Jay Severin

Jay Severin (also Jimmy Severino or Jay Severin III) is a radio talk show host who broadcasts his show from Sag Harbor, NY. He appears regularly on MSNBC as a political analyst and was a frequent guest on MSNBC's The Situation with Tucker Carlson.

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Jay Severin (WTKK Publicity Photo)

Severin, a former GOP political consultant, worked for the presidential campaigns of George H.W. Bush (1980) and Pat Buchanan (1996) before becoming a radio talk show host.

Severin is known as a libertarian on social and economic issues, and isolationist on international affairs, supporting Pat Buchanan’s ideology. Arguing that Republicans are less socialist than Democrats, he voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. However he has been criticizing the Bush’s policy on Iraq war vehemently for risking the lives of US troops unnecessarily after it was found that there was no weapons of mass destruction. (He was in favor of it before the status of WMDs was known.) His radio show has been criticized by Boston-area media, especially the Boston Globe , on numerous occasions for, in the Globe's opinion, his harsh comments towards minority and liberals. However, his on-air persona and choice of subjects made "Extreme Games" the highest rated radio talk show in New England.

In 2005, Severin was made a permanent contributor to MSNBC show The Situation with Tucker Carlson, but left the show due to displeasure over having to commute from Sag Harbor to the New Jersey-based MSNBC studio, especially since the show's initial ratings had been low.

In September of 2005, it was announced that Severin would be joining the Infinity Broadcasting Group with a new show called "Jay Severin has issues". The status of his show at WTKK, "Extreme Games", was left in doubt, although there was speculation in the press that he would return to the station with his new syndicated show.

On November 14, 2005, Michael Graham took over Severin's slot at WTKK; days later, any mention of Severin vanished from the WTKK web page. It is unknown at this time whether Severin will return to WTKK when his new show begins in January of 2006, or if another station, such as WBZ AM 1030, will pick him up. Infinity will produce the new "Jay Severin Has Issues" show and plans to put it on their owned properties.

Controversies

Severin's job is to produce an interesting, involving talk show that keeps listeners interested for hours. As a result, he speaks on many issues at length, processing them in the context of the day's events, and straying into a wide range of side topics. Because of this, he has made a number of statements that other media outlets have brought into question. In some cases, Severin has attacked these columns on air, and in others, he has ignored their comments.

Severin's style of talk radio on the show Extreme Games has generated controversy by means of blanket statements, inciting language, and name-calling. Severin has been quoted at various times by other media.

He declared that "youth, minorities, and the poor" should be denied the vote, as he claimed had no grasp on "reality." (Extreme Games, October 2004)
He called the former President Bill Clinton "traitor". (Boston Globe, December 8, 2004)
He labeled the US senator Ted Kennedy a "fat socialist pig". (Extreme Games, June, 2005)
He has called US senator Hillary Clinton "a lying bitch"; later, when challenged on the statement, he apologised for it as it was a "redundant statement". (Boston Globe, December 8, 2004)
He once said that former President "Bill Clinton should be executed”. (Extreme Games)
He said "we should drop a nuclear bomb on Iraq", instead of losing one US soldier. (Extreme Games, June 2005)
He said that Pope John Paul III "belonged in leg-irons" for allowing pedophile priests to remain in the church. (Extreme Games)

Severin vs. The Boston Globe

Much of Severin's in-print criticism has come via The Boston Globe, one of Boston's main daily newspapers. Several writers, most notably columnist Scot Lehigh, have attacked both specific remarks and general positions by Severin on-air. Severin often refers to the Boston Globe as "The Boston Globe Retractor" or "The Retractor", refering to frequent retractions the Boston Globe prints related to stories it has printed with errored facts. Whether the Boston Globe has specifically retracted any articles written about Severin are unknown, but the Globe did publish a correction of an article related to Severin on April 27, 2004.

Remarks regarding Muslims

There is some controversy over a number of statements Severin has made about Muslims, regarding terrorism, the Iraq War, and other related subjects. While statements such as "I have a solution. Let's kill all Muslins" have been attributed to him in the Boston Globe, Severin claims he never said those exact words.

On April 27, 2004, the Boston Globe printed the following correction:

Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in Sunday's City & Region section about WTKK-FM talk show host Jay Severin said that, according to the spokeswoman of an advocacy organization, Severin allegedly suggested the "United States should `kill all Muslims."' According to a tape of the show, a caller suggested the United States should befriend Muslims, and Severin responded: "You think we should befriend them; I think we should kill them."

Erroneous Pulitzer reference

On September 9, 2005, during a discussion of journalistic standards, Severin described himself as the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. "But since journalism began, and up until the time at least that I took my master's degree at Boston University -- and may I add without being obnoxious, up till and including the time that I received a Pulitzer Prize for my columns for excellence in online journalism from the Columbia School of Journalism, the highest possible award for writing on the Web --right up to and including that in 1998, you still had to practice journalism to be a journalist."

In fact, he was not a recipient of a Pulitzer Prize nor does it have a category for "online journalism." In an article on September 16, 2005, the Boston Globe reporter Scot Lehigh confirmed with Pulitzer Prize administrator Sig Gissler, that Severin had never received a Pulitzer. [1]

It was MSNBC.com that won an Online News Association award in 2000, which was administered by Columbia University, but completely unrelated to the Pulitzer Prize. Severin had a column that ran in MSNBC.com, but the award was given for the entire site.

Degrees and educational status

Severin graduated with Vassar College's first co-ed class. There is some controversy regarding his master's degree in Communication (Journalism) from Boston University. CN-8's Barry Nolan claims that Severin has never actually received his master's degree. Severin's agent has claimed that Severin merely "didn't pick up" his degree.

On-Air personality

While cultivating an on air image of a Boston area swinging single, Severin actually broadcasts the show from his home in Sag Harbor, New York, where he is married with children.

Trivia

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is a frequent guest on his radio show Extreme Games;
He is known for calling his audience the "Best and Brightest";
The scorching bumper music of Extreme Games comes from the song "Heavy" by alternative rock group Collective Soul.