{"id":547,"date":"2007-07-27T06:42:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-27T12:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/?p=547"},"modified":"2007-07-27T06:42:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-27T12:42:00","slug":"the-talk-radio-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/2007\/07\/the-talk-radio-formula\/","title":{"rendered":"The talk radio formula"},"content":{"rendered":"

O<\/span>liver Stone<\/span>\u2019s Talk Radio<\/a> is one of my favourite media movies. Eric Bogosian<\/span> plays talk show host Barry Champlain. Only the politics tell you that it was made in 1988<\/span> (instead of a conservative blowhard, Bogosian plays a morally bankrupt liberal). Seeing it again the other night reminded me that the formula for talk radio has changed little in a quarter of a century. Except, perhaps, that it\u2019s become slicker, and more professional – there is now a formula you could actually write down.<\/p>\n

On which topic, there is a brilliant 2005 essay on talk radio by David Foster Wallace<\/span>, but it sits behind a pay-wall at the Atlantic<\/a><\/span>. Now I subscribe, and perhaps you do too, but if you don\u2019t and the excerpt below doesn\u2019t remind you that some things are worth the price of admission…well, nothing will. (BTW it deals with the beheading of Nick Berg<\/span><\/a> in Iraq.)<\/p>\n

John Ziegler, who is a talk-radio host of unflagging industry, broad general knowledge, mordant wit, and extreme conviction, makes a particular specialty of media criticism. One object of his disgust and contempt in the churn so far has been the U.S. networks\u2019 spineless, patronizing decision not to air the Berg videotape and thus to deny Americans \u201ca true and accurate view of the barbarity, the utter depravity, of these people.\u201d Even more outrageous, to Mr. Z., is the mainstream media\u2019s lack of outrage about Berg\u2019s taped murder versus all that same media\u2019s hand-wringing and invective over the recent photos of alleged prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, which he views as a clear indication of the deluded, blame- America-first mentality of the U.S. press. It is an associated contrast between Americans\u2019 mortified response to the Abu Ghraib photos and reports of the Arab world\u2019s phlegmatic reaction to the Berg video that leads to his churn’s climax, which is that we are plainly, unambiguously better than the Arab world \u2014 whereupon John Ziegler invites listeners to respond if they are so moved, repeats the special mnemonic KFI call-in number, and breaks for the :30 news and ads, on time to the second…<\/p>\n

Depending on one\u2019s politics, sensitivities, and tastes in argumentation, it is not hard to think of objections to John Ziegler\u2019s climactic claim, or at least of some urgent requests for clarification. Like: Exactly what and whom does \u201cthe Arab world\u201d refer to? And why are a few editorials and man-on-the-street interviews sufficient to represent the attitude and character of a whole diverse region? And why is al Jazeera\u2019s showing of the Berg video so awful if Mr. Z. has just castigated the U.S. networks for not showing it? Plus, of course, what is \u201cbetter\u201d supposed to mean here? More moral? More diffident about our immorality? Is it not, in our own history, pretty easy to name some Berg-level atrocities committed by U.S. nationals, or agencies, or even governments, and approved by much of our populace? Or perhaps this: Leaving aside whether John Ziegler’s assertions are true or coherent, is it even remotely helpful or productive to make huge, sweeping claims about some other region\u2019s\/culture\u2019s inferiority to us? What possible effect can such remarks have except to incite hatred? Aren\u2019t they sort of irresponsible?<\/p>\n

It is true that no one on either side of the studio\u2019s thick window expresses or even alludes to any of these objections. But this is not because Mr. Z.\u2019s support staff is stupid, or hateful, or even necessarily on board with sweeping jingoistic claims. It is because they understand the particular codes and imperatives of large-market talk radio. The fact of the matter is that it is not John Ziegler\u2019s job to be responsible, or nuanced, or to think about whether his on-air comments are productive or dangerous, or cogent, or even defensible. That is not to say that the host would not defend his \u201cwe\u2019re better\u201d \u2014 strenuously \u2014 or that he does not believe it\u2019s true. It is to say that he has exactly one on-air job, and that is to be stimulating. An obvious point, but it\u2019s one that\u2019s often overlooked by people who complain about propaganda, misinformation, and irresponsibility in commercial talk radio. Whatever else they are, the above-type objections to \u201cWe\u2019re better than the Arab world\u201d are calls to accountability. They are the sort of criticisms one might make of, say, a journalist, someone whose job description includes being responsible about what he says in public. And KFI\u2019s John Ziegler is not a journalist \u2014 he is an entertainer. Or maybe it\u2019s better to say that he is part of a peculiar, modern, and very popular type of news industry, one that manages to enjoy the authority and influence of journalism without the stodgy constraints of fairness, objectivity, and responsibility that make trying to tell the truth such a drag for everyone involved. It is a frightening industry, though not for any of the simple reasons most critics give.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a long, thoughtful essay – give it a go.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oliver Stone\u2019s Talk Radio is one of my favourite media movies. Eric Bogosian plays talk show host Barry Champlain. Only the politics tell you that it was made in 1988 (instead of a conservative blowhard, Bogosian plays a morally bankrupt liberal). Seeing it again the other night reminded me that the formula for talk radio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[265,120],"class_list":["post-547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journalism","tag-journalism-values","tag-us-journalism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrianmonck.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}