Arab Americans

George Noory

George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is a radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show Coast to Coast AM.^[1] He has also appeared in the History channel series Ancient Aliensand in Beyond Belief, a subscription-based online video series presented by Gaiam TV.

Biography

Noory grew up in Detroit with two younger sisters,^[1] the son of an Egyptian father who worked at Ford Motor Company and a Lebanese American mother.^[2] He was raised Roman Catholic.^[2] He became interested with the paranormal and ufology as a child^[3] and joined the UFO organization NICAP as a teenager.^[3] He attended theUniversity of Detroit, spending two years in the pre-dental program before switching his major to Communications.^[1] He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1972.^[1]Noory served nine years in the United States Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant.^[4][3]

He began his radio career as a newscaster with Detroit station WCAR-AM.^[4] From 1974–1978 he worked as a news producer and executive news producer at WJBK-TVin Detroit.^[5] He would later serve as news director for KMSP-TV in Minneapolis^[6] and as news director at KSDK-TV in St. Louis. He won three local Emmy Awards for his work in TV news.^[4]

In St. Louis, Noory formed Norcom Entertainment, Inc., a company that developed and marketed video training films to law enforcement and security agencies.^[7] In 1987, Noory and his partners in Norcom Restaurants, Inc.^[8] opened the Café Marrakesh and Oasis Bar in Brentwood, Missouri. The restaurant’s theme revolved around a fictional English soldier, Col. William Berry, who opened the establishment following an exciting secret mission to Marrakesh.^[9]

In 1996, Noory hosted a late-night radio program called Nighthawk on KTRS in St. Louis, which caught the attention of executives at Premiere Radio Networks, syndicators of Coast to Coast AM.^[1] Coast to Coast AM is a North American (United States and Canada) late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. In April of 2001, Noory became a guest host for Coast to Coast AM before replacing Ian Punnett as the Sunday night host.^[3] In January 2003, following Art Bell’s retirement, Noory took over as weeknight host of Coast to Coast AM.^[1]

In December 2012, Gaiam TV launched Beyond Belief with George Noory, a subscription-based webcast exploring the unknown and mysteries of the universe. The one-hour, weekly series features Noory taped in front of a live audience at Gaiam studios in Boulder, Colo., Beyond Belief with George Noory is available exclusively on Gaiam TV.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

In a 2010 article about Noory published in the magazine The Atlantic, Timothy Lavin wrote: “Noory can be an uneven broadcaster. Sometimes he seems to not pay full attention to his guests, offers strangely obvious commentary, or—and this has alienated some fans—lets clearly delusional or pseudoscientific assertions slide by without challenge. But he listens, with heroic patience, to all of his callers.”^[2]

According to Media Life Magazine, “Noory says it doesn’t matter whether he believes what his callers and guests say. Ultimately, it’s about entertainment, creating a show that people will be drawn to.”^[10] Author and frequent Coast to Coast AM guest Whitley Strieber has commented on Noory’s style, saying, “It’s not that he’s credulous or easily led. He’s willing to take these intellectual journeys. He’ll have guests on that you think are completely off the wall — nothing they’re saying is real — but by the end of the program you will have made a discovery that there is a kernel of a question worth exploring.”^[11]

Art Bell stated that the decision to come out of retirement was his to start Dark Matter Radio Network, and was a response to Noory having “ruined” the Coast to Coastfranchise by taking it in a political talk radio direction, with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as a regular guest. Bell wanted to see a return to the open-minded exploration of the supernatural that had defined his own earlier tenure.^[12] Noory responded with a show in September 2013, which had as a guest David John Oates. Oates had earlier been banned by Art Bell from Coast to Coast.

Bibliography

• Noory, George; Birnes, William (2006). Worker in the Light. New York, NY: Tor Books. p. 319. ISBN 0765310872. OCLC 71322269.
• Noory, George; Birnes, William (2009). Journey to the Light. New York, NY: Tor Books. p. 317. ISBN 9780765321039. OCLC 317928896.
• Noory, George; Guiley, Rosemary (2011). Talking to the Dead. New York, NY: Tor Books. p. 304. ISBN 9780765325389. OCLC 707969668.
• Noory, George; Birnes, William J. (2013). George Noory’s Late-Night Snacks. New York, NY: Tor Books. ISBN 9780765314086.

References