RADIO WATCH : Total Control

For one brief morning, former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock lived the politician’s dream: Almost total domination of the local media in a bizarre scene that thoroughly blurred the traditional lines between commentator and news-maker.

Early in Hedgecock’s four-hour radio show Thursday, KSDO-AM reported the state Supreme Court’s reversal of 12 perjury convictions stemming from his alleged attempt to circumvent local campaign donation laws. The court also set aside a conspiracy count against Hedgecock pending a hearing on his claim of jury tampering.

Now a charismatic, populist radio talk-show host, Hedgecock attempted to explain by holding a lengthy on-air interview with his own attorney. On the air, the two planned Hedgecock’s 2 p.m. news conference.

When television and print reporters showed up at the station in search of Hedgecock’s reaction, he invited them to interview him on the air as well. Locally famous for his blunt, almost vicious tone, Hedgecock showed unusual restraint in victory.

In more than four years on a show that reaches 200,000 listeners, Hedgecock has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to shape civic affairs by whipping his audience into a letter-writing and phone-calling frenzy. Most recently, he has turned out hundreds for demonstrations against illegal immigration.

On Thursday Hedgecock extended his reach again, leaving little doubt why the man who calls himself “a recovering politician” holds power in San Diego the way few elected officials can.