Broad cast
Stations, channels, and shows feature FreeCon hosts and ideas
How do you follow political news and policy debates?
For many of us, the written word remains the primary medium — whether we’re reading newspapers, magazines, online outlets, or social-media feeds. But audio and video content clearly reaches vast audiences and often determines what journalists and commentators write about.
Among the 250+ signatories of the Freedom Conservatism Statement of Principles are many regulars on television channels, radio shows, and podcasts.
Collectively, they reach millions of Americans with our message: that to ensure that America's best days are ahead, we must apply the timeless principles of liberty to the challenges of the 21st century.
Here are some profiles of FreeCons who host, co-host, or produce such content.
Robust discourse
Alyssa Farah Griffin is a CNN commentator and co-host of the ABC program The View.
She formerly served as White House communications director under President Donald Trump, as press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, and as the press secretary for the Department of Defense.
A FreeCon signatory, Griffin also worked on Capitol Hill — serving as the communications director for the House Freedom Caucus under Chairman Jim Jordan and Chairman Mark Meadows — and as an associate producer on The Laura Ingraham Show.
One issue she’s often opined about is education. “More and more states are embracing school choice,” Griffin said. “Education is the great equalizer. With access to it, every child, no matter their background, race, zip code, etc has access to opportunity.”
Griffin also stresses the importance of constructive engagement. “We must stop seeing those we disagree with in politics as ‘the enemy,’” she said. “A robust political discourse is the cornerstone of a free society. That means talking to people who think differently, respecting people with different viewpoints.”
Producing credit
Another FreeCon signatory is Scott Immergut, executive producer of the shows Uncommon Knowledge, hosted by Peter Robinson (pictured above), and Good Fellows, featuring economist John Cochrane, historian Niall Ferguson, and former national security advisor H.R. McMaster.
A former vice president for content at Ricochet and associate editor at Premiere magazine, Immergut has also worked in film and TV production for Disney and Hollywood Pictures, contributing to such projects as Fly Away Home, Father of the Bride, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Encino Man, Freaky Friday, and Escape to Witch Mountain.
Hopeful view
Paul Johnson is the host of The Optimistic American podcast. Its goal is to create space in the news media for a positive and hopeful view of America.
“Optimistic news gets lost in the overwhelming stream of pessimistic ones,” he says. “The narrative of accomplishments remains trapped in works that are indigestible by today’s media consumption standards. We’re on a mission to change that.”
Johnson, a FreeCon signatory, has a significant background in business, politics and government. In 1990, at the age of 30, he became the youngest-ever mayor of Phoenix, Arizona. Johnson has managed several state campaigns for presidential candidates and is the CEO and co-founder of Redirect Health.
Locked in
Algenon Cash hosts Locked In, a show for North Carolina radio station WTOB that is also distributed as a videocast and podcast.
He co-founded Wharton Gladden & Company, a boutique investment banking firm. Its services include investment advice, capital placement, asset management, and private equity. A FreeCon signatory, Cash also serves on numerous boards, teaches at Winston-Salem State University, and directs the Black Empowerment Network and Triad Food & Beverage Coalition.
In a recent column, Cash called for “principled conservatives” to “speak out against the dangers of populism and reaffirm our commitment to the values that have made America great. We must reject the politics of fear and division and work together to build a more inclusive, prosperous, and just society.”
Little platoons
Andrew Cline is president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy and hosts the daily show Morning Update on New Hampshire radio station WFEA.
A FreeCon signatory, Cline spent 14 years as editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader and has written for more than 100 newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, The Boston Globe, USA Today, and National Review.
In addition to his think tank and media activities, Cline currently serves as chairman of New Hampshire’s State Board of Education.
“The purpose of the American project was to replace a system of courts and courtiers with a system of decentralized powers wielded disinterestedly by free and independent citizens,” Cline wrote in a recent column.
That doesn’t mean “every American is an island. Families, friends, communities, organizations — Burke’s little platoons — connect us and support us in critical ways. Independence means independence from government control or coercion.”
Pete Kaliner hosts the daily afternoon show on Charlotte’s news-talk station WBT. The Pete Kaliner Show is also available as a podcast.
A FreeCon signatory, Kaliner has worked in broadcasting and journalism for most of his life — from the high school newspaper, college paper and radio station, to more than a decade as a radio and TV reporter and then another decade as a radio host and podcaster.
“The erosion of membership in civic organizations” is a major problem in America, he said on a recent program. “I think it is largely due to the encroachment of government into the civil society.”