Mary Walter is an American radio show host, political commentator, and voiceover artist.
Early
Mary Walter was born and raised in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. She graduated from
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...
with a degree in communications.
Career
Walter got her start in radio after winning a contest. She was listening to
WKXW
WKXW (101.5 FM, "New Jersey 101.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Trenton, New Jersey. It is owned by Townsquare Media. Its studios and offices are located in Ewing and its broadcast tower, which is shared with WPRB, is l ...
(NJ 101.5) out of
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.
After collecting unemployment for "a couple of months", Walter was hired to host the morning show on
WCTC
WCTC (1450 AM broadcasting, AM "Fox Sports New Jersey") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station broadcasting a sports radio radio format, format. city of license, Licensed to New Brunswick, New Jersey, the station serves Middlesex Coun ...
(1450 AM) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, which she did for four years as “Mary in the Morning” — the first female anchor of a morning show in the state. She then joined a "short-lived" syndicated show. When WKXW sold, the new owners asked her to return as host of the relationship show. Walter did both shows for "a couple of months" until she "finally got tired of working for the syndicated show for free."
Walter was back at WKXW for five more years until they fired her again. From 2008 to 2014 she was a commentator on the Fox News Channel (television), and from 2006 she has guest hosted on
Fox News Talk
Fox News Talk is a satellite radio channel that showcases talk shows and news reports from Fox News Channel personalities, along with other Fox News and talk programming. Fox News Talk carries a combination of Fox News syndicated radio programmin ...
(radio) for
Brian Kilmeade
Brian Kilmeade (born May 7, 1964) is an American television and radio presenter and political commentator for Fox News. On weekdays he co-hosts the morning show, ''Fox & Friends'', and he hosts the Fox News Radio program ''The Brian Kilmeade Sho ...
, John Gibson. and others. She is still guest hosting the Brian Kilmeade Show & the Guy Benson Show.
In 2013 Longport Media asked her to join their KOOL 98.3 team to redux her relationship show, this time rebranded as “Life! with Mary Walter”, which she hosted until June 2015. After guest hosting at WHAS for seven years, she applied for a full-time opening. They hired her as host of the “Mary Walter Show” on
iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. Kelly Carls, Director of AM Programming, iHeartMedia Louisville, commented: “We’ve had the pleasure of working with Mary as a fill-in host. She’s always prepared, keeps her finger on the pulse of the news, and does a great job connecting with our listeners. We’re delighted she’ll be offering her unique perspectives every day.”
WMAL-FM
WMAL-FM (105.9 MHz) – branded 105.9 FM WMAL – is a radio station licensed to Woodbridge, Virginia, serving the Washington, D.C. Metro area. WMAL-FM airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. The station's stud ...
named Walter as the new co-host of its “Mornings on the Mall” in February 2017. She joined incumbent host
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
after Larry O'Connor moved from mornings to afternoons at the beginning of the year. Walter said of the move:
Walter and co-host Vince Coglianese are known for their interviews with prominent figures in the news. Walter's favorites have been
Carson Kressley
Carson Kressley (born November 11, 1969) is an American television personality, actor, and designer. Beginning in 2003, he appeared in the Bravo series ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. He was also the motivational host of the TV show ''How to ...
and
John Edward
John Edward McGee Jr. (born October 19, 1969) is an American television personality, author and a self-proclaimed psychic medium.
After writing his first book on the subject in 1998, Edward became a well-known (and controversial) figure in the ...
"on the entertainment side". "The audience LOVED them both," she remembers. "I was shocked to find out that Carson is crazy smart — I'm talking Mensa smart! And John is just the nicest, most down to earth guy." Political favorites "would have to be either Dr.
Ben Carson
Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgeon and politician who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. A pioneer in the field of neurosurgery, he ...
or
Vice President Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
. Both men were just so kind and sincere; I could have spoken to both of those men for hours," she says. Her comments on illegal immigration have been noted by
Media Matters
Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Res ...
. She now says that former President Donald Trump is her favorite political interview.
Walter was "a little surprised" at the negative reaction the show received for having a regular woman co-host at first — after having guest-hosted on WMAL for years and always having got "a positive response from the audience".
She was a regular guest commentator on “
The Sean Hannity Show
''The Sean Hannity Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity. The program is broadcast live every weekday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The show is produced in the New York City studios of radio station WOR and is sometimes ...
” and “
America Live with Megyn Kelly
''America Live with Megyn Kelly'' was an American news program that aired on the Fox News Channel. The show aired from February 1, 2010, to late 2013, and was hosted by Megyn Kelly, former co-host of ''America's Newsroom''. It aired 1:003:00 PM E ...
.”, "Red Eye" and other shows on the Fox News Channel from 2008 - 2014.
Walter had "a brief stint" on
NewsMax TV
Newsmax TV is an American conservative television channel owned by Newsmax. The network primarily focuses on opinion-based talk shows. It carries a news/talk format throughout the day and night, with documentaries and films on weekends. During a ...
in 2014 and is now back on the Channel as a regular commentator on the Chris Salcedo Show, the Wendy Bell Show and the Sean Spicer Show.
She also provides voice over services for a variety of clients.
Walter left the "Mornings on the Mall" co-hosting position on May 13, 2021 due to family considerations.
Awards, honors, and distinctions
Walter was a 2018, 2020 & 2022 Gracie Award Honoree for Breaking News Coverage Large/Major Market, Co-host (Talk/Personality) Large/Major – Morning adio – Localand Interview Feature in a Large/Major Market. Gracies are awarded by the
Alliance for Women in Media
The Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) is a nonprofit organization created by women in 1951 that works to support women in the media in the United States.
About
The mission of the organization is to "advance the impact of women in broadcasting a ...
Foundation to recognize and inspire women across the media industry.
In 2019 Walter helped WMAL-FM earn the honor of placing a trio of its show hosts in the Top 100 ''
TALKERS Magazine
''Talkers Magazine'' is a trade-industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media". In addition to radio, it also covers talk shows on broadcast and cable television, a ...
'' "Heavy Hundred" awards along with Vince Coglianese, Larry O’Connor, and Chris Plante. Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese were ranked 54th in The Talkers Magazine 2020 Heavy Hundred as a team broadcasting from WMAL-FM.