We’ve had a few stellar Santa Clauses in our day. Ed Asner in Elf was formidable. Edmund Gwenn in the original Miracle On 34th Street was a humdinger. However, just about every Christmas Mike Gallagher seems to set a new standard as the giving guy in the red suit.
Okay, Gallagher may not wear a red suit and sport a white beard, but he’s just as giving.
“I’m still bouncing off the walls over our show raising over 260 thousand dollars in December for the Prison Fellowship/Angel Tree Christmas campaign for children of prisoners,” Gallagher said. Whether it’s a mom or dad in prison, children of incarcerated parents unwrap joy each year with a gift that reminds them they are valued and loved.
“Years ago, my late wife Denise figured instead of just jawboning our way through life, we should do some good for people,” Gallagher explained. “She thought we should do something on a large scale for a bigger audience. Do something productive for a change.”
Gallagher credits Salem Media for the opportunity to dive in and help others. Gallagher said Denise was his whole world and took her advice to heart. He created a 501c3 for police officers and families–Gallagher’s Army: Fallen Officer Fund. “At Christmastime, I think it’s a cool tradition to help raise funds for kids.”
It has taken off beyond Gallagher’s wildest expectations.
“We’re able to send thousands of kids presents and a bible. This year we reached about 10,000 children with gifts and gospel from their incarcerated parents. Our audience connects with that and we’re so proud. Again, I’m grateful to work for a company that wants us to do good for each other.”
You can still donate throughout the year. Just go to the website and find the banner and click. Prisonfellowship.org.
“We have a summer camp and we partner with a number of charities,” Gallagher explained. “I have another foundation for police officers and their families. Gallagher’s Heroes offers assistance to families of officers killed in the line of duty. Fellow news talker Joey Hudson is the executive director.
“The officers and first responders are the heroes of our culture,” Gallagher said.
It’s not only helpful, Gallagher said it’s a nice diversion from politics and the daily butting of heads.
“It adds another dimension to our show.”
Gallagher said he’s been impressed with the giving nature of America this past week with the outpouring of love and support for Bills player Damar Hamlin. Shortly after his traumatic episode on the field, his charity for children’s toys raised nearly 6 million dollars. This was all on a GoFundMe page.
“I think this incident shows the giving spirit of America,” Gallagher said. “Too often we often hear how our country is on the decline, falling apart, how we agree on nothing. Situations like this show tremendous unity. All the players took a knee for one thing. Not for politics, not for race, but over concern for the young man. It was truly a beautiful thing to see. It’s amazing how he was only seeking to raise $2,500 for his cause and America responded.”
Gallagher said Americans are gracious and loving people. That’s why he gets so excited about his Christmas campaign. He believes Americans are good and decent.
“It’s a very sobering reminder of what we should be,” Gallagher explained. “I’ve been in radio for more than 40 years, and I’ve done my share of yelling into a microphone. Sometimes I get frustrated and mix it up with a caller. I’ve strongly disagreed and hung up on them on occasion. But I sometimes forget how far an act of kindness goes. In talk radio, we’re largely full of conflict. I know it pretty well. One of my goals of the new year is to be kinder.”
To access Gallagher’s show, you can visit his website at Mikeonline.com.
As a show host, Gallagher isn’t beyond recognizing his ego sometimes gets in the way of doing good. He said many in his seat feel they need to win every argument.
“I don’t feel that way,” he said. “I like to learn. I like the interactions. I could have six callers on hold and I want to take the one who doesn’t agree with me.
That pushes discussion. I have to remember I asked them to call. I don’t want to invite them into my living room and chew them out. I think that’s one of the biggest complaints about talk radio. I can get rambunctious, feisty, mix it up.”
Gallagher said most of his audience trusts him.
“I’m not always disagreeable with callers. There has to be a good mix. But I need to show restraint.”
Gallagher’s not the easiest guy to get in touch with. I had to reach out to Joey Hudson for help. Let me tell you, Joey Hudson is a fantastic guy.
“If I hear one more time how great Joey Hudson is,” Gallagher jokes. In fact, they’re the closest of friends.
“He’s Upstate in South Carolina, where I cut my teeth in radio in Greenville at WFBC, eventually becoming the station manager. I met Joey 30 years ago. We’ve developed a deep friendship and I visit him down there often. When my wife was ill, she summoned Joey into the room a week before she passed, telling him he needed to watch after me. He doesn’t know how to balance a checkbook.”
Gallagher said he works hard for Salem and his audience. “I have two goals; to provide a solid and compelling radio show on Salem and to hit my budget and numbers.”
