March-April 1999

Talk Radio

Who's Pushing America's Buttons?

by Karen Orfitelli

Rush Limbaugh...Howard Stern... Laura Schlessinger. Chances are, if you are one of the 75 percent of Americans who tune into talk radio every day, one of these voices is filtering into your home or car. There is no getting around it, talk radio is hot. Since 1980, the number of radio stations broadcasting talk has mushroomed from a mere 75 countrywide to 1,250 in 1997. Talk radio is filling the airwaves faster than the speed of sound.

Why is Talk Popular?

Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers Magazine and the leading authority in the country on talk radio, feels one major reason for talk radio's success is simply that it's interesting. "Talk radio became interesting once the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) abolished the Fairness Doctrine in 1987," Harrison states.

With the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, the doors of talk radio were swung wide to uninhibited discussion of controversial issues. For the first time, broadcasters were no longer required to allow a "reasonable opportunity for the presentation of contrasting viewpoints."

Harrison continues, "Before 1987, radio stations were hesitant to broadcast any controversial issues for fear that they would be fined or lose their license if the government or complainers in the audience felt they were not being evenhanded. And, since it is difficult to determine evenhandedness in complex issues, stations simply avoided those issues."

Another reason Harrison cites for the boom in talk radio is the isolated lives many Americans lead. "Talk radio serves the simple need for connections with other people. Many people don't know their neighbors anymore and wouldn't have time to talk over the backyard fence even if they did. But there's still a human need for community, so it's a virtual, electronic, global community."

In addition to these two factors, talk radio is a powerful advertising medium. "It attracts listeners who pay attention to what they are listening to," Harrison states. "Typically listeners are well-educated, affluent and very likely to respond to an ad."

Others in the field believe that talk radio is strong because the format adapts to popular culture easily and inexpensively. Stations can keep their fingers on the pulse of listener's needs, and with chameleon-like transition, respond to what the audience wants. The immediacy and ability to reach a nonprint-oriented audience are also reasons for some of this meteoric rise in popularity.

With more than 1,000 stations broadcasting talk radio each day, all that talk is not falling on deaf ears.

Who's Listening?

In 1990, Talkers Magazine began an 8-year study of the talk radio audience. The results of this study, released in 1998, clearly delineate the profile of the talk radio listener. If you are a male between the ages of 35 and 65, you are a demographic group that constitutes the majority of talk fans. Take one giant step toward the center of the profile if you have at least two years of college and make $50,000 or more. Place yourself dead center and take a bow if you voted in the 1996 election, are not registered with any political party and consider your political philosophy to be somewhere between "moderate" and "ultra-conservative." And, oh-by-the-way, if Italian food is your favorite, as it is for 20 percent of the talk radio audience, pop open your pizza box, flip on the radio and enjoy yourself!

At home, Americans have given themselves every opportunity to listen to radio talk. While 99 percent of homes have at least one radio, the average U.S. home finds space for nearly six under its roof. And that doesn't count the radios in the cars they drive, the RVs in which they vacation or the radios in their offices.

Accusations abound that listeners have stopped thinking for themselves and simply line up behind the views of their favorite political or religious talk host.

Why are We Listening?

A female listener from Michigan says, "I listen for information. Talk radio doesn't give me slanted, picked through news like some of the big networks do."

Unslanted news? A listener from Connecticut disagrees. "I listen to talk radio all of the time -- when I get ready for work, on my commutes to work and back, and even at home when I'm preparing supper. I'm keenly aware, however, that hosts have an agenda -- a platform -- they are promoting, either through their words or through the choice of issues they discuss each day. Although I am conservative politically, I listen to conservative as well as liberal shows to see what both sides are saying. Then I filter through the bias and think about the facts."

"I'm addicted to talk radio," admits a young stay-at-home mom of three from Ipswich, Massachusetts. "I listen to it as a news source and entertainment every chance I get."

A sometimes-listener from Londonderry, New Hampshire, shares, "I love talk radio when only one person is doing the talking. The minute people start calling in, I turn it off. I get too frustrated listening to others talk when I can't respond."

Since millions of people are tuning into talk radio every day, the question that begs to be asked is, "Who's doing the talking and what are they saying?

Who's Talking?

