10 Questions with ... Rick Ungar

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Lawyer; Television writer & producer; President, New World Television Domestic; President, Marvel Character Group; Political Opinion writer at Forbes; Talk show host, “Steele & Ungar”

1. Your career trajectory is, to put it mildly, unique: Hollywood and Marvel to political commentary at Forbes and, the part we're focusing on here, radio. What led to a) making politics the main element of your career, and b) doing a radio show?

At the beginning of my career -- when I was still a young pup -- my interests were in show business and politics. I determined that if I followed the show business route, and things went well, I would be able to afford following my interest in politics down the road. I was fortunate, and that is precisely how it played out.

As for radio, it was always a key interest once I got on the political commentary path. While I enjoy writing political commentary and find doing television to be great for improving one’s recognizability, only radio provides the opportunity for real, meaningful dialogue and a deeper dive on issues -- and I absolutely love that. Radio is also the only medium that really allows me to connect with the audience. Radio also forces one to really know the subject matter. On TV, you only have to speak for about two minutes and that does not require a whole lot of knowledge. On radio, you have a lot of time to fill and you better provide the listener with something of real value in the way of facts, analysis and entertainment or they won’t be a listener for long.

2. You and Michael do a radio show that is definitely not like the stereotypical political talk radio show -- you call it "rational radio," but it's really reasonable discussion with multiple viewpoints covered. It works for you, but do you see this kind of discussion making headway when practically everything else in the media is hopelessly polarized? Can civil discourse gain a foothold when pro wrestling-style conflict is the dominant form of political debate?

I not only believe the format is making headway, I am absolutely convinced that there is more than enough of a potential audience for this type of radio to make Rational Radio a highly profitable format in every market. I think our show is proving that people have been waiting for this and want this. So far as I am concerned, it is only a matter of time until “Rational Radio” becomes a multiple daypart radio format that will capture the attention of radio programmers- terrestrial, satellite or by any other means of delivery-everywhere.

Here is the difference between what much of talk radio is today and what it can be: the obligation of anyone speaking to an audience via radio is to entertain that audience. That is what that “pro wrestling style” angry radio you mention is doing -- providing entertainment but very little in the way of true information and/or insight. Our goal is very simple. We recognize the importance of entertaining our listeners first and foremost. But we want to do it in a way that makes the listener very smart on the political issues of the day. The purpose is to produce two results: First, I want you to have a good and satisfying time when listening to the show. Second, when you attend a party this weekend, be it a beer bash with your buddies or a fancy soiree at the country club, I want you to be the smartest person in the room when the discussion turns to politics. And I truly could not care less if your opinions agree with what I have to say, or you go more towards Michael’s side of the political divide. I just want the others with whom you politically engage to want to know how and why you know so much about the political issues and I want the answer to be because you listen to “Steele & Ungar.”

3. In a similar vein, you appear on Newsmax and you've done Fox; what are the benefits and pitfalls of being a liberal on networks that are anything but liberal? Can you do that without being set up as a punching bag for the conservatives?

I get far more enjoyment being the ‘fish out of water’ on TV than I get when I’m sitting at a table just agreeing with everyone. That is why I gravitate to conservative TV networks when I do TV. As for being the punching bag, clearly this is why a liberal is initially invited on to these conservative programs. However, I figured out the trick early on -- know more about both sides of the argument than anyone you may find yourself debating on the air. For me, massive preparation has always been the key. Once you can look at someone on the other side of the table and say that there is an argument for their point of view, but they are making the wrong one, and then you make their argument for them, the punching bag thing vanishes very quickly. The tone also changes when conservatives on these programs figure out that just because I may disagree with some of their politics, that doesn’t mean I have some sort of ill feelings towards them personally. I was the liberal cast member for a number of years on “Forbes on Fox”. By the time I left, my admiration for the brainpower of my conservative castmates had grown dramatically, and I believe they would say the same about their feelings towards me. I believe that means we likely made some good television.

4. The Trump administration has, of course, generated topics to talk about on the radio at an insane pace, and social media has amplified many of those to the point where everyone is talking about what might be a minor issue, only to have it supplanted an hour later with a new "did you hear" topic. How do you sift through the avalanche of what CNN would label BREAKING NEWS to settle on topics for the radio show? How do you and Michael decide what makes the grade and what's noise? And what's your show prep routine?

Great question. It actually isn’t that difficult to ‘sift’ through the endless, breathless stories of the moment if stories are picked by what we perceive to be the stories of actual importance to the listener rather than the titillation value. I’m not suggesting we never talk about some of these crazy Trump stories. We do. We recognize that listeners are anxious to voice their opinions on these Twitter tales and we don’t want to deny them the opportunity to do so. At the end of the day, for us, it is all about balance.

