One of the pioneers of liberal talk radio has passed away. Lynn Samuels did it the hard way, blazing a trail on WABC New York, where she operated among a slate of conservative voices including the king of them all, Rush Limbaugh – the two reportedly even used the same chair and mic.
Samuels was currently broadcasting on Sirius XM – employees at the satellite service initiated the discovery of Samuel’s passing, in fact, when they alerted authorities that she had failed to show up for a schedule airshift.
According to the New York Times, Samuels was an outspoken proponent of progressive views, and used her time on air to defend real people such as Bill Clinton and fictional ones as well, notably including Teletubby Tinky Winky when attacked by Rev. Jerry Falwell, all while mixing in stories of her personal life.
The date of Samuels’ passing was 12/24/11. She was 69.
Sirius-XM stated, “Veteran broadcaster Richard Bey, a longtime friend and colleague of Samuels, is filling as guest host of the show December 27-29 while Bennett is on vacation. On Tuesday, they will join forces—with Bey continuing to serve as guest host and Bennett returning from vacation for one day to join him in studio—to salute Samuels’ life, ideas and legendary broadcasting career, throughout which she spoke without a filter and with honesty, humor and passion.
