Mike Zinna is a former investigative reporter, and radio and television talk show host based in Denver. Born and raised in Queens, NY, Zinna’s “other side of the tracks” upbringing and affinity for mob movies makes him unusually adept at analogizing politics and organized crime. Zinna regularly coughs up geo-political gems – like when he refers to the major political parties as crime families who agree to split up the garbage business between themselves, and will kill anyone who tries to muscle in on their action.
Prior to journalism, Zinna entered the military and eventually held top secret security clearances from various government agencies, where he worked on and off the books for nearly six years. These escapades became useful arrows in Zinna’s quiver, when launching his seminal media torrent, www.ColoradoExposed.com, a website dedicated to revealing the corruption that infests Colorado government. The award-winning screed drew repeated personal visits from the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, as these were the formative days of cyberspace when bloggers were still considered domestic terrorists.
Mike Zinna is the Plaintiff in the landmark “1791 Verdict” – a First Amendment lawsuit brought by Zinna for the retaliation directed against him by the government for his investigative reporting. For more than five years, Zinna fought to get the case to trial, enduring an endless arsenal of dirty tricks by government lawyers possessing an unlimited reservoir of taxpayer-funded legal resources. Yet, after 40 witnesses and nearly two weeks of testimony, a federal jury deliberated just three hours and seized control of the case. The jury foreman transmitted to the judge an unusual question, “What year was the First Amendment ratified to the U.S. Constitution?” The Judge responded, “1791.” Less than one hour later the jury returned a verdict against the government, and in favor of Mike Zinna. The jury, not permitted to make a formal statement in open court, chose to send a clear and resounding message of their own to the government defendant. The jury awarded Mike Zinna exactly “$1791″ in damages.
Wedged between his weekly columns and TV Show on PBS, and the shifting rubble of a “1791″ screenplay, Zinna skewers conniving politicos and media bobble heads on his daily radio program, “Zinna World, broadcast live around the world onwww.WKRPradio.com.
In Zinna World, political ideology isn’t put forth – it’s a punch-line. Zinna pays no heed to social and political norms, and gleefully exposes bureaucratic malfeasance and hypocrisy like a schoolgirl skipping around on a sugar high. Zinna is a registered Libertarian, and although he believes the Libertarians possess the only intellectually defensible political platform, he regularly chides the Libertarian Party for having a serious marketing problem. Zinna has openly stated, “Running candidates whose campaign is premised on more drugs, more guns, and less laws, sounds like a really fun time on a Friday night, but makes the voters a little nervous unless you clearly explain what the hell you mean.”
Notwithstanding his “carrot and stick” love for Libertarians, in 2006, The Libertarian Party of Colorado bestowed on Mike Zinna its, “Talk Show Host of the Year” Award. Zinna graciously accepted the award on-air, then immediately chastised party officials for choosing such a dumbass as a winner.
While constantly struggling to manage his ADHD, Zinna squanders his personal time by navigating between failed relationships.
