calvin "Cal" Thomas is an American conservative syndicated columnist, pundit, author and radio commentator.-Life and career:...
, Judith Miller
Judith Miller (journalist)
Judith Miller is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, formerly of the New York Times Washington bureau. Her coverage of Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction program both before and after the 2003 invasion generated much controversy...
, and other pundits. On a June 26, 2011 show, Thomas remarked that he sensed a "disturbance in the liberal force" and then referred to Colmes as Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. Designed as a large, slug-like alien, his appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian," a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat....
(afterward Colmes burst out laughing).
Criticism and satire
While Colmes describes himself as a liberalLiberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
and his Fox News biography touts him as "a hard-hitting liberal," he has sometimes been referred to disparagingly as a "token liberal" or a "Fox News liberal
Democrat In Name Only
Democrat In Name Only, or DINO in acronym form, is a disparaging term for a member of the United States Democratic Party. A DINO is considered to be more conservative than fellow Democrats...
." Colmes told USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
that he is "quite moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
."
During his run on Hannity and Colmes, Colmes was criticized for being less charismatic and telegenic than Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
, and just a "seat-filler" for the liberal side. Some newspapers reported him as being Hannity's "sidekick". Democratic Senator Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
criticized Colmes in his book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them is a satirical book on American politics by comedian, political commentator and now Senator Al Franken, published in 2003 by Dutton, a subsidiary in the Penguin Group. Franken had a study group of 14 Harvard graduate students known as "TeamFranken" to help him...
, saying he refused to ask tough questions during debates and neglected to challenge erroneous claims made by Hannity or his guests. Franken claimed that Colmes did not speak as much as Hannity during the show. Some critics questioned whether or not both hosts receive equal time to interview guests. Some of Colmes's liberal critics, notably commentators at Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America is a politically progressive media watchdog group which says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Set up as a 501 non-profit organization, MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and...
, praised him toward the end of the show's run. He began to cite their reports in interviews with some conservative guests on the program.
Bob Garfield
Bob Garfield
Bob Garfield writes the "Ad Review" TV-commercial criticism feature in Advertising Age. He is also the co-host of the On the Media show on National Public Radio. Before that, he was a frequent contributor to All Things Considered. He is the advertising analyst for ABC News...
, interviewing Colmes for On the Media
On the Media
On the Media is an hour-long weekly radio program, hosted by Bob Garfield and Brooke Gladstone, covering journalism, technology, and First Amendment issues. It is produced by WNYC in New York City...
in 2003, asked him if he was "the human straw man
Straw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position, twisting his words or by means of [false] assumptions...
" and a "foil" rather than an equal of Hannity. Colmes replied that if the conservative members of the audience saw him that way, that was "their problem," and said "It's more fun for me to be in a situation like this than to preach to the choir."
On January 5, 2009, the beginning of his last week on Hannity and Colmes, Colmes was a guest on The Colbert Report in a spoof called "Colbert & Colmes," which parodied criticisms of H&C. In addition to being given a list of pre-approved responses to Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
's opinions and forced to sit on a stool (making him appear shorter than his co-host), Colmes's face was covered by the on-air graphics while Colbert discussed issues of the day. Colbert "fired" Colmes by the end of the show for pointing out fallacies in his logic.
Following Colmes' announcement that he was leaving H&C, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart also paid tribute to him with a guest appearance by legendary rock duo Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
, who in a parody version of their hit "She's Gone
She's Gone (Hall & Oates song)
"She's Gone" is a song written and originally performed by pop music duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. It was released as a single in 1974 from their album, Abandoned Luncheonette , and was moderately successful, peaking at #60 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.In 1974, the American R&B band Tavares...
," lamented that Colmes was "the only non-douchebag on that show," and dubbed him "Tango to his (Hannity's) Cash
Tango & Cash
Tango & Cash is a 1989 American buddy cop film starring Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Jack Palance and Teri Hatcher. It was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, although Albert Magnoli took over in the later stages of filming....
" and "Laurel to his Hardy."
Personal life
Colmes is married to Dr. Jocelyn Elise Crowley, a professor of public policy at Rutgers UniversityRutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. Her sister is Monica Crowley
Monica Crowley
Monica Crowley is an American conservative radio and television commentator, and author based in New York City. She has her own radio show and is a regular commentator on The McLaughlin Group, a Fox News contributor, and Washington Times columnist.-Education:Crowley holds a B.A. in Political...
, the conservative radio and television commentator.