KIRO hires war reporter Charles Jaco

Former CNN Gulf War correspondent Charles Jaco could be filing his dispatches from Seattle radio from now on.

After getting sacked from his St. Louis talk-radio job in November, Jaco, 52, began a tryout stint in the 7-10 p.m. weeknight slot at

KIRO-AM (710) last Monday, and he's in negotiations to move here and make the assignment permanent.

Temporarily working from a studio in St. Louis, Jaco has riffed on subjects ranging from war in Iraq to controversy over the Seattle judge who ordered trees cut down in a public park.

Jaco got pink-slipped from KMOX in St. Louis for "gross misconduct" after shooting off some less-than-diplomatic e-mail responses to antagonistic listeners, suggesting to one listener that he check with his employer to "see if they could give you Hitler's birthday off."

KIRO, undeterred, approached Jaco after his termination made industry news.

"He's got a tremendous background in international news, and with the situation as it is in the Middle East, we just feel that he's a great asset to our radio station," said KIRO program director Kris Olinger.

"If there ends up being a war in Iraq, our hope is to send him to cover it."

Jaco left CNN in 1994 after becoming a familiar face during the Gulf War and braving numerous hair-raising situations reporting from hot spots around the globe. Since then, he has written a nonfiction book and two novels, won a Peabody Award and logged seven years at KMOX in St. Louis. There, he became the first American talk jock to broadcast live from Cuba and from the papal jet with Pope John Paul II.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Diane Toroian characterized him as "a sharp reporter and tough interviewer. He also gained a reputation for his acerbic exchanges with listeners he considered foolish — a trait one insider suggested may have contributed to Jaco's dismissal."

KIRO's Olinger described the reasons for Jaco's release from KMOX as "not something that, based on what I know, I would fire him over."

But, she added, "One of the things we're going to encourage Charles to do is learn about Seattle and the culture of Seattle. We encourage our hosts to be polite."

KMOX management has declined from the outset to discuss the matter publicly and would not comment for this story.

After wrangling with Jaco's union, KMOX reached a financial settlement with him Dec. 6, and issued a statement saying that the phrase "gross misconduct" was a generic radio industry term used in terminations, and not meant to impugn his reputation.

Jaco said he's happy to be looking to the future. He praised what he said was KIRO's national reputation for news.

"KIRO and the Entercom corporation (its parent company) still have a commitment to the silly, old-fashioned, pre-deregulation idea of public service."

For that matter, he said he prefers radio to his higher-profile career as a TV reporter.

"I enjoyed TV, and it was great fun, but there's really no magic to it. There was no great burning desire to become a superstar and stay in it."

Saddam Hussein expelled Jaco from Iraq during the last war. Feeling unwanted won't stop him from a return visit.

"I liked the place. I don't mind going back," Jaco said. "It wouldn't bother me. I'm just waiting to see what the different order of difficulty would be this time around."

But is he just making a paycheck in his temporary Seattle job until he's free to work again in St. Louis in February?

"Right now, to me it's almost a lead-pipe cinch," he said of the KIRO job.

The only thing that could interfere, he said, is that he and his wife are trying to adopt his granddaughter, which could keep them in Missouri if complications arise.

Judging by those familiar with Jaco's work, KMOX's trash may be KIRO's treasure.

The Post-Dispatch's Bill McClellan wrote after Jaco's firing, "If you want to know what a large company is going to do, imagine that it is being run by a cabal of its enemies. If KMOX were being run by its enemies, it would certainly fire Jaco. He's awfully good at what he does. It would especially fire him now. Because of his work on CNN during the first Gulf War, he is probably the most famous war correspondent on the planet."

And if feedback from his first few days on the air here are any indication, Seattle listeners will welcome him, Olinger said. "We've had a real positive response to him. People who were familiar with his work covering the Gulf War are really pleased to have him on the air."

Olinger wouldn't discuss what KIRO might pay Jaco in a permanent position; at KMOX, he was reportedly earning $122,500 a year.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com.