Beyond the Beltway
Genrepolitical talk
Running time2 hours
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home stationWIND
TV adaptationsBeyond the Beltway (Total Living Network)
Created byBruce DuMont
Directed byFritz Golman
Original release1980 (1980)
Websitewww.beyondthebeltway.com

Beyond the Beltway is a nationally syndicated radio political talk show based in Chicago that debuted on WBEZ 91.5 FM on June 26, 1980, as Inside Politics.[1] It airs on Sundays on approximately 25 terrestrial radio stations as well as online at beyondthebeltway.com and on the show's YouTube channel[2] and Facebook page.[3] In February 2015, Beyond the Beltway was removed from the lineup of Chicago's 50,000-watt WLS 890 AM, the show's flagship station since November 1992, and picked up by WCGO 1590 AM, a 10,000-watt station based out of Evanston, Illinois.[4] In July 2021, WIND 560 AM, a 5,000-watt station headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, became the show's newest flagship station (although Beltway doesn't air until 10 PM CST on WIND despite being recorded live four hours earlier) after WCGO dropped Beltway from its schedule.[5][6] On October 30, 2022, host Bruce DuMont announced that he was taking an "indefinite hiatus" from the show due to health issues; longtime guests Jeanne Ives and Eric Kohn took over as Beltway's new hosts in November.[7][8] DuMont returned three and a half months later, on February 19, 2023.[9]

The show was videotaped live at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, which DuMont founded in 1987, until 2020, when its base of operations moved to WCGO's studio (and DuMont's residence after he contracted COVID-19 in the fall of 2020),[10] then WIND's studio in July 2021, and is shown at 1 AM Central on Monday nights on Total Living Network in the Chicago area;[11] the televised version of Beltway was also broadcast in a half-hour format on WYCC, Chicago's secondary PBS station, on Sunday nights from 1996[12] until the station went off the air in 2017,[13] and a one-hour version aired at various times throughout the week on CN100 in the Chicago area until early 2022.[14] (In October 2010, DuMont temporarily changed the title of the televised version to Inside Politics, which had been the radio show's title for its first 14 years on the air.)[15] Beyond the Beltway made headlines in March 2012 when DuMont challenged Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum for criticizing President Obama's stance on prosecuting child pornographers.[16][17][18]

Beltway began airing on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (POTUS Channel 124) in September 2007.[19] On November 29, 2018, DuMont launched a GoFundMe campaign "to purchase satellite radio services" for the show; he set a goal of $8,000 and eight months later had raised more than $3,100.[20] Then in December 2019 DuMont changed the goal to $10,000; by October of the following year, he had raised $8,700.[20] However, in December 2020 media blogger Robert Feder reported that DuMont had "signed a new satellite distribution deal with Salem Radio Network, effective January 3."[10][21]

References

  1. ^ Feder, Robert (June 25, 2020). "Bruce DuMont celebrates 'phenomenal' 40 years for 'Beyond the Beltway'". Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont". YouTube. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont". Facebook. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  4. ^ Feder, Robert (February 22, 2015). "WLS drops DuMont's 'Beltway' show". Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont". Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont. Retrieved 13 July 2021. The national radio program is produced every Sunday night from 6 to 8pm (CT) at the studios of WIND 560 "The Answer" in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
  6. ^ Feder, Robert (July 28, 2021). "Robservations: WIND moves Sean Hannity off new afternoon lineup". Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  7. ^ Kapos, Shia (November 1, 2022). "Pritzker's challenge to Bailey". Politico. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  8. ^ Kaufmann, Justin (November 7, 2022). "Trail mix: DuMont steps away, more headlines as Election Day looms". Axios. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont 2/19/23". Vimeo. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b Feder, Robert (December 17, 2020). "Robservations: WGN Radio names Steve Alexander to succeed Orion Samuelson". Archived from the original on 2020-12-17. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  11. ^ "Download This Month's Program Guide". TLN. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Meet Bruce DuMont". BeyondtheBeltway.com. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  13. ^ Feder, Robert (September 25, 2017). "Robservations: WYCC gets reprieve to November 24". RobertFeder.com. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Schedule". CN100.tv. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  15. ^ Feder, Robert (4 October 2010). "Bruce DuMont revives 'Inside Politics' as TV talk show". WBEZ Radio. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  16. ^ Burns, Alexander (March 19, 2012). "Santorum gets the Paterno question". Politico. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  17. ^ Foley, Elise (March 19, 2012). "Rick Santorum Calls Joe Paterno Question 'Insulting'". The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  18. ^ Reeve, Elspeth (March 19, 2012). "Santorum Giving Up on Suburbanites, Moderates, People Creeped Out by Penn State". The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  19. ^ "XM Radio To Launch 2008 Presidential Election Channel 'P.O.T.U.S. '08' On September 24". September 19, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "We have re-launched the 2019 GO FUND ME campaign to finish off the year of shows. Please help. Bruce". Facebook.com. August 6, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  21. ^ "Beyond the Beltway w/ Bruce DuMont". Salem Radio Network. Salem Radio Network & Salem Media Group. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

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