Carton's Downfall Shows Fraudulent Nature Of Talk Radio

Craig Carton

As a former radio talk show host who worked for many years in several major markets, John Ziegler has spoken often about what a fraud most of the industry is and how it is getting worse now that the medium’s business model is badly broken.

In an Op-Ed piece for Mediaite.com, Ziegler writes he found Craig Carton to be a dishonest person.

"The New York-based national sports talk host Carton was arrested on federal charges of running a Ponzi scheme to pay off massive gambling debts. According to Ziegler,  at first glance this may not say much about the talk radio industry or our politics, but, he adds,  if you understand the larger picture, it actually does. 

John Ziegler

"First, I obviously don’t know for sure that Carton is actually guilty, though it appears that the case is very strong and it seems unlikely that the Feds would bring such charges unless this was real.

"Ever since we briefly worked together, I have always believed Carton to be a horribly dishonest person and that his rise within the talk radio business, in both sports and general talk, was a damning indictment of the entire industry. 

"Back in 2000, we were both working at WIP, the legendary sports radio station in my hometown of Philadelphia. At the time, neither of us had a permanent shift and we would be placed wherever needed, with Craig, who was clearly one of those guys who was willing to say anything just to get a rise out of the audience, ahead of me on the depth chart. 

"One night, during a slow news period, Craig was doing an overnight shift and called me at like 1 or 2 am to tell me that his wife was about to give birth and that he needed someone to come in to replace him. Even though I was exhausted and unprepared to do a show, realizing what I thought was the gravity of the situation, I rushed into the studio and did the remainder of his program. 

"I remember thinking that Craig didn’t seem nearly as frazzled as I would have been under similar circumstances, but it never occurred to me that I was simply being used as an easy mark. You see, Carton’s wife never gave that night and it later became clear that she was never going to. Craig simply wanted out of doing a crappy overnight shift and knew he could take advantage of his situation. 

"While this certainly told me a lot about Carton as a person, the reaction of the station was extremely telling with regard to the culture of talk radio. Our boss, Tom Bigby, an extremely powerful person within all aspects of talk radio at the time, literally and empathically blamed ME for the situation because, get this, I should have known not to trust Craig Carton! 

"Think about that. One of the most influential people in talk radio thought so little of the trust-worthiness of a talent that he would end up help make a star that he thought it was absurd for someone to believe him, even when he is claiming his wife is about to give birth! 

"My primary point here is that the talk radio industry, a medium which often pretends to fight for good/justice, is largely populated by very bad and trashy people. They are simply not to be trusted on important matters. The Craig Carton example may be extreme, but it is hardly unique, or even unusual."

John Ziegler hosts a weekly podcast focusing on news media issues and is documentary filmmaker. You can follow him on Twitter at @ZigManFreud