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Bernie Ward

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Bernie Ward, the "Lion of the Left"
Bernie Ward, the "Lion of the Left"
Bernie Ward, aka the Lion of the Left (b. San Francisco, California), has long been a popular nighttime talk radio host on KGO 810 AM in his native San Francisco. Ward hosts a nightly 'news talk' show from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Friday, and Godtalk on Sundays from 6 to 9 a.m. He is a Roman Catholic and former priest of the Catholic Franciscan order. He describes himself as "unabashedly liberal."

Ward has served at KGO for decades, first as a reporter and then as a full-time talk show host since December, 1992. He is also known for his investigative work on the crisis in Kosovo. He always ends his nightly show with this enigmatic aphorism, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is permission."

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[edit] Education and early career

Ward was educated at Catholic schools in San Francisco; beginning with Holy Names grammar school, then St. Ignatius High School, and then the University of San Francisco.

Ward taught theology at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, California and Bellarmine High in San Jose, California. Ward moved to Washington, DC, in 1981, where he taught at a private school while his wife attended medical school. "It was a school with a nine hole golf course around it," Ward later told the San Francisco Chronicle, adding "All the wealthy people send their kids there. I found out they were ripping off all the teachers and tried to precipitate a strike." The next year the teachers there were given a 40 percent pay raise, after Ward was told by the school that his services were no longer needed.

[edit] From national syndication to canny comeback

For a time, Ward's talk show was nationally syndicated, but the syndication came to an end in 1997. Shortly thereafter, his contract with KGO came to an end as well, on Halloween that year. When word leaked out that KGO would not renew Ward's contract, the talk show host's supporters began protesting. In the words of San Francisco Examiner columnist Rob Morse, "The problem seems to be that KGO did a focus group on Bernie, and he was either hated too much or not hated enough, whichever it is that's bad for talk-show hosts."[1]

Nevertheless, support for his endangered local broadcast quickly materialized, in the form of cans. Cans of corn. Cans of peas. Cans of applesauce. And cans of soup. As it happened, Ward's ratings had steadily been rising, especially with a critical demographic, women, ages 25 to 54, as he softened his rhetoric after being dumped from national syndication,[2] Moreover, Ward had long since tapped deeply into the sympathies of his listening audience. Among the many causes championed by Ward, every Thanksgiving he broadcasts live from the Tenderloin district, a seedy neighborhood in downtown, on bringing in donations on behalf of the St. Anthony's Dining Hall, an internationally known soup kitchen. The San Francisco Chronicle's Phil Frank even depicted a raven in his Farley cartoon strip, flying over KGO's studios to drop off a can of beans. KGO was inundated by an outpouring of support for Ward and soup for the mostly homeless clientele of St. Anthony's.

[edit] God Talk

Ward's God Talk show doubles as a weekly on-air 'sermon' for his Church of the Holy Donut congregation. Founded in the 1970s, the congregation is based on the premise that "all religions are based on dough".[3] His aggressive and pointed arguments make for very lively debates and discussions on various issues of the day with his callers and congregagants. Mixing religion with politics and current events, he routinely questions, among other things, the sanctimony of right-wing religious 'wingnuts', all the while sharing his own left-wing sentiments with callers. The talk is probably so-named because of his fondness for confectionery.

[edit] Causes

Among the causes and groups Ward currently champions are the Center for American Progress; Common Dreams, a progressive organization; and the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, a San Francisco based think tank and retreat for young women; and Democracy Now, an alternative media source. He also leads a pledge drive for Thanksgiving Charities every year, which supports four charities in the bay area: sacred heart community services in san jose, st anthonys foundation in san francisco, st vincent de paul dinning room in oakland and fresh start in walnut creek...the charity drive has been going on for 18 years and has raised over $4 million dollars for the four charities...ward also particpates every year in the kgo leukemia cureathon which has raised over $13 million for research into leukemia and lymphoma causes...ward raised over $75,000 for the family of kgo host dwayne garrett...

[edit] Controversy

Ward has appeared on Chris Matthews' Hardball, on MSNBC, as well as on CNN's Crossfire and Foxnews's The O'Reilly Factor passionately arguing his case from a generally progressive point of view.

[edit] Recognition

The 'Scripps Howard Award for Excellence in Journalism' is among the honors Ward has earned, for investigative journalism examining the financial scandals of the San Francisco Archdiocese.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

  • sfgate.com - Priest's misconduct story brings KGO national award.
  • sfgate.com - For Mia and Glenn, love was on the air.
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