Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson will launch a one-hour Sunday morning radio show on Clear Channel stations in six major U.S. cities in April that will cover cultural, political and religious issues, Clear Channel said Wednesday.
The program, “Keep Hope Alive with the Rev. Jesse Jackson,” marks the first time Jackson has hosted a radio talk show, and will feature interviews with leaders as well as call-in questions from audiences, Clear Channel said in a statement.
“We will discuss the central issues — local, national and international — of our time,” Jackson said. “We will offer information, inspiration, direction and many points of view.
The announcement comes on the same day that a liberal radio network is being launched on U.S. radio waves, joining talk radio stations nationwide dominated by conservative hosts. The network, Air America, is anchored by comedian Al Franken.
Jackson has long been a leading advocate of liberal causes in the United States. He was an aide to Dr. Martin Luther King and has been a Democratic candidate for U.S. president.
His Clear Channel show, airing at 8 a.m. eastern time, will originate from Chicago on WGCI-AM, and can be heard initially in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Norfolk, Virginia.
Clear Channel said the show will be launched in more markets throughout the year, and the company may syndicate it nationally depending on listener response.
Clear Channel Communications Inc., based in in San Antonio, Texas, is the No. 1 operator of radio stations in the United States with more than 1,200 nationwide.