From the Los Angeles Times:
Larry Elder, the self-proclaimed “Sage from South Central,” has heard you missed him. Now he’s back.
Elder, the African American talk-show host who frequently provoked black listeners with his conservative views during his 15-year stint on KABC-AM (790), is returning Monday to the station he abruptly left almost two years ago. He will take over the 9 a.m. to noon weekday slot vacated Friday by the more lighthearted “Frosty, Heidi and Frank” show.
“I’m tanned, rested and ready,” Elder quipped last week in a phone interview, echoing the oft-told one-liner about former President Richard Nixon on his political availability after his impeachment. Elder added in a more serious tone, “[KABC] approached me, and I was ready to get back in the game. I think I have been missed, and I believe I will be welcomed and embraced.”
His return to KABC, where he formerly occupied the afternoon drive-time slot, will bring a more unified conservative tone to the station, which is also home to commentators Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, said program director Jack Silver, who took charge of programming two months ago.
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Elder left KABC in December 2008, a few weeks after the presidential election: “My contract was up, the previous management and I couldn’t come to terms on an agreement and there were other things I wanted to do.” He attempted to establish a webcast and wrote opinion columns for various publications. Much of the time was spent writing an autobiographical account of his reconciliation with his father after a 10-year estrangement. He hopes for the book to be published next year around Father’s Day.
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The host was probably best known for his searing exchanges with black listeners over his outspoken criticism of black politicians and other African Americans who he maintained whined about not getting more opportunities when they should be more self-reliant and take more initiative. He ridiculed black leaders such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Rep. Maxine Waters (D- Los Angeles). Some black callers branded him an “Uncle Tom,” which only added fuel to Elder’s fire.
In his new slot, Elder and station management are more than aware that he will be competing against Rush Limbaugh, the top-rated talk show host in the country. Limbaugh’s show airs locally on KFI-AM (640), the top-rated talk station in the L.A.-Orange County market.
Read the full article here.
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