Ed Schultz

File:Schultz ed.jpg

Ed Schultz

Ed Schultz (born January 1954?) is the host of "The Ed Schultz Show", a progressive talk radio show promising "straight talk from the heartland" from a "gun-totin', red meat-eatin' liberal." He broadcasts from Fargo, North Dakota on a network of over 100 stations (as of October 2005), including eight of the 10 largest radio markets. He is also on XM and Sirius satellite radio; his show is often carried as part of a lineup that includes one or more Air America Radio shows.

Schultz was born in Virginia and moved to the Great Plains to play football on a scholarship from Moorhead State University, becoming the NCAA Division II passing champion in 1977. He played football for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a half-season, but never adjusted to the league's rugby-shaped football.

After his short football career ended, he went to work as a sportscaster in Fargo, a role he had for nearly fifteen years. In 1992, he began his talk radio career, and by 1996 his "News and Views" show grew into a regional broadcast dominating the North Dakota airwaves, with additional listeners in South Dakota, western Minnesota, Montana, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Schulz's political views leaned towards the right during the early years — Schultz told the Los Angeles Times that he "lined up with the Republicans because they were anti-tax, and I wanted to make a lot of money..." — but under the influence of his wife-to-be his views started changing in 1998, and he became a Democratic Party supporter in 2000.

Schultz launched "The Ed Schultz Show" on January 5, 2004, distributed by Jones Radio Networks, with financial backing from Democracy Radio. The show started in two markets (Needles, California and Langdon, North Dakota), quickly signing another dozen stations in smaller, mostly upper Midwest markets. For a while, Schulz continued his "News and Views" broadcasts, though by February 2005 it was announced that Joel Heitkamp, a North Dakota state senator, was taking over that show. The Ed Schultz Show's shares owned by Democracy Radio were purchased by Product First in June of 2005, a company started by Randy Michaels and Stu Krane.

His son David is a nationally-rated golfer at Texas Christian University.

External link and reference

• Official site, including "Ed in the News"