Vince Coglianese is fond of his audience in the D.C. area. “It’s an amazing demographic that runs the gamut. I have a ton of people with a tremendous amount of influence who listen to me,” he said.
Coglianese doesn’t take that audience for granted. He says some power-brokers might call in under a pseudonym when they are incited to react to a discussion.
“I get a lot of reactions in email as well. I’m often stopped on the street and given accolades about my show. “Sometimes, I wonder if they’re just pulling my leg or if they really do listen.”
Coglianese is the host of “The Vince Coglianese Show” on WMAL in Washington, D.C. He’s also the editorial director of The Daily Caller.
He has a very sobering presence both on the air and in front of the camera. “I hope I do,” Coglianese said. “I believe what I’m saying. I’m open to changing my mind if you can convince me.”
A Marine brat, Coglianese said his father was stationed in Beaufort, South Carolina, when he was born. The first of many destinations. “I think moving around a lot made me more nimble. I was able to adapt to new situations more easily,” he said.
“We were never able to plant deep roots anywhere; I was always navigating a new environment. It’s hard to develop connections when you’re always on the go.” Still, Coglianese has managed to secure a number of people he considers good friends.
“The nice thing about being there was everyone was a Marine Brat, used to short-term relationships.”
He met his wife Alison at DeSales University, where he graduated with a degree in Political Science. “DeSales is a small college, and you pretty much knew most of your class.”
A longtime talk radio fan, Vince’s first foray into the medium came as a high school senior. That’s when he joined a weekly panel show on “The Talk Station,” WTKF and WJNC, in Morehead City, N.C.
He also served as the sports anchor for a television program airing on Camp Lejeune, NC’s LCTV-10.
“That was in high school,” Coglianese said. “My dad was stationed at Camp Lejeune. The base had a television station, as simple as it was. It consisted of a news desk where a number of Marines in uniform delivered news about the base. Stories too.
“It wasn’t sophisticated, but they at least had a camera. I was fascinated by the medium and thought, ‘sure; I’ll try it. I guess they were impressed with my enthusiasm and willingness to get in front of a camera.”
Coglianese did sports one to three times a week, sometimes peppering his broadcast with a joke. He never told his classmates he was doing the sports gig. Other students who’d seen his broadcasts asked him about it. “Then I’d tell them I’d been doing it for a while. I just didn’t tell anyone about it and seem conceited. I just recorded my segments and went to school.”
News talk was something that struck Coglianese as something he would be interested in doing. I wasn’t sure what route that would be or if I could make a wage off it.
After graduating from DeSales University with a degree in political science, he worked at WTKF and WJNC.
“I did a program once a week which focused on high school topics. I sold some advertising for them.”
He met Alison because they both lived in the dorms at DeSales University. He minored in theology because he was interested in the area.
“I enjoyed my professors,” Coglianese said. “What was neat being at such a small institution were the clubs you wanted to be part of. I got involved in a business club, and we traveled the world. My girlfriend (wife) and I joined the campus newspaper. We redesigned it, rejuvenated the paper. Our mission was to give people a reason to pick up the free paper. We started including Sudoku in hopes someone liked to do it.”
After college, he and his current wife were still dating. Alison went home to Pennsylvania, and Coglianese went to North Carolina, both working their respective jobs.
Coglianese joined “The Talk Station” full-time as a host and station manager for the company’s Jacksonville, N.C. presence. While in North Carolina, he also served as the web editor for CarolinaCoastOnline.com.
“Alison and I saw each other about once a month,” Coglianese said.
“During that time frame, we decided we’d work our way through our careers. Whoever ended up with something more secure, something worth moving for, the other would join them.” Alison was working for the Morning Call in Allentown. Coglianese was working for the radio station.”
“I did a limited amount of reporting and was just feeling my way through. I wasn’t making any real money. I enjoyed the job but was living at home with my parents.”
Then came the internship opportunity at The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., primarily geared towards public policy.
“I didn’t want to move down to an internship,” Coglianese explained. “I was two years into my career. The optics of the move didn’t seem right. But, I figured I should ignore that instinct.”
