National talk-show host Hugh Hewitt visited campus this week to host an event for Hillsdale College.
“This has been the best visit because I got to teach a class,” Hewitt told The Collegian. “I got to talk to the students.”
Hewitt hosted his program from WRFH on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, interviewing faculty, staff, and students. He also taught a radio class and co-hosted a virtual town hall on “Reviving American K-12 Classical Education,” with more than 17,000 viewers by the end of the night.
“Raising awareness is good, but raising money is better,” Hewitt said. “I’m good at asking for money. I want people to support the classical education movement because it’s necessary in so many parts of the country.”
Hewitt got involved with Hillsdale after College President Larry Arnn took office in 2000, he said. Arnn is a frequent guest on Hewitt’s program, which WRFH airs every weekday morning from 9 a.m. to noon.
“Dr. Arnn’s and Hugh Hewitt’s friendship goes back to when they met in 1978,” said Kathleen Ruddy, senior director of associates and special projects for Institutional Advancement. “Dr. Arnn brought that friendship with him to Hillsdale College.”
General Manager of Radio Free Hillsdale WFRH 101.7 FM Scot Bertram said he’s been hoping to bring Hewitt back to campus for a while. The conservative radio star was last on campus in 2015.
“With a highly-successful radio show and high-profile TV and writing partnerships, Hugh is uniquely positioned to lend important insight and teach important lessons to our journalism students,” Bertram said.
Hewitt was a guest lecturer in Bertram’s Elements of a Talk Show class, giving students a first-hand look at how a national program is produced.
“I thought it was helpful in terms of what a successful career as a talk show host looks like,” said Megan Pidcock, a junior in the class. “He drew on his real world experience as a lawyer into his success as a radio host. You have to be willing to make the other person comfortable, you have to be well-informed, you have to read a lot, and you have to be willing to admit that you’re wrong.”
Vince Benedetto, CEO of Bold Gold Media Group, which helped set up the college radio station, said Hewitt’s visit created a life-changing experience for students.
“To be able to get on a live national radio show being broadcast from your own college radio station studios is an extraordinary blessing,” Benedetto said.
“I don’t think there is any other college in the country that has an experience like that for students in any broadcast program, who would go on air on a national syndicated radio show that’s reaching millions of people and talk about their school and talk about their broadcast program.”
Ruddy said she thinks Hewitt’s visit benefits all of campus by raising awareness of its K-12 initiatives with donors, potential donors, and the public.
“The interviews that Hugh conducted with students, faculty, and members of the administration during his nationally broadcast radio show are an excellent means of raising awareness about the outstanding students and academic programs we have here at Hillsdale College,” Ruddy said.
Hewitt said he was surprised by the scope of the college’s commitment to its master’s of education program.
“It’s a magnificent commitment,” Hewitt said. “Each of those people that come through are going to impact thousands of people. So that’s really quite a major deal.”
Bertram said he has kept in touch with Hewitt since he interviewed him about his then-new book, “The Happiest Life,” in 2014.
“Hugh is a true pro and a friend of Hillsdale,” Bertram said. “It’s a real pleasure to collaborate with him, despite the fact he’s a fan of the Cleveland Browns and Guardians.”
