Michael Smerconish
Host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM, Host of CNN's Smerconish
Biography
Michael A. Smerconish is the host of The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM Channel 124, the host of CNN’s “Smerconish” on Saturday mornings, newspaper columnist and author. Smerconish has often been recognized for his radio work. Talkers Magazine has consistently named him one of America’s most important talk show hosts. In 2009, prior to his syndication, Radio and Records named him the nation’s “Local Personality of the Year”. In 2011, the National Association of Broadcasters selected him as a “Marconi Award” finalist in the category of Best Network/Syndicated Host. He has often been the recipient of several (Philadelphia) Achievement in Radio awards, including “Best Talk Show Host” and “Best Evening Program”. Philadelphia Magazine has named him the city’s best talk show host, as well as one of the city’s most powerful citizens. On August 20, 2009, Smerconish became the first radio host to interview President Barack Obama live from the White House. The 35-minute interview was conducted in the Diplomatic Reception Room and televised live on MSNBC, CNN and FOX News. Smerconish has interviewed President Obama on seven different occasions. He has also interviewed Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as Vice Presidents Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden. Smerconish hosts a weekly Saturday TV program on CNN fittingly called “Smerconish” and in the past has been an MSNBC contributor and frequent guest-host of “Hardball” for Chris Matthews. He has been a guest on virtually every television program where politics is discussed, including: the NBC “Today show”, “Colbert Report”, “O’Reilly Factor”, “Larry King Live”, “The View”, and “Real Time With Bill Maher”. Smerconish is the author of six books, two of them New York Times’ best sellers. He donated all author proceeds from three of those manuscripts to charity. His published books are: Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11 (for which he donated his proceeds to the Garden of Reflection, a 9/11 tribute garden in his native Bucks County, Pennsylvania); Muzzled: From T-Ball to Terrorism, True Stories that Should Be Fiction (a New York Times best seller); Murdered By Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain and Injustice (a New York Times best seller which he co-authored with Maureen Faulkner and for which he donated his proceeds to the Daniel Faulkner Educational Grant Fund); Morning Drive: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking; and Instinct: The Man Who Stopped the 20th Hijacker (the story of Jose Melendez-Perez, for which he donated his proceeds to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania). Additionally, through a promotional partnership with jeweler Steven Singer, Smerconish has raised in excess of $300,000.00 for the Flight 93 National Memorial. His sixth book is his first novel—TALK! Smerconish also authors a Sunday column in the Philadelphia Inquirer. His columns have been re-printed in various newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, Dallas Morning-News, Denver Post, Boston Herald, Charlotte Observer, Sacramento Bee, Kansas City Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Austin American-Statesman, Savannah Morning News, Tallahassee Democrat, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Providence Journal, Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Akron Beacon Journal, Wichita Eagle, Arizona Daily Star, Green Bay Press Gazette, Winnipeg Free Press, Tallahassee Democrat, and Gulf Times (Doha, Qatar) Smerconish became a radio and television commentator after experiences he had at an early age in Republican politics. While still in college he was an advance-man for (then) Vice President George H.W. Bush. At age 29, he was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to a sub-cabinet level position (Regional Administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he reported to HUD Secretary Jack Kemp). Prior to turning to broadcasting as a full-time endeavor, Smerconish practiced law for 10 years with James E. Beasley, a legendary Philadelphia-based trial lawyer, who is the namesake of the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. Today, Smerconish is of counsel to the Philadelphia law firm of Kline & Specter. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and remains a member of the Bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When actively practicing law, Smerconish was a trial lawyer specializing in complex tort litigation. His work spanned various subject areas, including contracts, medical malpractice, and products liability. His clients ranged from the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police (in an action against a music group responsible for publishing an FOP photograph on an album cover that advocated the murder of police) to the City of Rome, Italy (in a contract dispute). He is a past member of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. Smerconish is a 1984 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lehigh University where he majored in Government and Journalism. He lives in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with his wife and their four children.
Speech Topics
Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right: American Life in Columns
Based on and inspired by his book of the same name, Michael Smerconish, through his political research and unique experiences, talks to audiences about why he believes that the American political divide has been greatly exaggerated by those with a motivation to perpetuate polarization. As characterized by Foreward Reviews: "Michael Smerconish’s collection is compelling and entertaining—not as a filtering of daily news through a predictable ideological lens, but as a group of insightful entries into conversations about current events and issues….This sampling of Smerconish’s columns exemplifies the kind of discourse, based on reason and evidence, that makes a newspaper, in print or online, indispensable to citizens of democracy." Smerconish's common sense often sets him apart from today’s media provocateurs. His optimistic outlook, derived from his political research and unique experiences, is a message for our times: that the American political divide has been greatly exaggerated by those with a motivation to perpetuate polarization. At ease in front of live audiences, he’s a master at telling political stories, and can be equally passionate when discussing such disparate subjects as family pets, lessons learned from yard sales and why he disfavors the torturous SAT exam.
Videos
Frequently Asked Questions
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