He’s not Joe Exotic, but he’s kind of a lizard king. He’s not quite as festooned as Pete Davidson of SNL, but he’s on his way.
“I love to get ink,” says Chad Benson. With tattoos, he says you’re either in for a penny or in for a pound. “They’re addicting,” he says. “I like to wear my art on the outside.”
He gets his love of ink honestly, as his father had tattoos, and many of his friends have them as well. “If I wanted a new tattoo, friends told me to put the idea in a figurative drawer for a couple of months. If I still wanted it two months later, then I should get it.”
Benson’s left arm tells an entire story. His next tattoo will be an indelible part of him soon.
“I’m getting one of those old-school microphones,” Benson said. “Like the one, David Letterman had on his desk.”
Oh, and the lizard thing.
“If anybody listens to my show, they know I love lizards. I always have.”
If he gets a tattoo of a lizard, he’ll be the happiest guy in the world. His kids love the lizards too. “Some lizards are tough to get and expensive,” Benson explained.
Benson, his lizards, and tattoos are very busy. He hosts his show on KTAR in Phoenix in the afternoon, and starts each morning hosting the nationally syndicated “The Chad Benson Show” on Radio America from 9a-12p PT.
When he was young, he was also a pretty talented jock, playing some professional soccer in Europe. Benson was signed by the Bristol Rovers, the Falkirk Scotland, and the Portsmouth Football Club.
“It certainly was fun,” Benson said. “I’m pretty certain I went further in soccer because of my drive rather than talent.” He said there weren’t as many Americans in the game when he played; it was a different scene.
After getting hurt a couple of times, he asked himself what career could he go into where he could still wear shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and not tear up his knee. It came down to a choice between beach-bum and radio.
“I came into talk radio in a different way,” Benson explained. “I never wanted to be the ‘next’ Rush Limbaugh; I just wanted to be me. They say you’re the ‘next’ so-and-so just because you’re younger. You’re not really doing anything much different.”
On his shows and in life, Benson said he likes to stay grounded. “I grew up in Los Angeles, and most of my friends are progressives,” he said. “We don’t base our friendships on politics. We just talk. I look around, and we all live in this insane world.”
Benson said a lot of folks just want to argue over the dumbest things, but all they really want to do is argue. “I’ve got news for you; you’re not always going to get everything we want.”
There’s too much-misinformed emotion in the world, he says. “You can’t start a conversation by calling the other person a piece of shit. I’m a fact-based guy, and I’ll look at the other side.”
In that manner speaking, Benson’s neighborhood isn’t very crowded.
“I like to say we’re in the ‘exhausted majority,” Benson said. “It’s funny when people say you don’t care about something if you don’t pick a side. Some say you’re wearing a mask to stop a virus, or you wear one because you hate Trump. It’s insane.”
After a bit of prodding, I asked Benson if he thought most News/Talkers believed in most of the stuff they peddle or if it was part of their job.
“In general, I would say a majority of them are full of it, and they know it,” Benson said. “The scary question is, does the audience know it? I’m friends with several ‘talkers,’ and they’re not over the top in real life. They understand it’s a job, and they have to sell tickets.” He said it goes the other way. Some hosts act like they’re all progressive, but he knows them better.
On-air or off, Benson has some concerns about who we are collective.
“Yes, we are pretty stupid on the whole,” he said. “We’re no longer coming at things in an honest conversation. We have to win the discussion or argument. It’s about beating the other side, not being right. Most would rather win on something small then you’d have something over others. All they care about is the ‘win’ and did I beat the other side.”
Benson reminded me that even gladiators didn’t kill other gladiators–it was bad for business. He said part of the argumentative equation is we don’t hold people accountable any longer.
“People just move on from a situation,” he said. “All that matters is how loud you are. When Radio America syndicated me, they said it was important to change the conversation.” Benson said his show isn’t about being a one-trick pony. Instead, he shoots for a mix, say a goal of 75% politics, and 25% of what everybody else is talking about.
“We talk about the Johnny Depp trial, Roe vs. Wade. I have a super-young audience, and it really doesn’t skew hard right or left. I have a lot of independent listeners, so we don’t want to pigeonhole our content.”
When he’s not talking about Depp’s wife defecating in their marital bed or the Supreme Court leaks, Benson says he likes spending time with his family. But don’t invite him to a baseball game; it’s not going to happen.
“Baseball is so boring. Pitching changes, what shift is on. Who cares?”
Other than me and Alexander Doubleday, I can’t say.
Benson worked as a producer for Robert W. Morgan in the latter years of the legends’ career. Morgan was a legendary broadcaster who paved the way for Don Imus and virtually everyone else that followed.
“Imus even talked like Robert,” Benson said. “The last few years at KRTH with Robert W. weren’t always easy. He was a tough SOB. He wouldn’t last a day in today’s era of ‘wokeness’ or with any human resources department.”
Regardless, Benson said Morgan was brilliant. “He pushed us hard to prepare well for the show. There were three of us producers who watched local television for three hours every night to find things to address. After that, we scoured VHS tapes for a couple of hours and pulled things off for his use on the show.” The cuts would often consist of something stupid the mayor said, and they’d gauge the audience’s reaction.
“If the audience reacted well, we’d use it a couple of times an hour.”
I’d read a very salient message on one of Benson’s websites. He said we can still purchase Mein Kampf in bookstores, but not some Dr. Seuss selections.
“That’s the kind of weird world we live in,” Benson said. “This world of ‘wokeness.’ Part of the problem is we’ve allowed the extremes to dominate.”
He likened the state of things to a carnival ride. “You know those big swinging rides that go back and forth like a pendulum? Well, sometimes the sweet spot is right in the middle. We never seem to get that.”
Is he getting tired of the grind of two shows in a day? Hell no.
“I’m 51; I have an 11-year-old and a three-year-old,” Benson begins. “I drive an hour to the station and do some pre-production. After that, I do a show from 6-9. When I’m finished with that, I start prepping for my afternoon show.”
He says he still has time to watch Viking-themed shows on television, play with his lizards and get some new ink now and again.
Jim Cryns writes features for Barrett News Media. He has spent time in radio as a reporter for WTMJ, and has served as an author and former writer for the Milwaukee Brewers. To touch base or pick up a copy of his new book: Talk To Me – Profiles on News Talkers and Media Leaders From Top 50 Markets, log on to Amazon or shoot Jim an email at jimcryns3_zhd@indeedemail.com.