Despite Denise telling Hudson her husband couldn’t balance a checkbook, Gallagher has proven that to be untrue. In fact, he’s fixated on the business side of radio. He said ratings will come and go but you have to deliver for your company and make sure you’re hitting the revenue budgets.
“Every morning starts with a spreadsheet,” Gallagher said. “I see what my show is billing, and I’m proud of that. I review my monthly goals, see where we have to improve. Ultimately it’s up to me to meet or exceed my budget.”
Gallagher spent two years with WGY in Albany, New York. Afterward, he was hired for a morning drive at WABC in New York City.
“It was while I was at ABC that my previous owner in Albany approached me about syndication,” Gallagher said.
In 1998, The Mike Gallagher Show was launched nationally with 12 radio stations. By 2011, Gallagher was the sixth most listened-to talk radio host in America with over four million weekly listeners.
“It was a dream scenario,” he said. “John Dame asked me what it would take to walk away from WABC and go national. To carve out my own destination.
I was a sweat equity owner. I scoped out the office space in the Empire State building as I believed that’s where our studio should be.”
Gallagher said he loves being able to tell his bosses at Salem he hit his budget for the month.
“I’ll get on the horn and ask where we’re missing. I think a lot of the talkers in our business don’t really care. They see themselves as artists and let the sellers do the selling. I’ve never believed in that. I’ll physically call people, get intimately involved with the business end.”
His involvement with the nuances of the business is what he calls the proverbial fuel that drives the engines.
“Without advertisers, we’re dead in the water,” Gallagher said. “We’re always looking to find new revenue dreams. The Salem news channel, social media. The pressure is enormous, but I thrive on that pressure. It’s satisfying. We’re a for-profit organization and Salem expects me to deliver, to do my part in that.”
Some radio talkers are actors. Gallagher is really an actor.
Last Christmas he played Daddy Warbucks in a production of Annie in South Carolina. He shaved his head and everything. No latex skullcap was good enough for Gallagher. His head went to the Full Monty.
It was a four-week run for Annie and he was constantly flying back and forth to New York. Three weeks into the run, the superhuman Gallagher proved to be human when he got Covid.
“The shows were sold out in Greenville and there was no immediate understudy,” Gallagher explained.
The show finally found someone who had played the role before, and he walked on.
“Here I’m at home in Tampa. It’s all decorated for Christmas, and I’ve got Covid,” Gallagher recalled. “All I had to keep me company was pity and streaming television. I binged on Yellowstone when it burst onto the scene.”
Gallagher also played Mr. Bumble in Oliver, the enforcer of the workhouse.
“I like acting, but I love what I do for my day job,” he said. “I also did A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the role Nathan Lane played.”
Gallagher was given a Tony Award as an investor in Pippin.
“For a theater geek like me, that is a special recognition.”
Gallagher said not a minute goes by where he doesn’t realize he’s been incredibly blessed.
“I’m always in a deep state of gratitude. Sure, there have been some rough bumps along the road. Loss, tragedy. But I’m blessed with kids, a granddaughter, and a career I love. My health is pretty good, and I have a comfortable lifestyle.”
Then he had some really unsolicited and kind things to say about Barrett News Media.
“It’s so cool to watch Barrett News Media grow,” Gallagher said. “Nobody is doing it the way you guys are. It’s fun to read the profiles, and I think they’re really needed. I know they’re deeply appreciated. You guys are carving out a site other publications and sites should be looking at. So many people are always trying to tear us down. Be overly critical. Barrett is fair but never panders. I know a lot of my colleagues are impressed with what you’re doing.”
We didn’t pay Gallagher to say that. Perhaps we should have.
He can essentially do his show from anywhere and spends a lot of time going back and forth between New York and Tampa. “New York essentially drove me out with taxes,” Gallagher said. “There’s no state income tax in Florida. It was wild to see how different both places were during the pandemic. In New York it was scary. Lots of shutdowns. In Tampa, it was more relaxed.”
As cliche as it sounds, Gallagher said he’s always prepping for his show.
“I’m prepping 24-7. I bring a laptop to bed with me, fire things off to my team. I get up at 6:40 am, go through all the websites, social media. There’s a double-edged sword to that. Sometimes I’m resistant to embrace everything we see on social media.”
His shows give people a lot of ways to connect.
“I get about 1,000 emails a day,” Gallagher said. “It’s a new world. It keeps you on your toes, keeps you fresh. Our business is rapidly evolving. Now there are cameras. Long gone are the days where I can sit in my boxers at home and do a show.”
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.
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