Talk Show Hosts in Memphis
Radio talk show hosts are just like any other profession. Some are good and some are bad. And some are in-between. For example, take college professors. I’ve spent the last ten years auditing classes on various topics. Some of the profs are excellent. They know their subject. Some have even written textbooks. And know how to teach their students. Others are mediocre. And then some are really atrocious. Their command of English is totally inadequate. They have come from another land, perhaps. It may be they are the best the college can afford to hire on the budget available. But they should not be teaching. I feel especially sorry for the student who must struggle to understand and learn from them. These kids have to get a grade. I, as an audit student, do not. I can just walk away. And I sometimes do.
Why did I mention radio talk show hosts? Well, it’s the profession I practiced for a number of years before I retired. And now I can’t help but listen to today’s crop - and analyze their work. And I am saddened. At least with the offerings here in the Memphis market. Many of the talkers are syndicated. Cause that’s a relatively inexpensive way for stations to fill air time. And they’ve got to have some skill to reach that level of success. But the local hosts? They are, at best, two dimensional. They manage to toss out the usual litany of current events as grist for the mill. And they typically assume a belligerent posture on the topic and interrupt the callers and pontificate as if they are God’s gift to the human race.
They are not. They interrupt the caller and won’t let them make their point. They will do this over and over, and over again. As often as not, they won’t even let the caller finish his or her first sentence before jumping down their throat. It is infantile behavior. They are in control and can easily out shout the caller. And they do. To what end? To appear superior, I suppose.
So, what is the third dimension at which they fail so frequently? It is humility. They need to learn that they are not always right. That it is truly brilliant to be humble and admit one’s errors. If they were to adopt that posture of humility with some regularity, they might find their audiences could come to love them. As it is, they will continue to get a small number of regular callers, who obviously like to be verbally abused. They will be left with long stretches of air time when there are no callers on the line. They have convinced themselves that this means the public likes to hear them talk about anything - without limit. Even if they have nothing worthwhile to say. They simply continue to string words together. And they repeat and repeat over and over the simplistic arguments they make on a topic.
It would be a true service to their listeners if their program directors would make the talk hosts sit down with their show tapes on a regular basis - at least once a week - and listen to the drivel that they pretend is broadcast entertainment. They would quickly learn that they use a few dozen stock phrases over and over again, boring any discerning listener to death. Listening to their tapes would not completely cure this, but it would force them to come up with some fresh expressions or clichés on a regular basis. And their program directors would have to accept that there would be moments when they might be (horrors) at a loss for words! Such moments would only last for a second or two, but broadcasters have been trained to fear a second of dead air - afraid the audience will switch to another station. This kind of fear is paranoid and totally unwarranted. Though a few people might turn the dial, the greater number will come to judge fairly, and greatly respect, the talk host who has to pause for a moment to gather his thoughts and say something worth hearing.
There is another kind of talk radio in the Memphis market - the bought and paid for weekend hour. In this mode, the skill level of the host it less important. He or she is simply a shill for a service or product available in the market: vitamin pills or landscape service, or financial planning advice. If he has brought several sponsors to the station willing to pay the going rate, and if the proposed host has at least a minimal background of experience in the topic and doesn’t say “you know” at the end of every sentence, odds are he’s going on the air next week. The station doesn’t really care very much. Its weekend times don’t have much effect in a station’s ratings anymore. But if they can sell 20 or 30 hours over the weekend, they’ll pay for the electricity that keeps them on th air and for the parttime board operators who screen the callers.
Why did I mention radio talk show hosts? Well, it’s the profession I practiced for a number of years before I retired. And now I can’t help but listen to today’s crop - and analyze their work. And I am saddened. At least with the offerings here in the Memphis market. Many of the talkers are syndicated. Cause that’s a relatively inexpensive way for stations to fill air time. And they’ve got to have some skill to reach that level of success. But the local hosts? They are, at best, two dimensional. They manage to toss out the usual litany of current events as grist for the mill. And they typically assume a belligerent posture on the topic and interrupt the callers and pontificate as if they are God’s gift to the human race.
They are not. They interrupt the caller and won’t let them make their point. They will do this over and over, and over again. As often as not, they won’t even let the caller finish his or her first sentence before jumping down their throat. It is infantile behavior. They are in control and can easily out shout the caller. And they do. To what end? To appear superior, I suppose.
So, what is the third dimension at which they fail so frequently? It is humility. They need to learn that they are not always right. That it is truly brilliant to be humble and admit one’s errors. If they were to adopt that posture of humility with some regularity, they might find their audiences could come to love them. As it is, they will continue to get a small number of regular callers, who obviously like to be verbally abused. They will be left with long stretches of air time when there are no callers on the line. They have convinced themselves that this means the public likes to hear them talk about anything - without limit. Even if they have nothing worthwhile to say. They simply continue to string words together. And they repeat and repeat over and over the simplistic arguments they make on a topic.
It would be a true service to their listeners if their program directors would make the talk hosts sit down with their show tapes on a regular basis - at least once a week - and listen to the drivel that they pretend is broadcast entertainment. They would quickly learn that they use a few dozen stock phrases over and over again, boring any discerning listener to death. Listening to their tapes would not completely cure this, but it would force them to come up with some fresh expressions or clichés on a regular basis. And their program directors would have to accept that there would be moments when they might be (horrors) at a loss for words! Such moments would only last for a second or two, but broadcasters have been trained to fear a second of dead air - afraid the audience will switch to another station. This kind of fear is paranoid and totally unwarranted. Though a few people might turn the dial, the greater number will come to judge fairly, and greatly respect, the talk host who has to pause for a moment to gather his thoughts and say something worth hearing.
There is another kind of talk radio in the Memphis market - the bought and paid for weekend hour. In this mode, the skill level of the host it less important. He or she is simply a shill for a service or product available in the market: vitamin pills or landscape service, or financial planning advice. If he has brought several sponsors to the station willing to pay the going rate, and if the proposed host has at least a minimal background of experience in the topic and doesn’t say “you know” at the end of every sentence, odds are he’s going on the air next week. The station doesn’t really care very much. Its weekend times don’t have much effect in a station’s ratings anymore. But if they can sell 20 or 30 hours over the weekend, they’ll pay for the electricity that keeps them on th air and for the parttime board operators who screen the callers.
posted by David F. Diamond at 2:50 PM
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