Steve Gill (born November 15, 1956) is an American
conservative talk radio
Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
host based in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. He is a political commentator and radio host, and was the political editor of the website ''
The Tennessee Star
''The Tennessee Star'' is a conservative news and commentary website founded in 2017 and based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was cofounded by talk show host Steve Gill, and is part of a network of similar websites in multiple states.
''The Tennesse ...
'' prior to his August 2019 arrest.
Education
Gill attended the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
, where he received an undergraduate degree in
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
while in college and was a member of the 1977 Tennessee team that won the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
championship. As a student, he was also president of the student body, president of
Omicron Delta Kappa
Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in ...
, and student member of the university board of trustees. Gill was an adjunct faculty member at
Belmont University
Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
from 1991 to 2004, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in international business, business law, and negotiations.
Political career
In 1992 Gill was appointed to a
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
Fellowship by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
. During his fellowship year he served as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Trade Representative in the
Executive Office of the President
The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenci ...
under both the Bush and Clinton Administrations.
In 1994 and 1996 Gill was the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Bart Gordon
Barton Jennings Gordon (born January 24, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. He was Chairman of t ...
, barely losing in 1994 and again in 1996, being outspent each election by over $1 million. One of the statements used against him during the campaigns was in response to a push to increase the minimum wage. Video was shown in which he noted the logistical and economic problems with a national minimum wage setting payments in both New York City and rural Tennessee, "Five dollars an hour goes a lot farther down here."
Gill was the morning host on 99.7 FM
WWTN
WWTN (99.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station serving the Nashville, Tennessee media market. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and is marketed as SuperTalk 99.7 WTN (the first W is eliminated for simplicity). WWTN operates at 100,000 w ...
, leaving the air on June 30, 2006. On July 31, 2006, Nashville radio station
WLAC
WLAC (1510 AM) – branded ''Talkradio 98.3 & 1510'' – is a commercial talk radio radio station licensed to serve Nashville, Tennessee. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station covers the Nashville metropolitan area. The WLAC studios are located i ...
1510 AM announced Gill's return to the station, with a program to air Saturday mornings on WLAC and a number of other stations in the state of Tennessee starting August 12, 2006. Since 2009, Radio America has handled syndication. WLAC also announced plans to begin airing a weekday morning show hosted by Gill on October 2, 2006. Gill began his talk radio career on WLAC.
Starting January 1, 2010, Steve Gill's flagship station, WLAC, underwent a major lineup change to take advantage of the increasingly popular nationally syndicated shows of
Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
and
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and rad ...
. Mr. Beck, whose show previously occupied the 5PM–8PM (tape delayed) timeslot was moved to Gill's 8AM–11AM slot. Gill moved into the 5AM–8AM morning drive slot and in 2011 the station dropped an hour of Beck and added an additional hour for the Gill Show from 8–9 am. Gill's show aired live in Nashville Monday – Friday from 5–9 am CST. The Steve Gill Show also aired live Monday–Friday on 87.7 fm/1210 am WMPS "The Point" in Memphis, WJZM 1400 am in Clarksville, and WHUB 1400 am in Cookeville. Mark Levin now occupied Beck's old 5PM–8PM slot and was live.
''The Steve Gill Show'' ended in 2013. Gill returned to the air in 2018 on
WETR
WETR (760 AM broadcasting, AM) is a daytime-only talk radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Because it shares the same frequency with WJR in Detroit, Michigan, WETR-AM operates during the daytimer, daytime hours only. WETR's FM translator 92.3 ...
Knoxville with a 30 minute show, ''The Gill Report''.
Gill is the owner of ''
The Tennessee Star
''The Tennessee Star'' is a conservative news and commentary website founded in 2017 and based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was cofounded by talk show host Steve Gill, and is part of a network of similar websites in multiple states.
''The Tennesse ...
'', a conservative news website covering the state. ''The Tennessee Star'' is part of The Star News Digital Media network which includes: '' The Ohio Star'', '' The Minnesota Sun'', '' The Michigan Star'', and ''
Battleground State News
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
''. The use of "Sun" in Minnesota may be to avoid confusion and legal problems with the ''
Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'', the largest paper in the state.
Thus, Gill's Tennessee child support and legal troubles were quickly shared in the battle-ground states by CityPages.com under the headline ''Minnesota Sun editor Steve Gill jailed for blowing off $170K in child support''.
He interviewed many
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
figures on his shows, including
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
and
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
. Other guests have included former Presidents
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
and
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
, former Secretaries of State
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
and
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
, numerous Senators, Members of Congress, Governors and Cabinet officials. Actors and entertainers like
Charlie Daniels
Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The Dev ...
,
John Rich
John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...
,
Trace Adkins
Trace may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995
* ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993
* Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band
* ''The Trace'' (album)
Other uses in arts and entertainment
* ''Trace'' ...
,
Brad Paisley
Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...
,
Lou Diamond Phillips
Louis Diamond Phillips ( born Upchurch; February 17, 1962) is a Filipino-American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For ''Stand and Deliver'' (198 ...
,
Kyle Chandler
Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut in a 1988 television film, '' Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story'', Chandler's first regular television role was in the ABC drama '' Hom ...
,
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an American actress best known for her portrayals of Lois Lane on the television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1997); Paris Carver in the ''James Bond'' film ''Tomor ...
,
Janine Turner
Janine Turner (born Janine Loraine Gauntt; December 6, 1962) is an American actress best known for her roles as Maggie O'Connell in the television series ''Northern Exposure'', as Jessie Deighan in the feature film ''Cliffhanger'', and as Katie ...
,
Fred Thompson
Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Tennessee f ...
,
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...
, and
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...
had also made appearances on the show.
His book about the potential presidential campaign of Fred Thompson, ''The Fred Factor: How Fred Thompson May Change the Face of the '08 Election,'' () was released on May 25, 2007.
In 2000 and 2001 Gill was instrumental in leading an effective protest against a state
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
. At his urging, anti-tax protesters deluged legislators with phone calls and e-mails, and circled the state capitol building in cars and trucks, continually honking their horns.
Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to control ...
recognized Gill with a "Hero of the Taxpayers" award for these actions. However, there also was criticism for the tactics used, which resulted in broken windows and other damage at the capitol, requiring state police to barricade and patrol the capitol to protect legislators, and led to several legislators being taken from the capitol building by ambulance to be hospitalized for cardiac problems.Antitax Protest Succeeds in Tennessee July 13, 2001
Personal life
Gill lives in
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.Tennessee Tax Revolt