Talk Radio Network originated from
Advice Line, a syndicated program hosted by
Roy Masters. TRN was established and operated by Masters's sons and carried
Advice Line throughout its existence. Among the network's earliest offerings was
Art Bell's
Coast to Coast AM produced by David Masters from 1994 through 1998 which had reached record station affiliates of over 500 during that time. In 1998, the original Talk Radio Network Inc. company and all of its programs was acquired by
Premiere Radio Networks for the syndication rights of
Coast to Coast AM. At that time, TRN's programs were broadcast nationally by more than 300 radio stations. Actor
Jerry Doyle was introduced to TRN by
Mancow Muller, who at the time hosted
The Mancow Experience on TRN. Before starting his own show, Doyle was invited to guest-host for
Rusty Humphries' TRN-syndicated
Saturday Night America, which was broadcast to over two hundred stations. Based on the broadcast, TRN offered Doyle a regular show that became
The Jerry Doyle Show. Doyle hosted the show for TRN until his sudden death in 2016. TRN has been responsible for syndicating and producing other notable talk radio programs including
The Sam Sorbo Show,
Science Fantastic with Michio Kaku,
The Laura Ingraham Show (from 2004 to 2012),
The Andrea Tantaros Show,
Monica Crowley, and
The Phil Hendrie Show. In June 2009, TRN partnered with
The Washington Times to debut ''America's Morning News'' (AMN) with a focus on
investigative reporting and live news and commentary from
Washington, D.C. At its launch, AMN was hosted by
Melanie Morgan and
John McCaslin. TRN rolled out ''America's Radio News Network'' (ARNN) in January 2011 as an
all news network service for stations, which ran for 15 hours every weekday. TRN (permanently) suspended ARNN operations on September 6, 2013. TRN effectively ceased regular operations on December 22, 2017 when its programming stopped being delivered via satellite to radio stations.
Advice Line later moved to
Radio America.
Contract disputes Michael Savage TRN syndicated
The Michael Savage Show from 1999 until 2012. In 2006,
Michael Savage was accused of
Islamophobia based on comments he made on-air. Mark Masters defended Savage's
free speech rights and said, "
CAIR threw the kitchen sink at us with the goal of getting Savage fired, but we weren't intimidated. His audience supports him and so do his sponsors who have renewed... [Savage is] just a guy with an opinion venting his heartfelt feelings to his audience, and they support him." In 2010, a dispute arose when TRN attempted to exercise a "right to match" provision in Savage's contract at the end of its term. Savage argued against going into
arbitration with TRN but was shot down. The
American Arbitration Association (AAA) awarded Savage more than $1 million, ruling in his favor, and allowing him to sign with
Cumulus Media Networks. TRN told the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that, through
ex parte letters, Savage had threatened the AAA with a negative public relations campaign during proceedings, which interfered with the arbitrator's decision-making. The
Supreme Court later denied TRN's request for
writ of certiorari in 2016.
Laura Ingraham The Laura Ingraham Show moved from
Westwood One to Talk Radio Network in 2004. In June 2008, Ingraham walked away from the program in a contract dispute. She eventually returned to the show a month later. Immediately after Savage won his case against the network, Ingraham's contract also expired; in addition to leaving the network, she also won rights to her entire show's archive from TRN. Ingraham joined
Norman Pattiz's Courtside Entertainment Group in January 2013.
Phil Hendrie In June 2013, shortly after both Savage and Ingraham left TRN,
Phil Hendrie terminated his relationship with the network in a mutual decision. After years of rebuilding Hendrie's affiliate base, it abruptly switched the affiliates to Roy Masters's
Advice Line. == Actions against Dial Global and Cumulus Media ==