Meet the Fritch: Rising Star and Conservative Talk Show Host Chris Fritcher of the Fritch Show

Getting to Know The Fritch

Christopher "The Fritch" Fritcher is, at times, a kind of Superman. One part mild-mannered, humble man and one part fearless fighter for truth. The ads for his syndicated show reflect his own self-deprecating humor, and yet, he is outspoken, assertive and bold in his commentary, attacking all the lies and spin put out by the left and right, alike.

Off the air, he is much the same-outspoken in his opinions, thoughts and viewpoints while also being relatable to his audience. This gives him a down-to-earth charm and realism that draws listeners to his show and keeps them coming back for more.

The Fritch's journey to his growing conservative radio talk show success is a story of embracing the curves life can throw at you. He was born in Tampa, Florida to a devout Democrat family. He didn't think much of that until he found himself being drawn to and inspired by the character, actions and words of President Ronald Reagan.

Chris explains the moment everything began to change for him was when President Reagan decided to bomb Libya. This was because he liked fact the President didn't start a war, but he backed up what he said. Chris explains that President Reagan "told Qaddafi you go after America citizens you will pay for it. But, he only bombed military sites and the man's house."

He is referring to the 1986 bombing of Libya, which was in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing carried out by Libya. The German discotheque was selected as the bombing site by Libya because it was known to be frequented by U.S. soldiers.

In that terrorist bombing, 233 people were killed or injured, including many U.S. soldiers. Muammar al-Qaddafi (also known as Colonel Gaddafi and Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi) was (and still is) the leader of Libya.

Chris adds, "If there was every a show of American strength and power, that was it. Qaddafi was not heard from for 15 years after that. I always thought Reagan was a man of 'say what you mean and mean what you say'. I always believed he was that type of guy. And, that was one of those moments."

During President Reagan's time in office, Chris found more inspiration and began forming his own conservative identity-separate from the more liberal identity of his family.

While he was changing politically, he led what many would consider to be a normal life, working with various major companies in their sales departments. He had no thoughts of a life in broadcasting until yet another defining moment occurred in his life.

Chris explains that the next defining moment for him in his journey to broadcasting was the TARP bill. It was at that point he felt he needed to share what he was seeing and main stream media was not reporting. The platform for that: Blogtalk Radio.

The Katz Connection

When Chris first began his foray into broadcasting, he reached out to others who were already broadcasting their own shows. One of those people was Tony Katz of the Tony Katz Radio Spectacular.

Not only was Tony happy to answer questions and give Chris help, but Tony started asking Chris to fill in for him when he couldn't host his own show. Tony explains that he lived in Tampa at the time, and being familiar with Chris's show, thought he would make a great guest host. He expands on that thought by saying, "Fritch is a guy who stood up and said 'I'm gonna move this message.' He believes problems are not solved by the government, but by people."

After hearing Tony's explanation of how the guest-hosting gig began, Chris laughed and replied, "He told me no one else was available."

Chris has become Tony's permanent guest host, filling in for Tony whenever he is absent. Tony explains that he opted to give Chris permanent guest host status because he likes what he calls Fritch's conversation. Tony says of Chris's style, "He finds daily news stories and brings them to the people. Fritch is extremely good at finding stories and information and relating."

Clearly, Tony Katz saw in The Fritch what so many of his listeners do: a down-to-earth man who is not afraid to speak up about what is wrong, on both sides of the aisle.

The Fritch Show

At first, The Fritch Show was a labor of love. Chris spent countless hours creating his show for no real pay, while working in sales to support his growing family. At one point, in discussing the number of hours it was taking for Chris to do the show, his wife gave him the push he needed: she told him he should move to broadcasting full-time. That was the start of a series of changes in their life and in his career.

The show has experienced some changes since its been on the air, including since Chris's move to full-time broadcasting. Some of the more notable changes happened recently, with the format and time changing.

The Fritch Show now airs every weekday from 10 a.m. to noon ET on the IPN Network, as well as online at The Fritch Show website. A chatroom is available with the streaming broadcast on The Fritch Show website.

Fritch provides 'infotainment' for his listeners on a regular basis, sometimes in the form of special segments and at other times with his infamous rants.

The show takes calls from listeners and sometimes has guests. Recently, a contest was run with a gift certificate to a local restaurant as the prize.

He was co-host of a 2010 Election Night Extravaganza show with fellow conservative talk show host Christopher Knight of The Midnight Runner Show. Chris Fritcher and Chris Knight have, on occasion, called in to each other's shows, always providing witty, insightful and hilarious insights into what is going on the world and in politics. Their multi-hour election night special streamed live online with video with updates for the audience on the election results as they broke.

Fritch was an active participant in the campaign to free Brian Aitken, a wrongfully imprisoned lawful gun owner, using his show, website and social media to help spread the word. Brian's family, girlfriend and Brian, once freed, have all been interviewed on air by Fritch.

Future Projects for The Fritch

What is next for the conservative talk show host? Chris is actively pursing other opportunities to expand his show and grow his audience. He is called upon to guest on other shows and regularly updates his website with news snippets. His website also has a blog, Spin Blast, authored by the writer of this article, Daniella Nicole. This came about after this article was in progress.

Fritch is a rising star in the world of conservative talk show hosts, and one who has completely endeared his audience to him. Catch his show five days a week or join his fan page on Facebook for news and updates.

Sources:

Interviews with Christopher Fritcher. September 17, 2010; October 25, 2010.
Interview with Tony Katz. October 4, 2010.
The Fritch Show. http://www.fritchshow.com.