Move over, Oprah, make room for … Michael Savage?
The caustic radio host best known for espousing far-right views to his millions of listeners each weeknight is making a huge change in 2015: Gone will be the constant slash-and-burn politics for which he’s been best known for many years.
Savage is pivoting his “The Savage Nation” to a more uplifting note, a la Oprah Winfrey, according to the Washington Times.
“To hear about politics every day is boring,” Savage told the Times. “I’ll continue to talk about the news when we need to talk about it. Next year, though, I’m moving into diverse lifestyle topics as well.”
Lacking a father figure in your life? Savage will have you covered.
“I used to have a segment on the program, when I played ‘Dr. Savage,’ and callers asked me for help with problems in their everyday lives. Next year, we’re bringing that back,” he said.
“You can call in to me and, I’ll be your life coach. I can help people. That’s what I’ve been put on this earth to do. Many people in our world don’t have a wise father, uncle or older brother to turn to. I can play that role in their lives.”
Savage also said that he will begin featuring a regular segment wherein listeners can call in to his show without being screened by producers.
That’s a move that could prove delicate. The most memorable moment from Savage’s short-lived MSNBC program was one in which he went off on a prank caller, calling him a “sodomite,” a “pig” and telling him he should “get AIDs and die.” The segment resulted in Savage losing his show.
Even so, Talk Stream Live, a website that tracks online listeners of talk radio shows, has Savage listed as the most-listened to talk radio host in the third quarter of 2014. Talkers, a talk radio magazine, listed Savage as the No. 4 most-important talk radio host in 2014.
