Reid's staff scrutinizes talk show commentary

By Jane Ann Morrison
Review-Journal

      An ongoing conflict with a conservative think tank's scathing commentary is not the only dispute Sen. Harry Reid and his staff have had recently with conservatives on radio.
      The Democratic senator's staff is reviewing a tape of a show by former Reno talk show host Brian Maloney to see if anything slanderous was said, Reid spokeswoman Jenny Backus said.
      Some radio executives shrug the complaints off as another sign that because the senator is engaged in a close race with Rep. John Ensign, a Republican, his staff is paying closer attention to negative radio programs.
      Maloney, who recently left Reno conservative radio station KOH 780-AM for a job in Seattle, contends the complaints are an effort to stifle his free speech.
      In a recent interview, Maloney said he hosted a program that discussed a Wall Street Journal story about how Reid advocated a Del Webb Corp. land exchange in Clark County.
      The three-hour show aired on Jan. 16, and on the following Monday, Backus said she requested a copy of the show.
      "Whenever somebody wants a tape and suggests courses of action, that implies they are looking at legal action," Maloney said. "I really felt this was an attempt to stifle my free speech."
      While KOH management didn't tell him to back off, Maloney said he could tell they were concerned.
      Backus and Reid contend they have a legitimate right to complain if Maloney's comments were false. "I'm very happy he's left," Reid said.
      The senator said he didn't know if Maloney's program really hurt him politically because "he was so absurd."
      After Maloney was hired by the Seattle station, he said Reid staffers called KOH to find out about his departure.
      "I don't like the retaliatory tone of all of this. It seems vindictive," Maloney said. "I can't believe I'm reading a Wall Street Journal front page story on the air and I'm getting in hot water."
      Dan Mason, KOH program director said there may have been a little pressure applied by Reid's staff to have Maloney back off.
      He wasn't as upset about the issue as Maloney, figuring recent events are a sign that Reid is "engaged in a real election. That may make him pay a little more attention to the radio shows."
      Ensign and Reid both are frequent guests on talk radio shows across Nevada, where they can deliver their message directly.
      "Talk radio is like going to a town hall meeting," Ensign said. "You have to answer people who totally disagree with you. I get treated more positively than Harry does on talk radio."
      Reid said he enjoys appearing on talk radio but believes its power has "peaked out. It's not as big as it was a year or two ago."