He was respected as an educator: student evaluations for his courses at Boston University indicate that they were very well received, and former students were among those who wrote eloquent tributes to him when he died. According to those students, he was such a devoted educator that even as he was dying, he made certain to finish grading their term papers. Broadcast career Brudnoy began a career in broadcast commentary in 1971 on Boston's local PBS television station, WGBH-TV. In 1976, he took over as host of his friend Avi Nelson's radio show on WHDH, in the midst of the city's unrest over forced busing and desegregation in schools. He took to the job with ease, and increasingly gained popularity. From 1981 to 1986, he appeared on former Top 40 station WRKO, which was now news and talk, before moving to local stalwart WBZ. The top-rated talk radio host in New England, he appeared in a regular weekday evening slot until his retirement. At the end of his career, Brudnoy was, according to WBZ Radio's promotional materials, derived from Arbitron ratings, among the most-listened-to evening talk hosts in the United States. Over the years, Brudnoy also appeared as a news commentator and host on local TV stations besides WGBH, including WCVB-TV (ABC), WNAC-TV, and WBZ-TV (CBS). He also appeared nationally on the CBS Morning News. He wrote movie reviews for Boston magazine and local community newspapers. During the 1970s he wrote articles for the National Review, and befriended its editor William F. Buckley Jr. He also wrote for The Alternative (later known as The American Prospect) in the early 1970s, but quit because of the editor's unwillingness to adopt a more liberal position on gay rights. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, and The Saturday Evening Post. In 1990, his WBZ show was canceled in favor of a less expensive syndicated show hosted by Tom Snyder, but a mass public response, including support from The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, helped lead to his quick return to the station's lineup. Brudnoy's popularity escalated him into the Boston media elite, and he was the host of numerous social gatherings at his upscale Back Bay apartment, mixing students, media personalities, and politicians. After his bout with AIDS, Brudnoy began broadcasting from his apartment four nights out of five, welcoming his radio guests into his home