Ed Schultz biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Radio host and political commentator Ed Schultz was born Edward Andrew Schultz on January 27, 1954, in Norfolk, Virginia. Schultz attended Minnesota State University at Moorhead, where he made all-American status as a quarterback in gridiron football. Initially headed for a career as an athlete, Schultz hoped to make it to the National Football League. Instead, he played as a free agent for the Oakland Raiders. In 1979 Schultz was accepted by the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Sportscaster

After he retired as an athlete, Schultz parlayed his experience in sports into a job in sports broadcasting. He took his first sportscasting gig for a local television station, KTHI-TV, in Fargo, North Dakota. In 1982, Schultz was also given the opportunity to provide play-by-play radio commentary of North Dakota State University football games. In 1988 Shultz added another local Fargo station, WDAY-TV, to his sportscasting resume.

Schultz left WDAY in 1996 to work at radio station KFGO, also in Fargo, which afforded him more regular opportunities to sportscast North Dakota State University’s football games. He left KFGO in 2003 in order to focus more of his time and attention on political commentating.

Political Commentator

Concurrent with his sportscasting career, which lasted until 2003, in the 1990s Schultz expanded his broadcasting repertoire to include political commentating on his own radio show. The show quickly hit No. 1 in its market. It remained in this slot for the next 10 years, despite the fact that Schultz’s political views changed radically—from conservative to progressive—during that time.

During the late 1990s, Schultz hosted shows remotely out of economically depressed American towns, exposing listeners to the struggles of rural America. In 2003, Schultz became the host of a syndicated radio talk program called The Ed Schultz Show, on the Jones Radio Networks. In 2009 he also took the role of TV host on MSNBC’s The Ed Show.

Schultz is an outspoken progressive political commentator, and his on-air remarks have at times stirred controversy. In 2011, Schultz was suspended from MSNBC for a week after calling conservative commentator Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut” for criticizing President Obama.

Books

In addition to expressing his political opinions on television and radio, Schultz has written two books outlining his progressive views. His first book, Straight from the Heartland, was published in 2004 and was cited for its astute predictions of America’s advancing progressive movement.