Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) already lost a contributing role on Fox News Channel due to his exploration of a run for the Republican presidential nomination. Now that an announcement of a run is imminent, Santorum’s relationship with Salem Radio Network is about to go by the boards.
Santorum is not on Salem’s list of network headliners, but according to reports, he’s been holding down Fridays for a talker who is on the list. Santorum has been providing guest host services for “Bill Bennett’s Morning in America.”
According to Salem’s website, the program is heard on 183 stations, and an article in Politico estimates it reaches some 3.5M listeners.
Santorum has announced that he will announce his plans on 6/6/11, and Salem exec Tom Tradup said that once Santorum makes his candidacy official, he will no longer be heard on Bennett’s program.
The guest hosting gig conveyed to Santorum from Michael Steele, who left to head the Republican National Committee. According to Politico, both Santorum and Salem were aware that Santorum’s potential candidacy could bring the relationship to an end.
