Stephen King has proven that he knows how to scare his audience. Now the horror-genre author is hoping to rile them up.
King is introducing a left-leaning morning talk show on two radio stations broadcast out of his home state of Maine, and says he is hoping to “make some people a little bit angry” with the message he spreads.
“We’re a little to the left, but we’re right,” King said in a press conference this week. “We’re going to try to be informative. We’re going to be provocative. We’re going to be amusing, and we’re going to try to be a positive community force.”
The two stations, WZON 103.1 FM and 620 AM are both owned by the writer and his wife, who has sold over 350 million copies of his nearly 50 novels, which includes such popular titles as Carrie, The Shining and The Stand. A Frankenstein-modeled mascot is the official symbol for another station part of King’s Zone Corporation that operates the outlets, which also advertises itself under the slogan “Stephen King’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Station.”
King himself won’t be hosting the program, but he has put himself into the political limelight in the past. He has been an outspoken Democrat throughout his career and voiced support for US President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign. He has also gone on the record to voice opposition with the Tea Party and notable dubbed former Fox News commentator Glenn Beck “Satan’s mentally challenged younger brother” in a 2009 article published in Time.
Former Green Party vice presidential candidate Pat LaMarche and reporter Don Cookson will host The Pulse Morning show, which will start airing on weekday mornings next month. LaMarche said at this week’s press conference that she’ll use the show to combat right wingers that are attacking the state’s residents on welfare, noting that “There’s an awful lot of bullying going on out there right now [and] nothing is more fun than standing up to a bully.”
“There are some people who deserve to be taken to the woodshed from time to time,” added King.