Politics aside, I never understood how Larry King lasted as long as he did. He is a terrible interviewer, often missing the point, asking his guests thoroughly idiotic questions.
He skates by on his good looks...
Here’s the “secret” to Larry King’s success. He got a national talk show on Mutual Radio in the days before syndicated talk radio. His only competition was a few trucker shows on clear channel AM stations and local DJs. Politicians discovered that King never prepared for interviews and only lobbed softballs, so they were glad to go on his show. So, King filled a programming vacuum and became a success.
Flash forward to CNN in the mid-80s. The only cable news network—once again, no competition. King was able to attract an audience because the other cable outlets were airing sports, reruns or music videos. When you don’t have serious competition, it’s easy to be the King (pun intended).
Once CNN got some challengers, King’s audience imploded. He hung on for a few more years because the rest of CNN’s line-up was so low-rated, his numbers looked good in comparison. But eventually, when even MSNBC was beating him like a drum, CNN had to pull the plug.
One more note: after becoming a “star” on CNN, King gave up his Mutual show. But when Rush and others began to strike gold in talk radio, Larry decided to make a comeback, figuring he’d bury the competition. He returned in afternoon drive, competing against hosts like Sean Hannity. His last radio show lasted less than a year.