Tuning to AMerica

Insight on the News, July 17, 1995 by Michael Rust

These days, silence isn't golden; talk is. During the last five years, the number of radio stations devoted to the news/talk format has doubled to almost 1,200 - a fivefold increase over a dozen years. Last fall, news/talk for the first time became the most popular radio format in the nation, according to Arbitron ratings, and it has held this position with a 14.7 percent ratings share of the national audience, edging out country and adult-contemporary categories.

Those voices on the airwaves are wafting their way toward Capitol Hill as well. Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike respond to the storm winds generated by radio airwaves as political strategists increasingly factor the power of talk radio into their political equations. The effect of the medium can be "far-reaching on some issues," says Paul Marcone, administrative assistant to Rep. James Traficant, an Ohio Democrat.

Witness the upcoming hearings by a joint subcommittee of the House Judiciary and Government Reform and Oversight committees. In mid-July, these hearings, chaired by Republicans Bill McCollum of Florida and Bill Zeliff of New Hampshire, will investigate government tactics that prefaced more than 80 civilian deaths (including 24 children) at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in April 1993. Other federal law-enforcement actions also will be reviewed.

Outrage over the deadly Waco raid has been present ever since the 51-day siege ended in a firestorm. Critics of the government's actions say there is no evidence child abuse occurred in the compound - charges that Attorney General Janet Reno cited as the rationale for the raid. Certainly this sort of skepticism, a staple of talk radio, has fed and fed off the debate. It is possible that the hearings would have occurred without the nudge of talk radio, says Marcone "but I think talk radio made it a certainty - that sooner or later we were going to have to deal with that issue'

Traficant, a controversial populist Democrat, has focused much of his attention on issues with a gut appeal to talk-radio addicts: protectionism (for), illegal immigration (against), and the IRS (very much against). Back home in Youngstown, Traficant has a local talk show on which he discusses current issues. But his frequent appearances on talk radio around the country have brought him a national audience. "These are not necessarily nationally syndicated shows, but they are heard in different regions of the country," says Marcone. The result is mail from coast to coast, and this can carry over into legislation.

One example is a Traficant-sponsored bill to change the burden of proof on civil tax cases, which probably win reach the House floor this summer. The congressman moved beyond his usual status as a gadfly with this legislation, drawing close to 300 cosponsors. "A lot of that has to do with the listeners of these shows calling up their congressman or congresswoman and asking them to cosponsor the bill," says Marcone.

It's not only politicians who have benefited from the success of talk radio. AM radio, which in the early 1980s was dying, has been rejuvenated by news/talk. "There were 5,000 AM radio stations out there that couldn't compete against 5,000 FM stations playing music" says Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers, a monthly tabloid that reports on the industry "So when you have nothing left to lose ... that's usually when things get creative."

At the same time, advances in satellite and telephone technology have allowed networks to bring "major-market" talent to local stations at a relatively low cost. And, in 1987, Congress repealed the Fairness Doctrine, which had required stations to provide "free" equal time for opposing political viewpoints. "In an effort to make radio `fair', it really just absolutely chilled free and link the Masons, in turn, led free speech," says Harrison, host of the widely syndicated Talk Radio Countdown Show, which reviews each week's 10 most talked-about issues.

Perhaps most importantly, talk radio "creates a sense of virtual community at a time when people are very lonely," says Harrison, and it provides an alternative to the mainstream media that lets people vent their feelings. "It's an alternative to big media, an alternative to big government and an alternative to big business."

In the case of conservatives - who often feel misused or misunderstood by establishment liberals in the media - this feeling of community is most pronounced. "I think the mainstream media, in a lot of instances, does have a liberal bent," says Marcone. "And the way the network news [programs] are set up, they don't have the forums to go into issues in depth. On talk radio, they can pick an issue of the day and just hammer away at it. That's kind of a unique format."

Of course, such empowerment may be an illusion. But a number of politicians believe that in an increasingly semiliterate era the spoken word matters more than the printed. Republican leaders seemed to acknowledge that by allowing radio-talk hosts to broadcast live from the Capitol during debate on the GOP "Contract With America."