The Schilling Show featured in The Hook

Thanks to writer Lindsay Barnes and editor Hawes Spencer for publishing an excellent cover story on Rob Schilling, and his radio program, The Schilling Show, in the June 25, 2009 edition of The Hook. (Also, kudos to photographer Tom Daly for his professional contribution.)

The multi-page narrative chronicles Rob’s pre-political life in California, his subsequent move to Virginia in search of a more serene existence, and his political and talk radio ramble-tamble in the liberal mecca of Charlottesville.

Of course, no story about Rob Schilling would be complete without rabid political mouth-frothing from his former Charlottesville City Council nemesis, Blake “Je vomis la stupidité chaque fois que je parle” Caravati, and Lindsay Barnes obliges.

Here’s a small taste of the article:

Limbaugh, Hannity… Schilling? Is the former councilor the next radio talk star?

by Lindsay Barnes

On Friday, June 19, he opened his noon radio show by dubbing Congressman Tom Perriello (D-Ivy) “a boy doing a man’s job” and a “lapdog” of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). He decried the closure of the U.S. prison at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay “a disgrace,” and blasted City Hall for an alleged “attack on local media.”

And that’s just in the first segment.

To read such statements in black and white, it might seem that Rob Schilling is a stereotypical right-wing talk radio loudmouth. Yes, he is a pull-no-punches conservative, but the easy charm of his Schilling Show is that such lines are delivered with such calm that he sounds more like a courteous next-door neighbor than a microphone-equipped agitator.

But is the incendiary nature of such comments merely flying under a blanket of mild-mannered cloud cover?

Is Schilling, who broadcasts weekdays on WINA AM 1070, really any different from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage, the four top-rated radio talk shows of last year, according to trade publication Talkers Magazine?

For starters, the Charlottesville talker has actually held elected office. In 2002, Schilling won a seat on Charlottesville City Council as a Republican, the first non-Democrat to win a seat since 1986. For another, he sports none-too-conservative shoulder-length hair.

While the latter may not be evident to radio listeners, his mane would set him apart should he ever make the leap to television. He certainly didn’t look like any other conservative commentator on Fox News Channel when he was invited on the network’s Fox & Friends earlier this month.

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