Westwood One news/talk radio host Dan Bongino is leaving the format — at least for now — to become the Deputy Director of the FBI in the Trump administration.
I’ve grown to appreciate the style in which The Dan Bongino Show host operates his show. And, to get right to the point, there are three things I hope other hosts take from the Westwood One host and apply to their own programs.
Passion
Dan Bongino is unabashedly passionate. About virtually everything he opines on. Which is good. Because if you’re discussing something that you’re indifferent about, your audience can tell.
But Bongino exudes passion in his topics. I think news/talk radio hosts — or people, in general, truthfully — can confuse “passion” with “anger.”
Bongino splits the difference perfectly. He isn’t always angry. Sure, there are times, maybe even more often than not, that he’s angered about a topic. But his program is exclusively built on anger and outrage. He speaks passionately about a variety of topics. Very rarely, if ever, does he talk about a topic simply because it’s what he believes the audience wants to hear.
Furthermore, the times he shares an opinion out of an obligation because that’s what the audience expects are few and far between. I’d call it almost the opposite of the attitude that Fox News famously had behind the scenes during the 2020 election when hosts shared that they had to feed the monster of an audience they built by sharing what they thought and knew were false outcomes about the election.
I don’t ever get that feeling with Dan Bongino. He’s unabashedly passionate about the topics and content of his show. I believe him when he shares his opinion. The same can’t be said for others in the format.
Authenticity
I’ve written about the need for authenticity before. It’s why — I believe — Joe Rogan has usurped Howard Stern as the King of All Media.
The digital world is full of fake. Everywhere you turn are influencers with filtered pictures, fake vacation pictures, and people saying things they don’t actually believe. It’s transparent when you see it, and it’s a massive turnoff.
So when you see authenticity — in Bongino’s case, unbridled authenticity — it is refreshing. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard him say something that I thought “He doesn’t really believe that.” I might even believe he truly thinks Patriot Mobile is a good product!
Kidding aside, the Westwood One host understands that authenticity is important. In fact, he believes it is one of the most important things a news/talk radio host can be. And he’s right.
Sure, it takes time to find your voice on the air. But once you do, you can only be yourself. Dan Bongino has only been himself, which is why his show reached hundreds of affiliates and why his podcast is routinely placing in the top five most-listened-to shows in the entire country.
Vulnerability
This is something men in general, not just news/talk radio hosts, struggle with. Dan Bongino is everything that an “alpha male” is supposed to be. Former NYPD officer and former Secret Service Agent a with buzz-cut hairstyle, he is a big muscular dude that looks like he’d kick your ass in a bar fight just for looking at him funny.
But Bongino, more than any other news/talk radio host, is vulnerable. Last year, I did a feature story on the Westwood One host. During our conversation, he opened up and shared that, more than anything, fear motivates. The fear that he’s going to fail or let someone down.
This wasn’t a therapy session. And I’m definitely not the guy to help in that department. But here was this conservative media titan opening up to me, sharing with me some of his deepest fears and insecurities using words like “terrified” and “deathly afraid.” I was struck by the conversation.
Subsequently, he went on his show the next day and admitted that the news cycle had worn him down. You could hear the depression in his voice. He took time to be retrospective on his feelings. He’s publicly shared how criticism of his show has affected him personally and how he struggled to learn to deal with the blowback from those who disagree with him. That’s vulnerability.
It’s about as foreign as news/talk radio could get. But, to me, that’s why Dan Bongino has been so successful in his podcast and media career with Westwood One. That ability to speak with unlimited candor, coupled with the vulnerability to admit that you’re affected by something is a way to build deep personal connections. And, as we all known, audio is the personal, intimate medium.
Dan Bongino has parlayed that vulnerability into news/talk radio stardom. I understand his decision to step away from the industry to go work at the FBI. On principle, he believes he is duty-bound to serve. The ability to become the Deputy Director of the FBI likely only presents itself one time. The chance to come back and do a nationally syndicated radio show or top performing podcast will always be there. And the qualities Dan Bongino utilized to get to the top will still be what listeners want when he’s someday ready to return.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
Counterpoint: Bongino represents the worst of the industry; a boorish lout who fosters anger with no redeemable entertainment value. People like him & Rogan inheriting the mantle from Stern & Limbaugh does not bode well for the current state of things.