This question of who's who in talk radio is a controversial issue. Ratings have been disputed since the latest were released by Talkers Magazine. Acerbically referred to as "the battle of the big mouths," the ratings are in and the blue ribbon goes to Rush Limbaugh the king of talk radio.

Political entertainer and right-wing conspiratist, Rush Limbaugh has been a hot topic on the talk radio circuit, "El Rushbo" himself has a legendary ego that's hard to contain. His anti-Clinton, conservative views have won him the love and support of the politically conservative sector.

A close second, Dr. Laura Schlessinger reaches a whopping 14.5 million listeners on more than 250 different stations. Dr. Laura, as she prefers to be called, has also broken new ground in radio talk. She's the first major talk radio personality to pull in a majority of women listeners, with a 54 percent female audience.

Schlessinger, a devout Jew, dispenses her advice with a blend of tough love, uncompromising values and a verbal kick in the pants to her callers who need to get their lives straight. And with her 60-second, no-holds-barred response to caller's moral dilemmas, she's a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is advice dispenser. In spite of her critics who claim she's too glib and cannot possibly mete out decent advice to distraught callers, the 60,000 calls a day she receives from listeners, many of them Christians who agree with her tough stand against immoral behavior, speak otherwise. Schlessinger has the distinction of hosting the fastest growing talk show in radio history.

Schlessinger recently bailed out of a big-bucks television deal with CBS when she found out that shock jock Howard Stern was also being syndicated by the same network.

The decision was no moral dilemma for Schlessinger. "I woke up in the morning and saw the newspaper and within 60 seconds I handled the situation. I called my attorney." Her reason for backing out? Schlessinger felt the network's "programming is morally incompatible" with her own views.

Currently last in the top three list is Howard Stern. Not on the same planet ideologically, Stern professes to be caught up in no such moral dilemmas.

His sexually explicit program has been the subject of not only a great deal of criticism from the Christian, American Family Association (AFA), but also repeated disciplinary actions by the FCC, the U.S. government's broadcast control.

Stern, never one to back down from a challenge, has threatened to sue conservative AFA for driving sponsors away from his show. Nationally, about 85 percent of sponsors have agreed to drop the program according to AFA.

Stern's program is broadcast on about 50 stations, and he is best known for spewing vulgarity over the airwaves. In spite of his legal battles over the content of his shows, Stern steps behind the protection of the First Amendment and its founding principles of free speech and free press. CBS signed him up for The Howard Stern Show, which competes with NBC's Saturday Night Live.

Who's Thinking?

This host-audience response phenomenon has been the topic of much criticism. Accusations abound that listeners have stopped thinking for themselves and simply line up behind the views of their favorite political or religious talk host. Is that an accurate assessment?

Michael Harrison has some insights to offer. "Religious broadcasting is quite different from secular talk radio. There are really two kinds of religious broadcasting -- the very religious broadcasting and the secular-religious or more political broadcasting. Quite often people already have their minds made up, and they just want to be confirmed in what they believe. In my opinion, I don't think religious broadcasting spreads religion, I think it intensifies it among those who already feel it."

When asked about talk listeners in general, Harrison commented, "I think that there are people who have their opinions formed by whomever they talk to. I also believe that at least 50 percent of political talk listeners listen because they enjoy the dialogue and don't line up behind anyone. They think for themselves. I don't think there is a massive mindlessness of people lining up in back of political talk show hosts and believing everything they say."

Talk show listeners seem to agree. "It's not that I agree with anyone 100 percent," says a devoted talk radio listener. But the radio hosts I listen to have the platform to express many of the same views that I have."

In addition to her freelance writing and speaking, Karen Orfitelli is an editor at McGraw-Hill.

