It began as a crazy idea. DJs would get bored with music and start talking to the audience. They would take calls, tell stories, and even talk a little politics, sports, and pop culture. Early on, it produced some enduring national personalities like Jean Shepherd, and Brad Crandall, Long John Nebel, and Larry King, and Barry Gray, and Joe Franklin. It was known first as Spoken Word Radio. Later, it would give way to an even more colorful and cantankerous cast of characters. People like Joe Pyne, Alan Berg and Morton Downey Jr..
Talk radio moved to the big cities with folks like Don Imus and Howard Stern. In New York, Bob Grant would redefine the formula beginning in the early 70s. In fact so much of Trump on race, comes directly out of the Bob Grant playbook. Grant was the soundtrack for the New York that Donald Trump came of political age in.
The Fairness Doctrine would be repealed in 1987 and suddenly radio would be set up to have political power. Then in 1988, a little known Sacramento newscaster and talk show host named Rush Limbaugh would be let loose nationally. He took the freedom of being untethered from the Fairness Doctrine, combined it with the formulas that had already proven successful in talk, added conservative politics in a sardonic and entertaining tone, and the rest is radio history. It began 30 years ago last week, and it certainly changed our entertainment, news, and the political landscape.
To bring this all into focus, I'm joined by Michael Harrison, the editor and publisher of Talkers Magazine, the "bible of the talk radio industry."
My WhoWhatWhy.org conversation with Michael Harrison:
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Flying Green, Climate Justice, and Higher Prices
The Era of Social Media Journalism Is Over: A Conversation with Ben Smith
A Conversation with Hernan Diaz about his Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel ”Trust”
Cyber Weapons and a New Arms Race… Without Firing a Shot: A Conversation with Nicole Perlroth
Myth, Religion, Fascism… The Recipe for Right-Wing Politics: My conversation with Jeff Sharlet
The Value of Killing Time: A Conversation with Sheila Liming
Science Is Simply Curiosity Writ Large: A conversation with Dr. Suzy Sheehy
How the Police Became Untouchable: A conversation with Joanna Schwartz
Dissecting the Silicon Valley Bank Debacle: A conversation with Dean Baker and Brad DeLong
Spies in Hollywood: A conversation with Jonathan Gill
A ”Succession” Drama in Real Life: Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy.
Why Doesn’t Our Technology Live Up to Our Science Fiction?
Joe Biden Fought To Get To The White House. Is He the President We Need Now?: My conversation with Chris Whipple
We Have No Democracy Without Good Citizens: My conversation with Richard Haass
We each have the personal answer to our divisions: A Conversation with Pico Iyer
Citizenship Is Just A Commodity: A Conversation with Atossa Abrahamian
In Spite of Many Problem, Flying is Safer Than Ever...Why?: A conversation with John Nance
Another New Year, and More Promises to Sweat: A conversation with Bill Hayes
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