Writer After his first year of law school, Medved left to work as a head speechwriter for diplomat
Joseph Duffey in his unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate, and then for four years as a speechwriter and
political consultant. After
political campaign work, including a position as an aide to Congressman
Ron Dellums, Medved worked in advertising, and coordinated a campaign to recruit more African Americans and Hispanics to the police departments of
San Francisco,
Oakland and
Berkeley.
Film reviewer As a film reviewer, Medved hosted a weekly spot on
CNN (1980–83) and a show on British
Channel 4 network,
The Worst of Hollywood. His commentary centered on what he considered bad movies, particularly in "The Golden Turkey Awards". The film selected by the Medved Brothers as The Worst Film of All Time,
Plan 9 from Outer Space, has become a
cult classic. In 1984, Medved joined
Sneak Previews, the weekly movie review show originated by
Gene Siskel and
Roger Ebert, co-hosting it for 12 years with
Jeffrey Lyons. In 1993, Medved became chief film critic for the
New York Post, a position he held for five years, during which he reviewed more than 700 movies for the paper. Afterward, Medved played a prominent role in some movie-related controversies. He became an outspoken defender of
Mel Gibson's film,
The Passion of the Christ (2004), which had been criticized as antisemitic by many prominent Jewish groups. After
Gibson's DUI arrest in July 2006, Medved wrote that he felt "betrayed" by Gibson's antisemitic outburst and urged Gibson to seek "reconciliation" with the Jewish community. Some film critics, including Roger Ebert and
Jim Emerson, criticized Medved for mentioning the "right to die/
assisted suicide" theme in
Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning
Million Dollar Baby, viewing Medved's statements as a
plot spoiler. Medved said that the inclusion of this theme in the film was "deeply misleading" because it was marketed as a
Rocky-esque tale of a plucky female underdog in the boxing arena. He said he carefully avoided revealing the final turn in the plot, but felt honor-bound to inform his listeners and readers about the movie's content and point of view. Ebert criticized Medved, saying he "has for a long time been a political commentator, not a movie critic."
Talk radio and political commentary While focusing on the theme of his next novel,
Hollywood vs. America, radio talk show host
Rush Limbaugh interviewed Medved and then asked him to guest-host his talk show. In 1996 Medved was offered his own local show on a major Seattle radio station. In his 2005 autobiographical book
Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons, Medved says he welcomed the chance to speak to a wider audience about politics and morality, which were a focus of his writing. The show broadcast from Seattle and syndicated through
Salem Radio Network. His three-hour daily show was broadcast on 200 stations coast to coast and reached more than 4.75 million listeners weekly. For ten consecutive years,
Talkers Magazine listed Medved as one of its "Heavy Hundred" most important American talk show hosts, and in 2011 tied for eighth place in its ranking of talk hosts by audience size. Salem Radio announced on November 8, 2018, that
Sebastian Gorka would take Medved's time slot in 2019. Medved said that his show would continue in a "new format" at the same time (3–6p.m.
Eastern Time). His show continues in that time slot on fewer stations, but as of 2022, Medved remains in the
Talkers Heavy Hundred, at position 92. Medved describes the show as "Your Daily Dose of Debate", often focused on listeners who call in to debate issues with the host. Guests have included people generally considered left of center, including
Noam Chomsky,
Michael Moore,
John Shelby Spong,
Oliver Stone,
Warren Beatty,
Ralph Nader,
Barbara Boxer,
Al Gore,
Madeleine Albright,
Ben Cohen,
George Galloway,
Thom Hartmann,
Naomi Wolf, and
Al Franken. Guests generally considered right of center include
Robert Spencer,
Condoleezza Rice, and
Dinesh D'Souza. Medved describes himself as "your cultural crusader on politics and pop culture" and common themes on his show include current events, politics, American history and the entertainment industry. He reviews four or more new movies or DVD releases per week. The program also includes a weekly "Disagreement Day", focusing on callers from around the country who wish to contest anything Medved has stated in his written articles or on the radio, and a monthly (when the moon is full) "Conspiracy Day", when callers from across the country expose what they consider the "hidden forces" behind "perplexing and painful present events". He gives historical perspective to current events on the show, and has recorded vignettes on major historical events and people in U.S. history, such as the
American Revolution and
Abraham Lincoln. Medved writes a regular column for
USA Today and is a member of the Board of Contributors for
USA Todays Forum Page, part of the newspaper's Opinion section. He writes occasional
op-ed pieces for
The Wall Street Journal and blogged daily at
Townhall. He also wrote the 1992 book
Hollywood vs. America, a condemnation of violence in cinema. Medved reportedly rearranged his schedule in 1993 to "devote time to a run for Congress". Medved has argued that American Jewish voters do not necessarily embrace candidates based on their support for the state of
Israel as much as they passionately oppose candidates based on their identification with Christianity, especially the
Christian Right. He has also said that the
Orthodox community, which he says is less than 10% of the U.S. Jewish population, "gives nearly as disproportionate support to Republicans as their Reform, Conservative, and secular Jewish neighbors give to Democrats" and that this is because "The Orthodox feel no instinctive horror at political alliances with others who make faith the center of their lives". He continued to criticize Trump after the election. In 2024, when Trump was elected to a second term, Medved said, "Trump understood far better than anybody on the other side did that the American people were angry, that they were in a bad mood", adding, "They wanted change." ==Personal life and religion==