Michael Jackson & Michael Benner
(February 2, 2004) LARadio.com
“Friday's appearance by Radio Talk Show legend Michael Jackson on my Inner Vision show was a real hit!” enthused Michael Benner. “Management flipped out and gave us a second hour. Lots of KPFK people loved hearing Michael, and quite a few of his fans ended up listening to KPFK for the first time. It was a win-win all the way 'round.” Benner and Jackson go back to their days together on the La Cienega compound. Benner, a ten-year fixture at KLOS and KABC, would sit-in for Michael when he was on holiday.
Michael Jackson and Michael Benner at KPFK.
“Michael was amazing for a commercial radio talk host,” said Benner. “He didn't back off of anything I threw at him, whether it was WMD being an absurd lie from the beginning, the fact that the US under Ronald Reagan gave Saddam Hussein the deadly chemical gases he used and trained Osama bin Laden in terrorist tactics. There's been a lot of clamor to get Michael to do a show on KPFK. I can't comment on KPFK's position or Michael's for that matter, but if you did not hear the show, fortunately it's archived on my website.”
“Michael Benner was a gracious and hospitable host as always,” wrote Jackson in his journal that appears at his Web site. “The callers were not ditto-heads (Limbaugh-ese for one who listens to him and accepts his words and ideas as gospel). These were bright and thoughtful folk, most of whom sounded young and all of whom were intelligent in their reasoning, questioning and conversation."
“This is the way radio used to be before 'in your face' radio became the established norm. Most of the callers wanted to speak about the state of the country and the race for the White House. Most of those who made it to the air were somewhat hopeful that the Democrats would be able to bring about a change and oust Bush II. They appeared more pragmatic this time around, looking for the candidate who, whether he was their ideal choice or not, was most likely to give meaning to ABB — Anybody but Bush.”
Jackson made a comment about no commercials on public radio. “I generally don't enjoy hearing commercials, but a confession, I love presenting them; it's an integral part of my profession. On the other hand, it is possible to get so much more ‘stuff’ done when you haven't the 18 minutes of promos and commercials blaring forth right at a salient point in a conversation.”