Top Talk Audiences

(Talk Radio Audiences by Size, in millions)

1. Rush Limbaugh 15.00+

2. Laura Schlessinger 14.50+

3. Howard Stern 9.00+

4. Art Bell 6.50+

4. Joy Browne 6.50+

5. Don Imus 5.25+

6. Jim Bohannon 5.00+

6. Bruce Williams 5.00+

7. G. Gordon Liddy 3.50+

8. Ken & Daria Dolan 2.50+

8. Michael Reagan 2.50+

8. Dean Edell 2.50+

9. Bob Grant 1.75+

9. John and Ken 1.75+

9. Doug Stephan 1.75+

10. Tom Leykis 1.50+

Source: Talkers Magazine, The Talk Radio Research Project

Don't Just Sit There-
Turn the Channel

While day-time TV has always appealed to audiences through use of sensationalism, TV talk shows have recently reached an all-time low in their use of violence, voyeurism and vulgarity. Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer have hiked their ratings by showcasing increasingly repulsive molesters, abusers, adulterers and pederasts, all of them eager to tell the world about their loathsomeness.

Former TV talk show host Phil Donahue predicts that the current wave of television sensationalism will fade once the novelty wears off. "Trash TV will fold," Donahue said at a recent fundraising event. During his speech, Donahue was reluctant to criticize the air-pulling, brawlfests of Jerry Springer, but he lamented the fact that Springer's popularity mirrors a society in which crime is rampant. Unfortunately, the novelty doesn't appear to be wearing off any time soon.

No Limits

Jonathan Schmitz was found guilty of the murder of Scott Amedure in March 1995, three days after the two taped a segment for the Jenny Jones Show and Schmitz learned on camera that Amedure had a homosexual crush on him. Schmitz' lawyers maintained that the producers of the show lied to Schmitz, humiliated him on camera and basically drove him to murder.

Jenny Jones told Dateline NBC that she "absolutely" would do that same show again -- "it's a great topic."

To kick off her fifteenth season, Sally Jessy Raphael has changed the format of her show to feature a "back-stage diary" showing "behind-the-scenes" backstage snafus, heated show-planning meetings and last minute tantrums. "We're going to have cameras everywhere in the make-up room, walking around backstage and in the control room," Raphael says. "And we'll have special sets where people will sit if they're having an 'off-stage' fight."

Jerry Springer boasts at having the "fastest rising show in the history of television." In February 1998, Studios USA which owns the show announced that the violence would be scaled back in the wake of widespread criticism. But the Neilsen ratings for the week ending June 14 showed that Springer fell 7 percent without the customary fistfights. In July, Springer admitted that the chair-throwing brawls that transformed the program into a national phenomenon were gradually being added back into the programming. September 3, 1998, Richard Dominick, executive producer says of the new 1998 Springer programs, "They are wilder and crazier than ever before."

Ultimate in Controversy

The ultimate in controversial TV talk shows is the new Howard Stern Radio Show which debuted August 22, 1998, opposite Saturday Night Live. Within the first week, the show featured a lap dance performed by a naked woman, a female body-builder groped by Stern and an interview where O.J. Simpson was asked for his tips for removing blood stains, among other topics.

Calling Howard Stern's two-week-old syndicated TV show "morally offensive," a Texas television station became the first in the nation to pull the plug on it. "Simply put, he crossed the line," said Larry Landake, KJTV vice president and general manager. "At some point you have to ask yourself, 'does this have any value at all?' We're not trying to be moral gatekeepers of the community, but this show is morally offensive and impossible to defend."

American Family Association (AFA) expressed outrage that CBS is helping Howard Stern slash away at the nation's moral fabric. "CBS executives owe the American people a formal apology for embracing Stern's obsession for strippers, prostitutes, genitalia, breasts and descriptions of bodily functions that are inappropriate for public airwaves," said AFA vice president Tim Wildmon. Wildmon concluded by calling on CBS to return to higher broadcast standards. "The American people should demand that the local stations and advertisers be morally responsible with the public airwaves."

The New York Post said, "Someone help Howard Stern -- the man is sick," adding that the TV show was "appalling," "pathetic" and "represented the very worst of what he is."

Stern's television ratings have steadily declined since the show's premiere, and three other stations in the U.S. and at least two in Canada have also dropped the show. Two other U.S. stations -- KWBP-TV in Portland, Oregon, and KPLR-TV in St. Louis -- have preempted Stern's show because of the raunchy content.

Trendsetter

Fortunately, most people feel Oprah Winfrey doesn't fall into the cesspool of many other TV talk shows. Oprah has owned the No. 1 talk show in the country for more than 10 years and the highest-rated talk show in television history.