For me, the system involves waking up early in the morning and spending about three hours reading everything I can get my hands on to find stories that are really interesting but may not be getting covered by other programs. Certainly, we are going to lead off with whatever the ‘big’ story of the day might be. However, I’m convinced that the secret to a great program is presenting stories that people didn’t know they were going to be interested in but, after they hear it, will find themselves passing the story along to their friends and family. Let’s face it -- people love to know something of interest when they get to be the one to pass it along to others. Our production meeting happens at 9:30 am (6:30am for our producer Beowulf Rochlen who lives on the West Coast), when we determine our topics and discuss potential guests. Needless to say, segment plans do change throughout the day, as stories break right up to the moment we begin the show at 6:00 pm.

As for prep, for me, it is pretty much an all-day adventure. As I noted earlier, I am a freak for massive preparation. If I don’t know more than just about anyone on a topic we are discussing, why should you be listening to me? Go listen to someone who knows the topic better. I don’t want that to happen so I do prep big-time. The good news is that it isn’t a chore for me. I really like doing it.

5. It's still early, but it's prediction time, and we're not going to hold you to any of this, but just for entertainment purposes only: Will the Democrats regain Congress, the Senate, both, or neither in 2018? And do you think that the Democrats are yet doing what they need to do to win that battle?

My best guess, subject to all the conditions that will allow me to cover my butt when I turn out wrong, is that the Democrats will take the House or get very close to it. I don’t think the Democrats will be as successful in the Senate in 2018, but watch out for 2020 when the Senate Republicans have a huge number of seats up for grabs. As for whether or not the Dems are doing what they need to in order to win the battle: in a word, no. It’s a long discussion, but I don’t think the Democrats have done the heavy lifting of preparing alternatives to the policies of the Administration and Congressional Republicans they are so quick to criticize. Now, I don’t blame them for criticizing; I do blame them for being too lazy to put together real, well thought out (wouldn’t that be novel?) alternative policies. If the Dems fail to retake the House, this will be the reason why.

6. Who have been your inspirations, mentors, and/or influences?

Inspiration comes from a desire to be better at what I do-no matter what that may be- than anyone else. Because it is pretty much guaranteed that I will always fall short (there is always going to be someone who is better at “it”), this is 24/7 inspiration. And, if I’m being perfectly honest, for much of my career I was inspired to apply whatever skills and/or talents I might have to make as much money as I could -- but always while having fun doing it.

As for mentors, I have to say this has not been a large part of my career path. When you are a lawyer who decides one day to give it up to create cartoon characters and write scripts for tv, nobody is going to be all that interested in mentoring you until they know who you are. By then, you really don’t need a ton of mentoring. Same thing with radio. There are people who were willing to give me a chance, for which I am eternally grateful, but there wasn’t a lot of mentoring going on. Those who could have filled the role may have, for completely understandable reasons, thought they could do better in taking on a protégé! I kind of had to feel my way on my own.

As for influences in radio, the answer might surprise you. I have long studied the techniques of various people on the radio. As I was often a guest on Sean Hannity’s radio program, I loved to watch and listen to how Sean does his show. While we may not politically agree on much of anything, I love his style of broadcast and learned a great deal from him on how to transition into a live read commercial and how to deliver it in a way that is entertaining.

7. Of what are you most proud?

My grandchildren.

8. Having worked on many Marvel animated projects (this is where we mention "Biker Mice from Mars," because that's beyond cool), let's ask about the non-animated side: What's been your favorite of the Marvel live-action movies?

Needless to say, “Biker Mice From Mars” remains my favorite animated project because it was a silly idea that completely changed my life. That doesn’t happen by accident. I have never worked as hard nor expended as much energy as I did to bring Biker Mice to reality.

As for the Marvel live action movies, the first X-Men film remains my favorite, followed by “Iron-Man” I and II.

9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _______________.

…coffee… lots and lots of coffee.

10. What's the most valuable lesson you've learned so far in your career?

First, do what you love and the money is very likely to follow. I know it sounds like one of those things old people tell young people, but I absolutely believe it to be true. Second, go to law school! Even if you never intend to practice law a day in your life, learning how to think in the way you are trained to think in law school is absolutely invaluable. It made me a far better creative writer, provided the analytical skills that I hope made me a good political analyst, and definitely aided me in being able to communicate in a way that allows me to make complicated subjects far more easy to understand.