Talk show host loses spot and accusations fly

The canceling of a conservative radio show is being tied to Mike Lee and EnergySolutions, and Lee's opponent is pulling all advertising from the station because of it.

Talk show host Bob Lonsberry lost his 10-year-old KNRS morning show on Wednesday due to what his employer said was poor ratings.

"His audience numbers were going down," said station general manager Stu Stanek. He said listeners were also asking why the station was delaying Glenn Beck's show until after the drive time.

With Lonsberry's contract coming due in a few months, they decided to make changes, Stanek said.

But Lonsberry and a former Lee opponent say it's more nefarious than that. The radio host has previously shown support for Tim Bridgewater in the U.S. Senate race over Mike Lee, an Alpine attorney. One of Lee's clients was EnergySolutions, which advertises on KNRS.

"Of course, being suspicious is my stock-in-trade, and the timing of my termination and the stand I've been taking on the looming senatorial primary and the fact I've been opposing a candidate who made $600,000 from one of our largest advertisers last year, does make me wonder. Strings get pulled in the real world, and politics is hardball, and our program's effort helped tip the nominating convention, so it's not impossible that I lost my job in Salt Lake so that somebody else could get a job in Washington," Lonsberry wrote on his blog.

Bridgewater went so far as to pull his ads from the radio station on Thursday, with a spokeswoman calling the show's cancellation timing suspicious.

"The entire situation makes a lot of us in Utah scratch our heads. Just weeks ago, Bob Lonsberry was popular enough to pack more than 200 paying supporters to an event to celebrate his 10th year on the air," said Tiffany Gunnerson, Bridgewater for Senate spokeswoman.

"Now he is being asked to leave because he apparently he doesn't have the ratings or support they wanted. I don't believe that for a second."

EnergySolutions spokesman Mark Walker said the company played no role in the show's cancellation.

He also said that while the company has made a small ad buy, he wouldn't consider EnergySolutions a major advertiser on KNRS. The company's foundation has bought additional ads for a Going Green campaign. Lonsberry and EnergySolutions aren't strangers. He's had representatives on his show and has toured the EnergySolutions facility, as well.

"He has stated on his show that we're a good company, that we're a safe company." Walker said.

EnergySolutions is no longer a client of Lee, said deputy campaign manager Ryan McCoy, who also dismissed the claim that Lonsberry was cancelled because of EnergySolutions or Lee.

But one of Lee's former opponents thinks there's something to it. Cherilyn Eagar -- who has endorsed Tim Bridgewater -- wrote a lengthy post online decrying what she sees as EnergySolution's efforts to put a friendly politician in Congress to further aid them in securing radioactive waste for storage.

"Wanting a senator who can bring home the bacon also means that if you cross EnergySolutions and their puppeteering, it could very well cost you your job," she wrote.

"[Lonsberry] openly endorsed the other candidate in the race as a fighter who stood on principle. Not coincidentally, the No. 1 advertiser for KNRS, the station that fired him, is none other than ... you guessed it ... EnergySolutions. Also not coincidentally, EnergySolutions went to Tim Bridgewater earlier this week with a campaign contribution. Bridgewater rejected it. Bob lost his job within 2 days of his strong support for Bridgewater and Bridgewater's rejection of the EnergySolutions offer -- an offer that clearly has strings attached," she wrote.

The Bridgewater campaign confirmed they were approached by EnergySolutions about a campaign donation but turned it down.

"Our good friend and radio host Bob Lonsberry was fired yesterday from KNRS. Bob has been an ardent supporter of Tim Bridgewater on his show. What you may not know is Tim's opponent Mike Lee was the lead attorney for EnergySolutions in fighting to bring nuclear waste to Utah, and EnergySolutions is one of the biggest advertisers on KNRS. Is there a connection between the two? I'll let you decide. ... This message was paid for by Bridgewater for Senate."

From the article: The canceling of a conservative radio show is being tied to Mike Lee and EnergySolutions, and Lee's opponent is pulling all advertising from the station because of it.

So, a Utah senate battle: Bridgewater vs. Lee (both Lds).
A conservative talk show host (Bob Lonsberry) in the heart of conservative Utah is fired, post-endorsement to Bridgewater. The talk show host begins to wonder who with influence at the station may have prompted some string-pulling:

From the article: "I've been opposing a candidate who made $600,000 from one of our largest advertisers last year, does make me wonder. Strings get pulled in the real world, and politics is hardball, and our program's effort helped tip the nominating convention, so it's not impossible that I lost my job in Salt Lake so that somebody else could get a job in Washington," Lonsberry wrote on his blog.

So, this Lee client, EnergySolutions, is one of KNRS’ biggest advertisers. And Lonsberry is wondering if there’s a connection.

If there is, then ‘tis not surprising. It’s what I've referenced before when it comes to Utah power plays, sometimes drawing upon historical events occurring beyond Utah. They censor talk show hosts or other media outlets in displays raw power.

What’s more, Lee and his family were “discipled” spiritually by Harry Reid when Lee was young:

”Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was the Lee family's LDS home teacher in Washington, D.C., when Mike Lee was in sixth grade. They never talked politics during Reid's religious visits, Lee recalled, but dinners at the Reid house were another story.” Source: Mike Lee known for his Constitution knowledge, sense of humor

Even the Provo Herald Extra, which ran an article on Lee this week, mentioned:

It's not only Lee who has been accused of arrogance, but his campaign in general, chasing away people who might want to help…Videos have even cropped up on YouTube showing Lee morphing into LDS Church founder Joseph Smith, as well as the much-parodied clip from "Downfall" that includes a jab of Hitler-as-Lee belting out "The SENATE is my DIVINE DESTINY!" Source: Mike Lee keeps eye on Senate seat

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