Ed Schultz - Dead at 64

[FORD]

inforum.com
Ed Schultz, local and national broadcast personality, has died
Forum staff reports



FARGO – Longtime broadcaster Ed Schultz has died.

Sources tell WDAY-TV News in Fargo that Schultz died of natural causes in Washington, D.C. He was 64.

Schultz, a local and national radio and television personality, got his start as a sports broadcaster for Fargo-Moorhead television stations in the early 1980s, including time as sports director at WDAY-TV. He eventually moved to talk radio, including WDAY radio, dominating the local airwaves as a conservative firebrand in the 1990s.

However, he later said his views changed and he became a Democrat.

In 2004, Schultz took his radio show nationwide. Then in 2009, he moved to national television, becoming a prime-time progressive voice on MSNBC.

Schultz parted ways with MSNBC in 2015, starting his job at RT America, formerly called Russia Today, in early 2016.

“I’m back in prime time at 8 o’clock where I belong,” Schultz said at the time.

Schultz hosted a half-hour broadcast called “News With Ed Schultz.” The most recent episode of his program was available on the RT website on July 2.

Schultz was happy for the opportunity at the time.

“This is a great career opportunity. It’s an international news organization that functions on all continents. It’s something that I have never had the opportunity to do, and that’s anchor a nightly news program,” he said.

RT America, based in Washington, D.C., is part of the RT network, a global multilingual television network that runs cable and satellite channels and Internet content. It is based in Moscow and funded by the Russian government. RT says the English-language channel has more than 700 million viewers worldwide.

Schultz, who was critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin while at MSNBC, said when he took the RT job that he didn’t anticipate any problems with his new employer. “Nobody is going to tell Ed Schultz what to say,” he said in a 2016 interview with The Forum.

The Forum reached out to RT to confirm the circumstances of Schultz’s death and for any statement they may have on his passing, but did not immediately receive a response Thursday, July 5.

Schultz’s “The Ed Show” was dropped from MSNBC’s daytime lineup along with two other programs in July 2015. The move ended the tenure of one of MSNBC’s longest-serving hosts. Schultz had been on the air since 2009. He was a prime-time fixture on the network from 2011 to 2013.

“I could have retired. That’s not Ed Schultz; I’m not ready to do that. I got a lot of tire left. I have a lot of desire. This gives me a chance to do something that I haven’t had an opportunity to do in my career,” Schultz said in 2016.

Schultz is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, where as a football quarterback he was named an All-American.

[FORD]

Ed drove me crazy when he flip-flopped early on with Chimpy's wars and later with the Keystone Death Pipe, but for the most part he was on the side of the working class issues, and was the only MSNBC host who ever treated Bernie Sanders fairly - which has a lot to do with why & when MSNBComcast fucked him over. Only saw his RT show a couple of times, but it was more of a straight evening news program compared to the MSNBC show, or what he did on the radio.

64 is a bit too young these days. Ed always talked about how he liked to get away from the big city environment he worked in, and spend a few days in his cabin up north with a fishing pole. Claims he did it for his health. Maybe he needed a few more fishing trips.... and omega 3 oils.

[Nitro Express]

Ed drove me crazy when he flip-flopped early on with Chimpy's wars and later with the Keystone Death Pipe, but for the most part he was on the side of the working class issues, and was the only MSNBC host who ever treated Bernie Sanders fairly - which has a lot to do with why & when MSNBComcast fucked him over. Only saw his RT show a couple of times, but it was more of a straight evening news program compared to the MSNBC show, or what he did on the radio.

64 is a bit too young these days. Ed always talked about how he liked to get away from the big city environment he worked in, and spend a few days in his cabin up north with a fishing pole. Claims he did it for his health. Maybe he needed a few more fishing trips.... and omega 3 oils.

Ed came up here on vacation a few years ago. I know a guy he hired to be a fly fishing guide. He said Ed was a nice guy actually. Yeah, Ed seemed like old school Minnesota Democrat which basically meant he believed in the average worker to be paid a living wage. He wasn't the MSNBC robot so he got canned and ended up on RT as a result.

[FORD]

[Nickdfresh]

Sorry to hear this...

[Nitro Express]

About six corporations own all the US media companies. That includes local which of course newspapers and local radio are dead mediums anyways. This fact was actually celebrated at the Council of Foreign relations where David Rockefeller said it took 40 years but they finally accomplished their goal. It was the end of journalism and the beginning of a corporate propaganda machine. Because Ed Schultz got kicked out of that system that alone made me respect the guy even if we didn't see eye to eye on some political issues. Ed never had the best ratings but again that just decides how much jingle you make and not your integrity. Well I hope Ed is getting the big reward for having just that. Integrity.

[FORD]

Ed Schultz was a passionate defender of American workers and strongly supported trade policies that work for all, not just large corporations. For many years his voice has been strong, steady & against forces of corporate greed. Ed was a friend of mine and will be sorely missed.
- Senator Bernie Sanders
July 5, 2018