Mark Belling (born July 4, 1956) is an American former conservative talk radio host for 1130 WISN in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He is also a local newspaper columnist, former television host, and was a frequent guest host for

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

in the early 2000s. Belling retired from radio at the end of 2024 and has agreed to launch a semiweekly podcast on WISN parent company's iHeartRadio network in 2025. A native of Wisconsin's Fox Valley, Belling is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.

Radio

Belling has been with WISN and its various parent companies since March 1989. Before joining WISN he was news and program director of WTDY in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, where he began his

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

career. Belling also served as a radio news director in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

; St. Joseph, Michigan;

Benton Harbor, Michigan Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County, Michigan, Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 2 ...

; and

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

. From 1989 to 2024 Belling hosted a three-hour weekday radio program, ''The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show''. He discussed a wide variety of topics on his program, including sports, music, Milwaukee area politics, Wisconsin politics, and national issues. Being right wing politically, he has been known to frequently criticize local and national Republicans for straying from conservative principles. He has been criticized for his anti-Semitic statements and derogatory sexist language but remained popular among local conservative groups.

Other media

In addition to his daily three-hour radio program, Belling was a guest-host for

's national radio program. When doing so, WISN usually broadcast this program twice rather than have someone fill in for Belling. Belling writes a weekly

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

column for the '' Waukesha Freeman''. It usually covers local politics or scandals but occasionally remarks on national headlines and even sports. Belling previously hosted a Sunday-morning television panel, ''Belling and Company'', on WISN-TV (Channel 12) until 2000 when it moved to WDJT (Channel 58). The television program was discontinued in 2007, reportedly due to editorial conflicts between Belling and the management of WDJT owner Weigel Broadcasting.

Awards

Belling is a 2001 Marconi award recipient for best medium-market radio personality. In 2001, Belling was named one of the Top 100 Heavy Talkers—the most influential radio talkers in America—by Talkers Magazine, an industry publication.

Personal

Belling is involved with horse race ownership and has co-owned several over the years including 1997 Kentucky Derby entrant Captain Bodgit and 2012 Kentucky Derby entrant Went The Day Well.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belling, Mark 1956 births Living people People from Kaukauna, Wisconsin American political commentators American political writers American male non-fiction writers American talk radio hosts University of Wisconsin–La Crosse alumni