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Though he calls himself the “Bad Boy of Radio,” radio jock Michael Baisden is doing the world some good.
Armed with an aggressive, yet encouraging voice, Baisden has taken syndicated radio by storm with “The Michael Baisden Show” broadcast in over 50 markets nationwide since 2005, and this year, the host took his show to the small screen airwaves with his Saturday night TVone show “Baisden After Dark.”
Just about eight years earlier in 2000, Baisden was pitching a different television program called “Talk or Walk,” complementing his book “God’s Gift to Women.” At that time, he had no plans or ambitions to become a radio host, but those around him had a different plan. The program director and a marketing executive at a station in Greensboro, NC urged Baisden to take his comments to the mic.
“They let me on the show. I did it from my home in Miami at the time,” he said. “Then KISS FM [New York] had an opening on Sunday night between 9 and 10. So I was doing both those shows and then the opportunity to do the [long-form] show on KISS FM came and it’s been non-stop ever since. Interestingly, I really wasn’t looking to get into radio. I wanted to try it; to prove to myself that I could do it, and I started doing it and realized it was just a lot of fun.”
It must have been quite enjoyable at that since Baisden took the gig just for the challenge, experience, and exposure. At this point, his time on radio was without pay.
“I’m a brother from the Southside of Chicago, so I know all about the hustle. I decided that if I was going to be in it, I wanted to be the best at it. I put all my creative energies in it and all of my time. I sacrificed the money. Originally, I was losing money doing this. I was #1 in New York without a paycheck,” he admitted. “I knew that they were giving me a shot. I got on the air, I decided to move to New York to give my all to it and it worked out. From there, about a year later, I realized I couldn’t afford to do local radio at the money they were paying me.”
And at this point, Baisden certainly had the leverage, so the station went to ABC for more money to keep Baisden on, and the rest is history. Now he has one of the most popular radio talk shows, and a TV show growing in popularity.
Baisden’s show was originally subtitled “Love, Lost, & Lies,” as his topics initially ran the relationship gamut. But just as he has evolved, so has his show.
“That was the concept, originally. That was the title of my seminars,” he explained, “but now it is ‘The Michael Baisden Show.’ The idea was just to focus on relationships, but since we’ve moved so far beyond that, I’ve actually told ABC to stop using that subtitle because it really doesn’t apply anymore.”
Since, Baisden hasn’t done much writing. He admits he can only focus his creative energy into one project at a time, but that’s not entirely true. After all, he’s not just a radio host. In addition to his pursuit of TV time, Baisden has become something of an activist. It was his concern and campaign that brought worldwide attention to the controversy of the Jena 6 case.
“Sometimes when the call comes, you have the choice to step up and answer it or stay where you are, he said. “I’m a person that likes to evolve and I like to challenge myself. And regarding the Jena 6, I didn’t feel like there was much of an option. This had to be done, I didn’t think I could trust anyone else to do it, so I did it.’
Baisden explained that he located the story on his website’s “Hot News” section, where people can post on the message board.
“I saw it, I couldn’t believe the story, we started making phone calls, and from that day, September 4th, until the day of that march we were on the air everyday, every hour making sure that people did not ignore it.”
His assessment of the situation and the outcome of the campaign are very positive, and many attribute the community mobilization to Baisden and his radio show.
“I feel like we have a victory. We demonstrated that we can come together … and coming together is very important,’ he said. “The boys are not spending 20 years in prison – their charges have been lessened. And we’ve got our eye on the District Attorney still to this day to make sure he’s not going to continue to do this. And educating people about the law and making people understand the power that the District Attorney has.”
However, the event still has a bit of controversy following it. Some, including Glen Ford, a writer/newsman/activist, have been very critical of Baisden’s Jena 6 campaign. In his “Black Agenda Report” posted on seeingblack.com, Ford accused Baisden of “viciously slandering” James Rucker and his organization Color of Change that also initiated a fundraising campaign for the Jena 6 legal fund. Ford said that Baisden encouraged people to send money only to him to assist in the legal defense, implying that Color of Change was not contributing the money to the cause.
“I don’t even have any comment on it,” Baisden told EUR’s Lee Bailey of the accusations. “As far as we’re concerned it’s resolved. Like Rev. Al Sharpton said, ‘They only chase the guy who has the ball.’ So, I understand when you’re in front, you’re going to be a target. So, I have no problem with that. If they have any questions about our fundraising, all they need to do is make a phone call.”
Indeed, Baisden has moved on and explained that the show itself is moving on, growing and taking on other important issues of the day.
“We’re going to focus a lot of our attention on kids and families, which is where we know the problem really lies. That’s the most important thing for me right now – the kids,” he said. “I’ve realized through that experience that that is the one thing you can count on us coming together for 100% of the time – is our kids. There are so many more important things to focus on than things that are negative. And I’m overwhelmed with the opportunity we have with a national radio show to have an impact.’
For more on his syndicated radio show, his television show, the hot topics, or just for more on Michael Baisden himself, go to www.michailbaisden.com.
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