William H. Press (born April 8, 1940) is an American

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. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

host, podcaster, liberal

pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

and author. He was chairman of the

California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento. With 43.5% of the state's registered voters as of 2018, the Democratic Party has the highest number of ...

from 1993 to 1996, and is a senior political contributor on CNN. He hosts ''The Bill Press Pod'' podcast, and his weekly column is syndicated by Tribune Content Agency.

Education

Born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

, and raised in

Delaware City, Delaware Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2010 census. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the Forts Ferry Cros ...

, Press was educated at

Salesianum School Salesianum School is a Catholic independent school for boys located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is run independently within the Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The current enrollment is about 930 s ...

, a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

secondary school in Wilmington, in 1958, followed by

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. App ...

from which he gained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in Philosophy, and the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisi ...

in which he gained a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacre ...

degree.

Life and career

Press is a long-time resident of

Inverness, California Inverness is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in western Marin County, California, United States. It is located on the southwest shore of Tomales Bay northwest of Point Reyes Station and about by road northwest of Sa ...

, having moved there in 1970. He resides in Washington, DC. Press started his broadcasting career in Los Angeles for TV stations

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...

and KCOP-TV. He has worked as a political commentator for CNN and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

. He is best known for co-hosting CNN's '' Spin Room'' opposite

Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016. Carlson began ...

, and ''

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

'' and MSNBC's ''

Buchanan and Press ''Buchanan & Press'' is an American debate show on MSNBC pairing former ''Crossfire'' hosts conservative Pat Buchanan and liberal Bill Press. The show was cancelled due to both hosts' opposition to the 2003 Iraq War.Bloom, Jordan (June 6, 2012Whe ...

''. Since May 2005, Press has been a contributing blogger at ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. He also contributes blogs to ''

The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. In January 2012, Press filled in for

Keith Olbermann Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer. Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and ...

Current TV Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a smal ...

's coverage of the

2012 Florida Republican primary The 2012 Florida Republican presidential primary was held on January 31, 2012. Fifty delegates were at stake, none of them RNC (or super) delegates; it is unclear whether these delegates will be allocated proportionally or winner-take-all. Orig ...

In politics

Press was the chairman of the

from 1993 to 1996. He previously served in different appointed positions such as a

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

Peter Behr (1971–73), and as director of the California Office of Planning and Research under Democratic Governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

(1975–79).

Radio talk show

Since September 2005, Press has been hosting a daily liberal talk radio program, ''The Bill Press Show''. It is heard on satellite radio, streamed live from the show's website, and available from the show's YouTube channel. It was formerly broadcast on terrestrial radio affiliates in the United States live from 6-9 AM ET. Originally syndicated by

Jones Radio Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...

, the radio show was syndicated by

Dial Global Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company ...

until 2017. On March 5, 2012, the show was announced to be simulcast on

alongside '' The Stephanie Miller Show'' as part of morning programming. As a result of Current TV becoming ''

Al Jazeera America Al Jazeera America was an American pay television news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, and in certain markets RT America. It was Al Jaze ...

'', ''The Bill Press Show'' moved to

Free Speech TV Free Speech TV (FSTV) is an American progressive news and opinion network. It was launched in 1995 and is owned and operated by Public Communicators Incorporated, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 1974. Distributed princ ...

, where it stayed until its move to The Young Turks Network in 2016. As part of the move to the Turks, terrestrial syndication of the program was dropped in January 2017 (except for WCPT-AM Chicago).

Religion

Press was steeped in Catholicism from an early age. He was an altar boy and took vows of obedience, poverty and chastity. He describes his young self as a "soldier in God's army".

Works

* ''Eyewitness : A California Perspective'', 1988. * ''Spin This: All the Ways We Don't Tell the Truth'', with a foreword by

Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show '' Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar ...

, 2002. * ''Bush Must Go!- The Top Ten Reasons Why George Bush Doesn't Deserve a Second Term'', 2004. * ''How The Republicans Stole Christmas: The Republican Party's Declared Monopoly on Religion and What Democrats Can Do to Take it Back'', 2005. * ''How The Republicans Stole Religion: Why the Religious Right is Wrong about Faith & Politics and What We Can Do to Make it Right'', Doubleday, 2005. * ''Trainwreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too Soon)'', Wiley, 2008. * * * * *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Bill 1940 births Living people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Roman Catholics American bloggers American columnists American male non-fiction writers American political commentators American political writers American talk radio hosts California Democratic Party chairs California Democrats HuffPost writers and columnists Journalists from Washington, D.C. MSNBC people Niagara University alumni People from Delaware City, Delaware People from Inverness, California University of Fribourg alumni Writers from Wilmington, Delaware The Young Turks people Catholics from Delaware Catholics from California Liberalism in the United States Salesianum School alumni 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers