Dr. Laura's Back

NEW YORK (AP) - "Talk-show host Laura Schlessinger won't stay away from radio very long - only a weekend, in fact.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (SIRI) said Monday it has a multiyear deal with Schlessinger to bring her "Dr. Laura" advice program to satellite radio in January. Specific terms were not revealed.

Schlessinger had said in August that she was quitting her syndicated radio program, a week after she apologized for using the N-word on the air 11 times while talking to a black woman, and activists demanded her ouster.

She ends her traditional radio program on Friday, Dec. 31. The following Monday, her "Dr. Laura" show will begin live at 2 p.m. on Sirius XM. It will air for three hours a day on Monday through Friday.

Schlessinger announced on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Aug. 17 that she was walking away from her radio show when her contract ended. The next day Sirius talk programming chief Jeremy Coleman called her to discuss a switch, she said.

"The first and most important thing that appealed to me was the freedom to speak my mind without advertisers and affiliates being attacked by activist groups that just love to censor anything they don't agree with," she said. "That just about made my heart and head explode."

The liberal watchdog Media Matters for America was a persistent critic. Its leadership didn't accept her apology and sought to encourage advertisers to drop her show. She was reading the Media Matters website when she decided, "that's it, I'm done with this," Schlessinger said.

In the radio incident that prompted her to quit, Schlessinger said to the woman involved, who was married to a white man, that "if you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race."

Schlessinger said she'll have some new segments on her show, including interviews with people about situations "that are relevant to the morals, values, principles and ethics that I nag about every day."

She said she's sure she'll say things that will offend someone..." Full text

Good for her--I'm glad she decided to return to radio. She's good for families!

Love her? Hate her? What are your thoughts on Dr. Laura Schlessinger? Do you listen to her?

Response to comment [from a Jew]:  "...[S]he comes across as a narcissistic, arrogant know-it-all. She can't take it when someone disagrees with her."

Sure she can.  People disagree with her all of the time.  She knows what she's talking about when it comes to family dynamics.  She reads people well. 

"...[H]er doctorate is in physiology, not psychology..."

What does that have to do with encouraging people to do right?

"Especially when she banks on her years as a family therapist (for which she is no longer licensed) to give authority to her advice and opinions."

She has more experience.  It makes her better not worse.  She is able to traverse around the usual excuses to get to the heart of an issue.    

"She clearly revels in shocking people..."

I don't think so.  She cares about people and helps where she can.  People don't always want to do the right thing (Jer 17:9).  

"...[S]he should be perfect for Sirius, where that other shock jock, Howard Stern, went when he became too controversial for advertisers."

Doing right can be controversial.  You're comparing her to Howard Stern?

Dr. Laura's Back