Talk Show Host

For conservative radio talk-show hosts, the power shift in Congress is not necessarily a cause for gloom. In fact, some of the hosts say, the new Democratic majority presents them with a golden opportunity. "It probably gives talk radio another two years of things to talk about," said Frank Luber, co-host of The Sean and Frank Show in the mornings on Baltimore's WCBM. The station broadcasts shows by several conservative commentators, including Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, who was widely criticized recently for his mimicry of Michael J. Fox's ads in support of Democratic candidates' backing stem-cell research.

Long before daytime television was filled with estranged spouses hurling insults in mock courtrooms, pop doctors handing out sex advice and shock shows with topics like "My girlfriend is a transvestite and I didn't even know it!" millions of people tuned into The Mike Douglas Show. There they were entertained by Mike Douglas, an easygoing former big-band crooner who for 90 minutes every weekday deftly mixed song and dance, helpful hints and a surprising dose of current events -- all with a patina of civility that has all but disappeared from television.

TAMPA, Fla. - The former Baltimore police commissioner who once made six figures is seeking $8-an-hour jobs, and he's not having much luck. "What am I going to do?" asks Edward T. Norris. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Nobody wants to hire me." He has applied at five or six health clubs, he says, and a handful of retail stores. Each time, he checks the box that says he has been convicted of a crime. All he has landed is a part-time gig at a store, the name of which he won't disclose.

WBAL-AM talk-radio host Chip Franklin, who frequently comments on state government - and whose show often provides a friendly forum for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. - has been paid more than $30,000 in the past three years to appear in commercials for the Maryland Lottery. Franklin, who hosts a morning show with about 130,000 listeners a week, receives a $1,500 payment each time he tapes a television commercial for scratch-off lottery tickets in an arrangement that predates Ehrlich's election.

ELLICOTT CITY resident Sherry Healy said she always loved listening to talk radio. Now she has her own show. Cosmopolitan People, owned and hosted by Healy, debuted on WCBM 680 AM in October. The show's co-host, Donna Clementoni, lives in Columbia's Town Center. The show is a magazine format, Healy said, with different topics each week. "I want each show to be unpredictable," said Healy, 43. Her listeners have heard topics ranging from suggestions on holiday gift buying to the personal story of a Marine who fought in Iraq.

If it truly is more blessed to give than to receive, there must be a special place in heaven for TV hosts. First in line at the Pearly Gates? Has to be Oprah Winfrey, who presented Pontiacs to an entire studio audience earlier this season and then handed out $15,000 worth of her "Favorite Things" to a screaming, sobbing mob of teachers. Next is Ellen DeGeneres, who raised more than $450,000 for hunger-relief organization America's Second Harvest in her recent "Thanks-for-Giving" fund-raising drive, then followed up with "12 Days of Giveaways," rewarding audiences with such trinkets as digital cameras.

What do swimming pigs and pregnant cows have in common with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity? Possibly not that much - but all will be on hand at this year's Maryland State Fair. This year's schedule promises a clutch of quirky and surprising events - most tied to agriculture but others rooted in popular culture. "In the traditional fair, you think about games and rides and food," said Andy Cashman, a fair organizer. "I think people come and expect to see some neat and different ideas."

Former WBFF sports television anchor Steve Davis will take over as WBAL Radio's sports talk host Monday, replacing Steve Melewski, who quit in September over a scheduling conflict. Davis, 38, worked at WBFF from 1994 to 2002 before departing for WUSA-TV in Washington. His radio show will air nightly from 6 to 9, and he'll host additional specials. Like Melewski, Davis will be host of the Orioles' pre- and post-game shows. "Opportunities rarely come along to host a sports talk show on a marquee radio station," Davis said yesterday, "and to go from doing sports for three minutes a day on television to three hours a day on the radio is just a great opportunity."

Conservative talk show superstar Rush Limbaugh, a longtime lightning rod for controversy, found the voltage turned way up yesterday as he responded to separate furors involving his alleged abuse of addictive painkillers and his remarks about a black quarterback on an ESPN show. A law enforcement source confirmed that Limbaugh has been implicated in a drug-ring investigation but said the radio and TV personality is not a principal target of the Florida probe, which is focusing on drug dealers and which has led to several arrests.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - If you somehow missed the hundreds of waving flags and the signs that read "Ditzy Chicks" and "Deport the Anti-War Protesters," you couldn't escape it once Bob Durgin started talking. You knew you were in talk radio country. "I want to send a message to the war protesters," the talk show host told a cheering crowd of thousands on the steps of the state Capitol yesterday. "I'm not going to call them un-American ..." "Un-American!" someone yelled for him. "Traitors!" shouted another.