Coglianese became a communications intern, among several others. “I was older, hungrier, and working my ass off. I was stretching the limit as to how many hours a week an intern could work.”
He said the whole staff at The Heritage Foundation knew he was looking for a real job as he wouldn’t shut up about it.
Fortunately for Coglianese, The Daily Caller was in need of an overnight editor. In 2010, Vince joined The Daily Caller as an editor, where he’s reported on and edited thousands of national news stories.
The Daily Caller is a news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel.
“I was interested in everything at The Daily Caller,” Coglianese said. “I would review stories, write great headlines, and sell content. I was always fine-tuning what I felt the site should be like. I was obsessed with content.”
He did well in his new position. So well, Tucker Carlson decided to move Cognalese to daytime.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much of an influence Tucker has had on me. Some see a caricature of him. Hardened demagogue. However, if you ask anyone who knows him, you’d hear how kind he is.”
At the same time, Coglianese was hosting a morning show at WMAL all through the Trump presidency, from 2017 until 2021.
“There were times where I didn’t know what Trump was going to do next,” Coglianese said. “I think the conversations around Trump were hyperbolic. Televisions made a great deal of money off Trump. CNN is trying to figure out what the future will be after making everything about Trump.”
Preparing for his morning show, Coglianese said he engaged in a lot of catch-ups. “I’d watch abbreviated sports events and awards shows, so I could comment on the topics with some knowledge. We looked for the drama overnight. Used Tivo to blast through the commercials. When I was driving to work, I’d scan the radio stations, the satellite stations, and the internet. I was always cramming.”
When Tucker Carlson moved on to his prime-time show on Fox, he asked Coglianese to be the editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller.
“To do this, he had to diminish his role at The Daily Caller. “I made up a title for myself. I named myself editorial editor. I work hand-in-hand with Geoffery Ingersoll. Try to keep the staff focused on issues.”
His morning show ran from 5-9, meaning he got up at 3:00 a.m. Had held a pre-show meeting at 4:00 a.m. and was on the air at 5:00 a.m. He said leaving morning radio was life-changing. Coglianese said there is no comparison as to which shift he prefers.
“The afternoon is way better. Now I don’t have to go to bed at the same time as my eight-year-old daughter. It’s an improvement. Now I can see her off to school in the morning. That’s invaluable to me.”
Coglianese said he lives with three women now; his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law. “You forget how brutish men can be. When we host a birthday party, invariably, one of the guests will be a boy. Before you know it, everything in the house becomes a projectile.”
Coglianese said he’d hosted two birthday parties for his daughter at an indoor trampoline establishment. “All the floors are covered with trampolines,” he said.
“The last two times, an hour into the jump session, the boys got bored. Then they’re talking, and a minute later, they’re tackling the girls. Wrestling. The girls were down to fight,” he joked.
The biological difference between the two shifts is huge. “Now I get a full night of sleep. I don’t have to nap in the middle of the day. I think more clearly.” The afternoon shift allows him time to breathe. The segments are longer, and he puts in a lot of research.
For his current show, prepping is still the name of the game. “Each morning, I prepare a morning roundup of content I find compelling and interesting. Then I disseminate that roundup to the staff, to premium subscribers, daily caller patriots.”
He simply doesn’t want to be blindsided by a topic of discussion or event. “It happens every so often, but I’m proud of the work I put in. I don’t want to merely ape popular talking points,” Coglianese said. “I think the more interesting route is to explore the facts, then make a judgment. I know there’s an audience for that. We’ve been doing that.”
He said WMAL is enjoying the best rating since the 80s, led by a devoted listening audience during the morning show. “I’ve been having the same good fortune in the afternoon,” Coglianese said. “I like to make people laugh, think. I don’t sugarcoat anything. You can do that while still maintaining your moral obligations.”
‘I didn’t expect to have this level of success. I’m humbled by it. Not many people are given the privilege to do something like this.”
There is one thing that throws him back.” I get thanks for ‘all I do,’ and I find that hard to understand,” Coglianese explained. “That’s a comment normally reserved for service members. I thank them for allowing me to keep my job.”
Mr. Coglianese, thanks for all you do.
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.
