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Swimming With The Big Fish

Those fearing the ensuing generation of radio personalities won't have ambition, drive and determination might consider the accomplishments and downright gumption of Radio America's Ben Ferguson.

A graduating senior at Ole Miss, the Memphis native has done Talk radio since he was 13 and as he boasts, "It's all been on commercial stations. I never did public access - I wanted to be with the big fish."
Free Minded Thinker

Billed as the youngest nationally-syndicated talk show host, Ferguson has always been captivated with politics, but it wasn't a case of parental influence. "They never ran for public office or anything like that," he points out. "I look at things as being right or wrong. I'm a conservative, but when [President] Bush gave all the rights to illegal aliens, I blew a gasket. The whole point is that they're called `illegal.' They shouldn't have rights like [the ability] to get a driver's license."

Chastised for telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer that Mississippi GOP Senator Trent Lott should step down for making what many felt were blatantly racist comments at Senator Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday and retirement party, Ferguson says, "Lott graduated from Ole Miss and gets a lot of funding for the school. But if he's a true statesman, he should let someone else lead. The best part about doing what I do at such a young age is I don't have to worry about making friends in the business. All the people I could suck up to now won't be around if I need them. I don't have to hold a party line."

Right Choice?

Although espousing conservative beliefs, Ferguson hasn't been invited to a major Republican function. "Republicans don't like young people to take their thunder," he asserts. "If I wanted to have a successful career, I should've become a Democrat. They'll lift you up on a pedestal and put you out there as a poster child. Republicans don't invite me to speak at their youth leadership conferences or conventions. You'd think they'd want someone like me to come [to those events]."

Up For The Challenge

Approximately 60 stations carry Ferguson's two-hour (8-10pm, ET) Sunday night Radio America show. "People said no company would ever syndicate a program hosted by a 21-year old kid," remarks Ferguson. "[But] half of what drives my career is people telling me that I can't do something. No one thought CNN, FOX or MSNBC would put on a 17 year-old to talk about politics. I was definitely the youngest in history to ever do it as a regular commentator. It's fun to have people talk down to me. I just smile, [remain] respectful and keep doing what they say I can't."

Tag Team: Young Ben & The Black Avenger

Interest in the medium at such an early age originated because Ferguson felt no one was standing up for his contemporaries. "I started calling talk shows when there were issues [like the school lunch program] that I thought were important," he notes. "I called Ken Hamblin a few times and he [liked] me."
The Denver-based, conservative "Black Avenger" even dubbed Ferguson "Young Master Ben" and the two had on-air conversations every Thursday. "It just kind of [took off] from there," Ferguson remarks.
Appearances on Hamblin's syndicated show prompted a Memphis station to feature Ferguson as a guest. Those successful guest shots landed the 13-year old his first radio job, which he maintained for nine months. "It was fun, but when the person I was working with got a job with the Governor of Tennessee, the show was pretty much over."

Driving Ambition

The local media covered Ferguson's last show, but he wound up fielding calls from other Memphis stations.

Not old enough to drive, he relied on his parents to drop him off for interviews. Several other jobs came his way and by age 17, the enterprising lad was on the air at a commercial station three hours a day - five days a week.

But in hopes of landing an athletic scholarship, he quit his daily radio job to focus on his tennis game. "I played tennis my last year and a half in high school," he explains. "I kept doing radio interviews and [also appeared] on CNN, FOX, and MSNBC, talking about politics and youth issues."

Award Winner

As a high school senior, Ferguson entered Young America's Broadcaster Awards competition. Although impressed with his submission, officials informed him he was ineligible, because he wasn't in college. "I sent another tape my freshman year of college [and placed second]," Ferguson recounts. "That frustrated me. It was supposed to be unedited, [but the winner] edited the heck out of his tape. The next year, I sent in a darn good aircheck and won."

It was shortly after he was named "Young America's Broadcaster Of The Year" that Radio America learned about Ferguson. "They flew me to Washington, we negotiated for several months and came to terms," he notes. "I started the [nationally syndicated Radio America] show more than a year ago and began [on Memphis flagship WREC-AM] a little earlier."

Tough Schedule

A point can be made that Ferguson missed out on the fun associated with high school years, but he counters that he wouldn't have changed anything. "My mom used to be a teacher," he points out. "My parents were going to home-school my sister and me until the sixth or seventh grade. At that point, I was playing competitive tennis and had my radio show. There was no way I could go to `normal' school. I could stay home, get my homework done and still do my career.

But the headsets came off when Ferguson realized classes like biology, calculus and chemistry had to be taken in a typical school environment. "Working on the air three hours a day for five days a week is a lot for a kid," he understates. "That and the prep time will wear you out."
So he enrolled in a private school - Westminster Academy - for his junior year in high school. "I played varsity basketball and tennis my junior and senior years and got a college scholarship," he proudly declares. "I was able to experience radio and got good at it. I was also a solid tennis player and ended up playing at Ole Miss, where we were ranked Top Ten in the nation."

