Radio
Radio is a medium which can provide entertainment while doing other things…cooking, driving, sewing, playing solitaire, gardening, and practically any activity where communication with another human being is not the focus of the moment. In the early days of radio, it was an extension of drama. Stage plays were written and read on the air with fun sound effects like the galloping horse or the creaky door. It was fantastic to think that so many people could hear the same thing at the same time. In some ways it brought the world closer. Things happening far away somehow became more important, even when they did not affect the listener directly. Older people will remember the famous “War of the Worlds” episode, which was so realistic as to cause grave concern among many listeners.
Old time radio was a freewheeling and very creative medium. A fellow who played the sidekick to the radio version of the Lone Ranger is an acquaintance of mine. He described how much fun it was to get the script, go into the studio and at the right moment say “Gee that was swell”, Kimosabe”. Such a phrase describes how innocent and fun early radio was.
Live orchestras performed on radio too. I was fortunate to meet the person who conducted the orchestra for a San Francisco Radio Station KSFO, Cy Trobbe. He was an entertaining host, as he would tell stories about the music or other non-related items to keep your interest. It seems that every time I met Cy, he’d have a fun joke or humorous experience to share. Having been on live radio seemed to give him a bigger than life personality. I once had the chance to visit Cy in his music library. It was housed in his garage and was chalk full of well-organized music. I think his collection now resides in the Library of Congress. He acquired this amazing sheet music collection largely because the publishers wanted him to play their music on the air for the royalties. He knew every score and where it was kept. Parts were meticulously arranged in score order. He had to know that when he pulled a work off the shelf, he could take it to the studio, have the librarian put it on the music stands and have the musicians perform it with one rehearsal.
Another radio personality I was fortunate to meet was Carlton E. Morse. He was the author of “I Love a Mystery” and “One Man’s Family”. For many years, he produced the scripts for these shows. Waking at 4 am each morning, he’d type out a free-flowing script on a manual typewriter that would be produced by actors later that day. In his lifetime, he produced about six million words of script. He created shows which captivated people throughout America. Families would gather around their radio sets to tune in to the next episode, similarly to the soap operas on television or the celebrity game shows now on television.
It was natural that radio evolved into a more structured format. Advertisers wanted to know the content when they associated themselves with a particular host. They also wanted to be sure that their advertising message reached many people for their investment. Producers and owners wanted to influence public opinion. The broader the audience, the more air time was worth to the station owners, so the objective was to produce content which appealed to the biggest segment of potential listeners, continually teasing the next story to keep those listeners engaged. Thus the content of each station became more sensational and more one-sided. Radio started to give you more of what you wanted to hear. Stories bashing successful industries were (and are) particularly appealing to producers, since a successful company has many customers. If you are a customer of the largest company in a market (insurance or oil or bank, etc.) a story about that company piques the interest of many listeners, gaining a larger audience for the station airing the content—whether the story is true or not.
I’ve noticed that people like to hear themselves talk. That is what gave rise to talk radio. The host would pose a question or opinion and create controversy by taking sides. The public would then either respond in support or against the point of view being promulgated. Gradually, the “in your face” format evolved, where the host, having the disconnect button, had all the power. He or she could control the content to the point where it became one-sided no matter what the truth of a particular argument might be. Hosts on a particular subject, such as money, fixing your house, travelling, cooking, psychology, politics, etc. would tell you what you want to hear. For example when a money show host talks about life insurance, he might ignore the stability factor of permanent life insurance in favor of market based investments because people don’t like to spend money on things they want to avoid (death). It is more popular to think that people will live forever in gaining wealth (stuff) for their own pleasure. Even though they disclaim that the general advice should not apply to a specific situation, human nature dictates that people will use the information for their own benefit or detriment. I find it fun to watch how hosts cover their tracks when their advice turns out to be wrong, especially in the financial shows.
One way to generate listener interest is to poll the audience. Several stations have used the technology available to poll their audience. Of course these polls are completely unscientific because you have a biased audience to begin with. Nevertheless, the listener poll does provide an indication of your own biases. It is interesting that the political polls are often set up after an inundation of news with a particular slant, after which a pollster will ask, “Do you agree or disagree with ______ (war, economy, president’s action, congress, etc.)”. If you have just seen a picture of a bomb dropping, you’re more likely to be against a military action. If you’ve just seen a building blown up by a terrorist, you’re more likely to be in favor of military action. If all the news you watch or listen to is about the negative economy, you’re more likely to be scared about your investments instead of excited about the low price opportunity which a faltering market offers.
When you listen to talk radio you need to keep in mind that callers may in fact be paid to call in with a particular position. Actors are hired to represent a point of view and are paid by their sponsors if they get airtime. So a political candidate’s party might support someone calling in to support their position and argue with the host. This is particularly noticeable during an election cycle, which we’re in right now. Republican supporters call in the Democratic leaning shows to argue their points and vice versa. The host always wins either through intimidation (you don’t know what you’re talking about) or by using the disconnect button.
My father exhorted each of his children when they went to college to “Listen to everyone, but think for yourself”. That advice is particularly relevant when it comes to radio talk shows. One time when I was the orchestra manager for the Western Opera Theatre on tour, orchestra members and I sat in a hotel room watching a Presidential debate on television. When the debate finished, I turned off the television. One of the orchestra members asked me, “Why did you turn it off?” I answered, “The debate is over”. She then said, “But I want to see who won!” meaning that she wanted the commentator to tell her who was the winning candidate. That mentality, I propose, is the downfall of critical thinking. I did not turn the television back on! We sometimes don’t do the hard work of thinking through what is really best for our country, state or city.
Now the real reason broadcast companies air content is to sell advertising. They hook you with interesting content only to get you to listen to the ads. However, because of that perspective, what is perceived as free really has a cost. It is the objectivity of independent thought. The next time you listen to a talk show, think about what is being promoted and why. Remember that they want you to listen, which means they will play to what you want to hear. If you want to hear something, it may be what you already know and with which you are familiar, rather than the truth. Yes, it’s entertaining, but don’t use the information as the sole basis of how you form an opinion on how to vote!
©Frank Bliss 2008 All rights reserved
November, 2008
