Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 11, 1995 TAG: 9506140001
SECTION: EDITORIALS PAGE: D-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT I. ALOTTA
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
On the positive side, talk radio opens the airwaves to the feelings of grass-roots America. On the negative, some callers and national talk-show hosts have no facts and can't abide anyone else's opinion.
When I first got into talk radio as ``senior media analyst'' for a local radio station, it was much fun. I enjoyed the banter, the need to be on my toes. I liked the challenge of ideas. After a few months, I noticed the same voices calling in day after day - several times a day, show after show. And, as I traveled across the country listening to other radio talk shows, I found that my experience was not unique. The people I could isolate on the air were cloned in almost every radio market. It's scary to think these people have gained a following.
They fall into several categories, such as:
Mr. Clear My Throat and Complain.
This guy calls up a station and, when he's plugged in, clears his throat and begins a tirade against a fellow caller. If he's in the South, he calls his opposition a ``damned Yankee''; if in the North, a ``damned redneck.'' His comments usually are bigoted and biased. He stresses his belief in Christianity, but forgets the New Testament dictum to ``love the sinner and not the sin.'' When he asks a talk-show host to render an opinion, it had better agree with his opinion. If not, he'll tell the audience the host is dead wrong.
Ms. Tax and Spend.
This lady is the foil for ``Mr. Clear My Throat and Complain.'' In her heart, she knows she's right, even if the facts dictate the opposite. She will even supply sources for her comments. Depending on her point of view, the sources will be The New Republic, The National Review, Time magazine, or Newsweek. She is so partisan that Bill Clinton could walk on water and she'd say that it was a communist plot. Or, she might say if Bill Bennett is so educated, why were there two typos in his last book? She also believes that shouting into the phone is a way to get people to see her point of view.
The Preacher.
No matter where you go, there's always some layman - or cleric - who calls and reads a paragraph from the Bible, and proceeds to instruct the listening audience as to the religious angle of a political story. He also underscores his strong belief in Christianity, but only his personal religion. Any other church, any other Christian denomination is suspect, let alone any non-Christian sect.
A variation of this guy is the "anti" guy. He can produce purple-stained ditto copies of ``truth,'' wherein Hitler was really a Jesuit priest, and was working under the express orders of the pope. He also spews hatred with the sugarcoating of his own religiosity.
The Cellular Guy.
This is the person who calls from a car phone that's moving out of range. We had a call from one of these awhile ago but were cut off - accidentally. He called back and raged. In fact, he told us he turned us off and was now listening to G. Gordon Liddy. The ``G-Man,'' we know, also accepts calls. His, however, are screened.
Dittoheads.
Though I'm overweight, I'm no Rush Limbaugh. Though we have a fairly large audience, we are not in his league. We get calls from people who offer us ``mega-dittos'' from some local town. They assume that talk show hosts nationwide reflect Limbaugh's values and judgment - or lack of either.
Talk radio is powerful, and we've seen its strength with the rise of Limbaugh and others. If it were not so powerful, why would Oliver North of Iran-Contra fame; Douglas Wilder, former governor of Virginia; Gary Hart, former senator and failed presidential candidate; Ed Koch, former New York mayor; Jerry Brown, former California governor and presidential aspirant, and others join the airwaves?
Talk radio, unfortunately, is not the reflective forum one finds in the editorial or opinion pages of a daily newspaper. People have to think before they put words on paper. Many people also spend time editing the written word for maximum effect. That does not happen with comments on the radio.
Talk radio is raw. The comments that are made are first thoughts, thoughts without refinement or contemplation. Talk radio is designed to excite and incite people. By so doing, talk radio increases listenership and thereby allows the advertising people to change higher rates for 30-second spots.
Some believe talk radio is an improvement over the ``letters to the editor'' columns. The silent majority, they contend, can air their point of view on radio. So what's the problem?
Intelligent people should be aware that the voices one hears on talk radio are not those of the silent majority. Those voices do not reflect the true ``voice'' of America. The voices we hear belong to a small minority, a minority of self-appointed experts and mavens. Some voices think that talk radio is really news - and actually believe everything they hear on the radio.
Is there a solution to the problem?
Don't ask me, I just realized I'm part of the problem.
And you can believe that.
Robert I. Alotta is an author-historian who lives in Harrisonburg.
by CNB