For your right to be curious.

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Build a transformational philanthropy program for this trusted NPR affiliate.
Seeking a 100% major gift fundraiser passionate about public media to develop relationships with people who support an informed and civil central Illinois.
Hire will have community visibility, many prospects, and professional resources.
Interviews in progress, open until filled. Apply now.

What Phil Donahue meant to television

WAMU 88.5 | By A.C. Valdez

Published August 21, 2024 at 7:10 AM CDT

Television talk show pioneer and journalist Phil Donahue (C) speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

If you press that orange button above, you’ll be listening to a talk show.

Now, you may not think of public radio and daytime TV as related. But at the heart of what we here on 1A do is… you.

And for one legendary TV host, that was a key ingredient to success.The prime years of Phil Donahue’s career spanned nearly three decades, from 1970 to 1996.

Moving from radio to TV in 1967 at a local Ohio station, Donahue recorded over 6,000 episodes of “The Phil Donahue Show” (later known simply as “Donahue”).

He died Sunday at the age of 88. We talk about his legacy.

A.C. Valdez