In the vast wasteland of talk radio, a Rea of hope

david.yas@exhibitAnews.com

Talk radio drives me straight up the wall.

The callers are nuts. Most of the hosts are pretty nuts, too. And when it comes to commentary, there is a painful dearth of gray areas. In other words, all politicians are doltish hacks. Judges are spineless softies who let criminals walk. Lawyers, of course, are scumbags. And so on.

But, now, a new voice comes to Massachusetts.

Only there’s nothing new about the voice or the man behind it.

“Dan Rea reporting, WBZ-TV News.”

Rea will slide into one of the most coveted seats in local media — the 8 p.m. WBZ-AM radio show — formerly held by the departed Paul Sullivan and once occupied by such legends as the thoughtful David Brudnoy and the irascible Jerry Williams.

“This is a prestige position,” Rea told me shortly before taking to the airwaves one night. “I’m humbled.”

Rea is a natural choice for the show. There are few TV reporters who have sustained his reliable, accurate style over the years. Methods of reporting change, and with the fierce competition of the Internet age, many reporters have resorted to ambush journalism or other parlor tricks. Not our Dan-o. Rea sticks to the substance of the story. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him so much as raise his voice.

And it happens that Rea has been a lawyer since 1974.

Big deal, you say? In fact, it is a very big deal.

Attorney Dan will cast a critical eye toward the courts. But it will be an informed take on the courts.

The judiciary, says Rea, “is the least understood of the three branches of government. It’s full of mystery and mystique.”

Rea perhaps is best known for his coverage of Joseph Salvati, the man falsely imprisoned for decades and recently one of the beneficiaries of a $101.7 million judgment against the government.

In U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner’s recent ruling on the case, she made a point of praising Rea for his efforts.

“I never expected to be commended by a federal judge,” beams Rea. “This was the greatest thrill of my career. Finally, the record was set straight.”

While Rea is too classy to denigrate his contemporaries in the media, he seems to have a distaste for “drive-by” media attacks on judges and lawyers.

What does Rea make of the critical coverage of Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy? Murphy is the judge who, months after being paid millions for a libel verdict against the Boston Herald, found himself on page 1 of the Herald again, this time for betting on horses when he allegedly was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Well, judges are human,” says Rea. “But you know the old saying: ‘Don’t get into a pissing contest with someone who buys ink by the barrel.’”

So, if he is not a rip artist, does he risk his show being boring compared to the AM screamers out there?

“No way,” he says. “I want to show people how interesting the judiciary is. I love the phrase ‘pulling back the veil.’”

Pull it back, Dan. We’re ready.