Walter got her start in radio after winning a contest, never having any desire to enter the field prior to that. She was listening to WKXW out of Trenton, New Jersey when she heard they were holding a contest to determine who would "take over" the relationship show, "The Passion Phones". She called in "on a whim" and a week later had the job. She was there five years before being "summarily fired", three weeks after being congratulated on her ratings and being presented a performance bonus. After collecting unemployment for "a couple of months", Walter was hired to host the morning show on WCTC in New Brunswick, New Jersey, which she did for four years as “Mary in the Morning” — the first female anchor of a morning show in the state. She then joined a "short-lived" syndicated show. When they stopped paying her, she realized it was "on life support at best". When WKXW sold, the new owners asked her to return as host of the relationship show. Walter did both shows for "a couple of months" until she "finally got tired of working for the syndicated show for free." Walter was back at WKXW for five more years until they fired her again, this time sending her the ratings bonus check afterwards. She was then was contacted by both Howard Stern and the Fox News Channel with job opportunities, seeing "more opportunity for growth" in the latter. From 2008 to 2014 she was a commentator on the Fox News Channel, and from 2006 she has guest hosted on Fox News Talk for Brian Kilmeade and John Gibson. In 2013 Longport Media asked her to join their KOOL 98.3 team to redux her relationship show, this time rebranded as “Life! with Mary Walter”, which she hosted until June 2015. In After guest hosting at WHAS for seven years, she applied for a full-time opening. They hired her as host of the “Mary Walter Show” on iHeartMedia’s 840AM WHAS out of Louisville, Kentucky. Kelly Carls, Director of AM Programming, iHeartMedia Louisville, commented: “We’ve had the pleasure of working with Mary as a fill-in host. She’s always prepared, keeps her finger on the pulse of the news, and does a great job connecting with our listeners. We’re delighted she’ll be offering her unique perspectives every day.” WMAL-FM named Walter as the new co-host of its “Mornings on the Mall” in February 2017. She joined incumbent host Brian Wilson after Larry O'Connor moved from mornings to afternoons at the beginning of the year. Walter said of the move: The duo are known for their interviews with prominent figures in the news. Walter's favorites have been Carson Kressley and John Edward "on the entertainment side". "The audience LOVED them both," she remembers. "I was shocked to find out that Carson is crazy smart — I'm talking Mensa smart! And John is just the nicest, most down to earth guy." Political favorites "would have to be either Dr. Ben Carson or Vice President Pence. Both men were just so kind and sincere; I could have spoken to both of those men for hours," she says. Her comments on illegal immigration have been noted by Media Matters. Walter was "a little surprised" at the negative reaction the show received for having a regular woman co-host at first — after having guest-hosted on WMAL for years and always having got "a positive response from the audience". Walter had "a brief stint" on NewsMax TV in 2014. She has been a regular guest commentator on “The Sean Hannity Show” and “America Live with Megyn Kelly.” Being associated with Fox opened up guest hosting opportunities at stations across the country. She also provides voice over services for a variety of clients.
Awards, honors, and distinctions
Walter was a 2018 and 2020 Gracie Award Honoree for Co-host Large/Major – Morning . Gracies are awarded by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation to recognize and inspire women across the media industry. In 2019 Walter helped WMAL-FM earn the honor of placing a trio of its show hosts in the Top 100TALKERS Magazine "Heavy Hundred" awards along with Vince Coglianese, Larry O’Connor, and Chris Plante. Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese were ranked 54th in The Talkers Magazine 2020 Heavy Hundred as a team broadcasting from WMAL-FM.
On being a born and raised Jersey Girl, Walter says: "You can take the girl outta Jersey, but you can’t take the Jersey outta the girl. And frankly, why would you?" As a Villanova alumna and "a HUGE fan" of the basketball team, she considers herself "intolerable the entire month of March." Walter is most proud of: "Being able to make a living in radio. As we all know, that ain't easy. This industry has chewed up and spit out far more talented people, so making it to the point where I get invited to broadcast from the White House is pretty sweet."
