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Milt Rosenberg

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In the often loud and frequently inane blah-blah-blah that is radio, Milt Rosenberg was for nearly half a century an oasis of intelligent conversation and learned curiosity.

Ever mindful of the intelligence of his listeners, Rosenberg was a late-night radio fixture who interviewed an astonishing array of guests from all walks of life — among the eclectic hundreds were Henry Kissinger, Carl Sagan, Jimmy Carter, Norman Mailer, Bob Feller, Bill Murray, Jane Byrne and Barack Obama — and actively engaged with listeners on his late night “Extension 720” program on WGN-AM 720.

The late John Callaway of WTTW-Ch. 11, no slouch himself at the interviewing game, once said, “When Milt Rosenberg formulates a question with a premise in which he refers in two different languages to four different books, I say to myself, ‘That’s smart. That’s big-time smart.’ ”

Milton J. Rosenberg died of pneumonia and its complications Tuesday. He had entered the hospital in Chicago on New Year’s Day. He was 92. His death was announced by his friend Joe Morris.

* Robert Feder…

“He was a polymath, a perceptive analyst, and a keen questioner,” Morris told friends in an email Wednesday. “These traits, combined with a prodigious memory born of wide reading and experience, made him an outstanding interlocutor of political leaders, business executives, academics, journalists, artists, and others in the long parade of guests whom he welcomed to his studios and to the extraordinary conversations that he then held for the benefit of millions of Americans listening to his program each night in their homes and cars across the nation as streamed by clear-channel radio at 50,000 watts. For four decades his show was the mandatory first stop on the book tour of every author of a serious work of fiction or non-fiction.

“His career was also described by the arc of a moral conversion, carried out in public via his nightly broadcasts, from the ‘soft mindless leftism of an East Coast academic’ to an embrace of free market economics, traditional social values, and an appreciation of the United States as the world’s best hope for the defense of freedom and human decency in global affairs,” Morris wrote.

Born in New York and educated at Brooklyn College and the University of Wisconsin, Rosenberg earned a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Michigan. He taught at Yale University, the Ohio State University, Dartmouth College, and the Naval War College before joining the University of Chicago, where he served as director of the doctoral program in social and organizational psychology. He later became professor emeritus.

The late, great Paul Green got me on Milt’s show once and it was an experience I will never forget. What a giant.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:26 pm

Comments

RIP Milt - i loved listening to “extension 720″ on my drive home after the late shift

Comment by Texas Red Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:30 pm
He was a giant - fond memories of long night commutes made shorter and much more interesting because of his presence on the radio - rest in peace

Comment by doofusguy Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:31 pm
I was lucky to be on the show a few times defending Barack Obama against some of the right-wing industry types. It was a total highlight. Such a kind, erudite scholar.

Comment by Dan Johnson Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:33 pm
I thought Mitt had the coolest job in the world.

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:33 pm
I was on his show many times. He was infuriating and brilliant and increasingly doctrinaire as he got older. But it was always a challenge and a pleasure. He will be missed.

Comment by Anon0091 Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:37 pm
Amazing guy and surprisingly even funny. To be polite; he limited guests to 2 cigarettes in an hour interview, though he despised smoking. Enjoyed 1 Heineken with dinner often before the show. Didn’t care for Spike O’Dell. His explanation; “he’s just silly”.
Smartest guy without pretension you would ever encounter. Rest in Peace Professor Rosenberg.

Comment by A guy Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:39 pm
Many nights, I listened and learned. Sometimes, I argued. Thank you for all those years.

Godspeed, Professor.

Comment by Aldyth Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:41 pm
He was the goods. This long-haired country boy got his learn on real good out in the corn fields listening to Milt.

It’s a crying shame that his kind of broadcast is an outlier, not the standard.

Aint no money in being erudite and honest on the box, I guess.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:53 pm
He was a giant of radio with huge intellectual strength. My late father listened to him every Sunday night for decades. RIP.

Comment by Porter McNeil Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:54 pm
He went a little off the rails at the end with crazy anti-Obama stuff, but the foreign policy conversations remained as smart and interesting as ever.

Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:56 pm
Feels like I lost an old friend. I really loved his show. I have been missing it ever since WGN unnecessarily ended it. It is hard to imagine another show like his succeeding in today’s radio markets.

Comment by Groucho Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 1:57 pm
There has never been better public service radio than Dr. Rosenberg. You could truly become educated listening to him. The depth and breadth of his interviews remain without parallel. The fact that he had two hours to explore a subject was a treat. He is still missed on Chicago radio.

Comment by NeverPoliticallyCorrect Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 2:03 pm
Great interviewer…exact opposite of the all too many shallow journalists on the scene today. I had the privilege of calling into to his show a number of times

Comment by Johnyy Justice Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 2:08 pm
Milt Rosenberg was a class act. It really helped in that, unlike so many talk show hosts, Rosenberg would actually read many books before authors were his on air guests. He was good to callers also. Milt seems to be irreplaceable. He also had little use for lazy students from the coddled generations. He was from a different era in which grades were earned, not awarded to promote self esteem.

Comment by Reality Check Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 2:27 pm
Ditto to Groucho and NeverPoliticallyCorrect. It was a terrible mistake to end that show. We all suffer with its absence. Milt was a great man. Wish that some radio station will take the mantle and replicate

Comment by Zippo Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 2:30 pm
My grandmother listened to Milt and got me started listening (as a kid) way back in the 1970’s. It certainly raised my expectations for talk radio and interviews which ultimately resulted in my addiction to NPR.

RIP Milt.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 2:33 pm
I loved listening to Milt. Started when I was in junior high and always felt a little smarter after listening. I am so sorry to hear of his passing.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 3:05 pm
I was a fan and listened to many of his shows. His ability to interview any guest intelligently over a wide variety of topics was nothing short of remarkable. Milt, may you RIP.

Comment by No Longer A Lurker Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 3:13 pm
RIP

Smart guy who did not have an agenda and who could communicate - even to a kid like me

Comment by cannon649 Wednesday, Jan 10, 18 @ 8:23 pm
Of the many of his shows that I loved, my favorite was one about the best Chicago hot dog. He had on guys who run hot dog stands. And he did it with the same curiosity and wit and enthusiasm as he did when he had on a group of academic philosphers. It was not only a testament to his talent as a broadcaster, but also to the breadth of his intellect. Most importantly, it showed that he was a damned nice guy. I think that would have meant the most to him.

Comment by Southside Markie Thursday, Jan 11, 18 @ 3:17 am