Kirk started media career as radio host, a traditional route for emerging conservative voices
Starting in 2020, Charlie Kirk hosted a daily program for Salem Radio, which supplies conservative talk programs to stations throughout the country, including AM 870 The Answer in Los Angeles. Salem’s website described his role as “speaking the language of our nation’s young people.” By 2024, his programs ranked No. 13 on Apple’s rankings for news podcasts with as many as 750,000 downloads ...
Founder and President of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Believers Summit at the Palm Beach County Civic Center on Friday, July 26, 2024.
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ/Miami Herald/TNS
Starting in 2020, Charlie Kirk hosted a daily program for Salem Radio, which supplies conservative talk programs to stations throughout the country, including AM 870 The Answer in Los Angeles.
Salem’s website described his role as “speaking the language of our nation’s young people.” By 2024, his programs ranked No. 13 on Apple’s rankings for news podcasts with as many as 750,000 downloads daily.
“Charlie’s syndicated daily program was one of the crown jewels in the Salem Radio Network lineup of politically impactful talent,” said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a publication that tracks the talk-radio industry.
“He regularly took his controversial commentary out onto the campuses of America’s mostly liberal-leading universities and bravely faced hostile audiences in open debate cementing his credibility as an ideological warrior.”
His last podcast dealt with “Phillies Karen,” the woman who bullied a dad into handing over a foul ball he picked up for his son at an MLB game. He discussed the incident in terms of what it said about the “state of American manhood.”
In recent months, Kirk appeared on more outlets outside the hard-right media ecosystem. In April, he appeared on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast. He also recently appeared for the first time as a fill-in host on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Kirk’s profile had grown to the point where he was satirized in the second episode of the current season of the Comedy Central series “South Park.”
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