Broadcast Career
Taliaferro was an on-air personality for KGO NEWSTALK AM 810. His principal role was as the host of a Monday through Friday phone-in radio talk show that aired between 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. The program was simply known as the "Early Show" and primarily consisted of lively (and sometimes confrontational) discussion of contemporary issues in American politics, culture, and current events. The program was on the air in this format and time slot since 1986. Taliaferro also routinely participates in charity and promotional events as a spokesman, moderator and panelist.
Taliaferro has been in broadcasting for over 40 years. He started in talk radio in 1967 at San Francisco's KNEW (AM). Shortly thereafter, he also got into television, commuting every day to Burbank to host a show on KHJ-TV (KCAL-TV) before accepting a news anchor position at San Francisco's KRON-TV. Taliaferro joined KGO Radio in 1977, when he also co-hosted KGO-TV's AM Weekend program.
Taliaferro is claimed to be the first African American talk show host on a major market radio station in the country. He helped found the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975, and was honored by the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce in 1994 with the Black Chamber Life Award, recognizing him as a "forerunner in broadcasting." Taliaferro was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2011 at the Newseum Washington,D.C.
Taliaferro aired the last interview (a 58 minute interview) done with Walter Cronkite on his Monday, July 27, 2009 program, following the news of Cronkite's passing.
Read more about this topic: Ray Taliaferro
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