Latest Author

The "Black Avenger" & "Young Master Ben" pairing catch up with each other at conventions. "[Hamblin] has a pilot's license and I'm taking flying lessons," reports Ferguson, who inked a book deal in June 2003 with Harper Collins. "He's written two books and we also talked about that."
Slated to come out next month, Ferguson's "It's My America Too" will focus on politics and current events. "It will be in just about every bookstore in the country, so I'm excited about it," he remarks. "I'm looking forward to having it come out and then travel around the country and promote it."
But in order to write the book, Ferguson took a semester off from college. "It gets a little strenuous to manage classes, travel and write a book."

University Politics

Since he played college tennis for two years, Ferguson didn't have much time to devote to radio, but he stresses, "I know how good I got and am ready to get back into it. For me, it's all about time management. I wrote a book that's being published by a credible company, but the University wouldn't give me one hour of credit for it. I don't know if it's jealousy or animosity, but it's very frustrating. A college athlete can leave whenever they want and no one blinks an eye."

There were several other uphill battles the May grad (with dual majors of Print Journalism and Political Science) had to fight. "I didn't even have a scholarship for journalism from Ole Miss until my junior year, because I wasn't involved in student media on-campus. Finishing college was my biggest challenge. I knew I had to do it for the sake of my credibility."

In the interim, however, Ferguson made the approximately 90-minute drive each Sunday from Ole Miss to the WREC/Memphis studios.

The 45/45 Rule

Discussion about the political scene accounts for a significant amount of the show's content. Men tend to like the show and Ferguson offers, "They know I don't take garbage from anybody. In a sense, I'm a rebel with a cause. I almost always give people who disagree with me more time than people who agree with me. I'm truly fascinated with people's opinions."

Especially bothered when people use blanket statements of any kind, he states, "That's what would happen to me. People said I was too young to know what I was talking about. If someone gives up their night to listen to my show, I'll give them my respect and time on the air. Somebody who holds for 45 minutes deserves at least 45 seconds on the air; I owe it to them."

Guest-Free Environment

Something you'll hardly ever hear on Ferguson's show, though, is a guest. That purposeful philosophy is the result of previously garnered advice from a well-placed source. "Since I was 13, I've bugged the daylights out of Rush Limbaugh's right hand man, Kit Carson," Ferguson notes. "He once told me Rush is better than [other talk hosts] because people listen to hear what he has to say - not what guests say. People will turn you off if you don't have dynamic guests. [Carson said] that if I wanted to be a great talk show host, I'd have to be the reason people turn on the radio."

In previous years, Ferguson was able to make some phenomenal bookings, including former President Bill Clinton. "They were all curious who this kid was who was calling their press secretary. I was able to get just about anyone I wanted, but not too many people impress me any more. I've had to work hard and fight to learn how to carry two hours of a program without guests."

The transition of hosting a show that featured high-profile guests to one that's guest-free proved to be one of his biggest challenges. "That's when you find out if you have it - or don't," Ferguson maintains. "If you're not entertaining, people won't call and your ratings will go down. I don't even think about having guests. I don't like having them - it's more fun with just me and the callers."

Don't Sweat It

Over the last year, he's also learned not to use callers as a crutch. "You should be able to talk for the entire two hours, without having [anyone else] on the show," he remarks. "If you can do it, that will be a good show."

Listeners, he contends, can tell when a host is struggling. "The phone lines became jammed as soon as I stopped worrying about having callers. When I was younger, I was giving out the phone number too many times. That's when people don't call. I've had almost 10 years to figure this out."

In a candid career assessment, Ferguson says he's become clearer and more concise and has chosen his battles wisely. "I used to think you had to make everything exciting, but some stories just aren't that [interesting]," he explains. "The people who made the biggest influence on my career were the people who connected with me."

Clearly, Hamblin impacted and played a significant role on his career. But in more recent years, Ferguson has made a concerted attempt to avoid monitoring other Talk personalities. "I've never listened to [on-air talents like] Sean Hannity," Ferguson states. "People would tell me I was the next Rush Limbaugh. That's flattering, but I don't want to be the next Rush Limbaugh: I want to be the next Ben Ferguson. Why would I try to be Rush Limbaugh? I'd fail."

Ten-Year Flash-In-The Pan

Age, admittedly, was once his biggest asset, but Ferguson says it's also his worst enemy. "It opens doors and people notice you, but at the same time, [many] people don't listen to what you have to say," he comments. "They think I'm a flash in the pan and this whole thing is a gimmick. [If so], it's been a decade-old gimmick and it's still running. I've obviously proven myself with my ability. I want to be better than the guy who's 30 or 40 years old. But people are going to classify you as being a kid or a punk. People discouraged me and all it made me do was get better."

Watching TV

In addition to wanting to graduate his syndicated Sunday night show to weekdays, Ferguson also has his sights set on television. "I absolutely love TV," he exclaims. "Many radio talk show hosts try to switch over to television, [but very few] have made it. Many fail because they only want to become famous. I like television because it's a different avenue to get across my point of view."
There are times he gets to be on television four times a week and would enjoy being on a roundtable discussion-type show every night. "I'm not obsessed with it and think my time will come for that to happen," he declares. "If the opportunity arises, I'll be eager to take it. But I don't think I'll ever leave radio. Once it gets in your blood, it never goes away."

WHO: Ben Ferguson
WHAT: "The Ben Ferguson Show"
WHERE: Radio America
WHEN: Sunday 8 - 10pm (ET)
HOW MANY AFFILIATES: Approximately 60.