Mark Foley’s second act
Should a Florida radio station give a platform to a disgraced former congressman?
What happened
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (R, Fla) -- who resigned in 2006 after it emerged he’d sent sexually explicit e-mails and text messages to underage male House pages -- is starting a new job: radio host. Foley’s politics-themed talk show will be heard on the AM dial starting Sept. 22, in his former Palm Beach congressional district. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Foley’s host station, WSVU AM, is exhibiting "a certain tone deafness" here, said Mark Howard in News Corpse. The show’s title, "Inside the Mind of Mark Foley," is tasteless and off-putting, but then again, so is the idea of giving voice to a "sexual predator."
I don’t get the outrage here, said Jason Zengerle in The New Republic. It’s not like Foley’s new "glorified deejay job" is going to make him a public official again. And besides, it’s not so uncommon for sex-scandal-tarred politicians to get media jobs -- "see Eliot Spitzer’s recent turn as a Slate columnist." Foley was never convicted, and he was punished by losing his House seat, so let him earn a living in peace.
WSVU is betting that people who tune in to hear its regular fare of Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, and Red Sox games, said Stephanie Condon in CBS News, will also want to know what’s going on in Mark Foley’s mind. But the station isn’t wagering much. Foley will work for free and bring along his own advertisers.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Smoking ban: the return of the nanny state?
Talking Point Starmer's plan to revive Sunak-era war on tobacco has struck an unsettling chord even with some non-smokers
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: September 7, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: September 7, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published