In 1994, Oprah took a look at the tawdry TV talk world that surrounded her and got disgusted. "There's no honor, no integrity in it," she said, as she set about putting her own show on a new path, ignoring sensationalism in favor of "positive" subject matter. Her No. 1 ratings took a dip while the Ricki Lakes and Jerry Springers became the rage. In the end, however, Winfrey proved once again to be a trendsetter. Now in her 10th year on national TV, Oprah is still on top, drawing 9 million viewers a day.

Oprah is one of the very few celebrities who owes her fame not to her superhuman qualities, but to her human frailties. Oprah has said, "One of my greatest assets is knowing I'm no different from the viewer." She is also one of the very few celebrities who hasn't forgotten where she came from. She was born in 1954, illegitimate, poor, female and black in Mississippi. Overcoming these obstacles has lent her credibility with guests and fans alike. "Oprah set the standard in daytime television," says fellow daytime host Rosie O'Donnell. "She consistently maintains a decency and morality on her show that gives talk shows a positive name."

Last season she devoted herself and the show to tackling the most critical issues facing children, in a year-long series titled, "Oprah's Child Alert." This special series examined gun violence, poverty, domestic abuse and abuse of children. The goal of the series was to empower viewers with information and solutions to improve the lives of children.

-- Phyllis Duke

Steve Allen, in a keynote address at the Banff TV Festival, June 8,1998, chastised network television executives as "merchants of filth helping to push American culture and society down a moral sewer." Allen went on to say that the proliferation of sex and sleaze on television today "distorted the ethical perceptions of our children."

Allen, who created and hosted the original Tonight Show, has authored 48 books, starred in motion pictures and written over 6,400 songs. He is no stranger to the media and certainly not to the talk format he helped pioneer on the Tonight Show. "The bankers, corporate executives and country-clubbers who own network stock, plus advertisers, far from resisting the aesthetic and ethical collapse -- as their class would have in times past -- are actually abetting this ugliness."

His solution: Members of the public should raise their voices against failing standards in TV programming, encouraging network executives to feel "guilt" and change their ways.

Rush Limbaugh

Education: High School, Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Listeners: 15.00+ million

Background: Rush got his first radio job at age 16, working on-air after school in his hometown. By 1988, he hosted his record-breaking national show.

Quotes: From Limbaugh's 35 Undeniable Truths:

Abstinence prevents sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy every time it's tried.
If you commit a crime, you are guilty.
There is a God.
Morality is not defined by individual choice.

Howard Stern

Education: Boston University

Listeners: 9.00+ million

Background: "Growing up," Stern says, "I lived for talk shows. Every day my mother and I would eat dinner at 4 o'clock, watching Mike Douglas."

Quotes: Stern says his wife is in charge of monitoring his daughters' (ages 13, 10 and 4) television viewing. "I don't let them watch my E! show, that's for sure. The kids have heard the radio show. My wife will turn it off when it gets a little edgy. Just what every parent should do, the responsible thing."

During an appearance on the Jay Leno Show, Stern attempted to support the claim that his book Private Parts is "the fastest-selling book in the history of books." He then held up a Bible and announced, "The Gideon Company is now putting my book in the place of Bibles in hotels."

Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Education: B.S. Biological Sciences; M.S., M. Phil., Ph.D. Physiology

Post Doctoral Certification: Marriage, Family and Child Counseling Licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor

Listeners: 14.50+ million

Background: Schlessinger was teaching at the University of Southern California when she called a radio talk show on a lark about 25 years ago. The host, Bill Ballance, immediately knew she was a talent and helped her get her start in radio. In June 1995, her Los Angeles-based talk show went national with 13 stations. In a controversial and much publicized lawsuit last November, Schlessinger failed to prevent nude photos of herself taken by Ballance from being published. Ballance, Schlessinger's former mentor and lover, sold the photos which he took over 20 years ago for "tens of thousands of dollars" according to one news release.

Schlessinger told her national radio audience that, "I have undergone profound changes...the most important of which is my journey from atheist to observant Jew. In my 20s, I was my own moral authority. The inadequacy of that way of life is painfully obvious today."

Quotes: "My job is to be a kick in the pants to people who have a million reasons why 'they can't.' They can. They know they can. They took the first step by picking up the phone."

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