John Ziegler (talk Show Host) - Career

Career

After graduating from college, Ziegler became a sportscaster, moving his way up to a full time position at WTOV in Ohio. He left the position to write a book about high school football in Steubenville, Ohio called Dynasty of the Crossroads. After the book, he took a position as a sportscaster at WRAZ in Raleigh, North Carolina but was fired in 1995 after making what he describes as an "incredibly tame" joke about his belief that O.J. Simpson was guilty. Ziegler revealed on his November 21, 2006 KFI broadcast that he once had a romantic relationship with Kim Goldman, sister of murder victim Ron Goldman, who has also been a frequent guest on the show commenting on topics related to O.J. Simpson.

He then began a career in talk radio, working at various stations before ending up at WWTN in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was later fired after having said the word nigger on the air, in, according to Ziegler, "a rather academic discussion about the way whites and blacks view each other". Ziegler has explained this event as him referencing what the boxer Mike Tyson said at a press conference, where Tyson referred to himself using that word. He then began writing columns for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News and co-hosted a talk show on Comcast's CN8 Television Network, which later resulted in his winning a regional Emmy.

In 2002, wanting to return to radio, Ziegler was hired by Louisville, Kentucky radio station WHAS. Once again, his tenure did not last long, as during a Ask John Anything segment, he discussed Darcie Divita, a former Chicago Bulls cheerleader and WDRB morning television host with whom Ziegler had a relationship until Divita broke up with him. WHAS fired him on August 27, 2003, and Divita sued for $2,700,000, claiming libel and defamation of character. However, on May 24, 2005, Ziegler was unanimously found not liable for damages as Divita was deemed a public figure by virtue of being a television personality.

Subsequent to his experiences of being fired and sued for saying what he believes was the truth, he has authored another book, The Death of Free Speech, which claims that American discourse has suffered because of political correctness, and that these taboos are not consistently enforced.

In 2003, while still employed by WHAS, he joined forces with Louisville Democrat and current 3rd district Congressional Representative John Yarmuth to debate political issues on the weekly WAVE program Yarmuth & Ziegler, with Yarmuth taking the progressive side and Ziegler, the conservative side. This gig lasted through November of that year. In 2006, Ziegler supported the Yarmuth election campaign for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district, both financially and as a political adviser. Yarmuth won the election to Congress, defeating his incumbent Republican opponent Anne Northup.

On January 12, 2004, Ziegler began work at KFI as a late evening host. As both WHAS and KFI are owned by Clear Channel, he was placed him in the unusual situation of having been fired and re-hired by the same company within a short time frame. He moved to the 7-10 p.m. slot on February 21, 2005. In November 2007, he left KFI.

Ziegler was the focus of David Foster Wallace's cover story in the April 2005 Atlantic Monthly, which explores how American talk radio works.

In addition to radio work, Ziegler has occasionally appeared on Scarborough Country and has written op-eds in the Los Angeles Times.

On November 26, 2006, Ziegler filled in for Matt Drudge on his nationally syndicated Sunday night talk show. Ziegler also filled in for Matt Drudge on April 8, 2007.

On February 2, 2009, Ziegler appeared on The View for his film "Media Malpractice." He also appeared numerous times on the Today Show, MSNBC, CNN and Fox News.