A Top Talker

Todd Feinburg – a veteran talk radio host both in national syndication and on Boston’s WRKO – has been named one of the nation’s best talk radio hosts by Talkers Magazine.

Boston [6-14-04] Talkers Magazine has named 1979 graduate Todd Feinburg to its list of the “100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America” for the third time in the last four years. The Todd Feinburg Show – described by Talkers as “timely, compelling issues talk achieving steady growth in [a] crowded weekend syndication market” – focuses on providing a fair portrayal of Middle East issues to its listeners.

“I’ve been to four countries in the Middle East, twice to Saudi Arabia,” Todd Feinburg told Radio-info.com in a recent interview. “Everything about the region in underreported. We know nothing but cliches and stereotypes.”

Feinburg, who has been a radio host since 1997, said that travel has allowed him to gain new insight into issues surrounding the Middle East that he explores on his talk show.

He also turns to numerous experts on the region to bring broad perspectives to his show – including political pundits like Alan Colmes, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists, academic experts and fellow talk show hosts from the Middle East.

The Tufts graduate says he tries to take a different approach to talk radio.

“Nationally, I read the papers in my biggest markets and try to take big local stories and make them into a national conversation,” Feinburg said in the interview. “Serves the affiliates well, and keeps things interesting for others.”

Both on and off the air, Feinburg is always up for a good debate.

“I like to get together with friends, have a nice meal and argue about current events,” said the three-time member of Talkers “Heavy Hundred” – which is compiled every year and recognizes the best 100 talk show hosts out of the 4,000 working across the country.

Feinburg got his start in radio at WMFO, Tufts’ freeform radio station. He took over the post of General Manager in 1977. Tragically, that same year, the station was lost in a fire.

Less than 24 hours after the smoke cleared, a makeshift studio was built. Feinburg spent the rest of the semester skipping classes and supervising the construction of the brand new WMFO studios.

The Tufts graduate never lost his passion for radio.

When asked "Why talk?" Feinburg said in the interview, “What else is there for a grown man to do?”