From Daily Planet Staff Reports

The “Monster of Talk Tour”hit the road and its first stop was at UNC Asheville, where Matt Mittan, host of “Take a Stand” on WWNC-AM (570), with producer sidekick Agnes Cheek, interviewed various university officials, as well as student leaders.

Among the interviews was one with Sam Hunt and Cassady Sharp, editor-in-chief and managing editor, respectively, of  The Blue Banner, UNCA’s student newspaper, focusing on their paper’s editorial that defended Mittan while slamming conservative talk radio shows in general.

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The editors noted that a senior editor writes editorials on behalf of the paper — and that they sometimes discuss stances in advance and, at other times, such as the talk radio editorial, the project is a solo effort.

The editorial appeared after Mittan ignited a firestorm from listeners in March, when he began his daily talk show with a five-minute monologue, expressing his concerns that syndicated talk host Glenn Beck may have mental health problems — and that he needs help.

Following his monologue critiquing Beck, who has a loyal following among WWNC listeners, Mittan was raked over the coals by callers, who jammed the station’s switchboards and even called management, demanding that Mattin be fired.

In the aftermath, Mittan was suspended from his show on the following day, but when he returned after a day’s break, he claimed that he suspended himself, emphasizing that it was his decision.

The editorial, which is reprinted in full on Page 12, praised Mittan for exercising his free speech — and for, in the Banner’s view, accurately describing Beck’s troubles. It blasted Beck’s rabid fans.

The editorial then lambasted Beck, as well as other nationally syndicated talk-show hosts on WWNC, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Neal Boortz.

“The things that those four say on a daily basis are more hateful, vitriolic, divisive and wrong than probably anything Mittan has ever said in his entire life, on radio or otherwise, yet he is the one who gets complaints and receives a suspension? Go figure,” the Banner editorial asserted.