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Myth Boxes
The Voice of the People or Just Hot Air?
As a form of contemporary popular culture, nothing could appear to be more American than call-in radio and television shows. Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Oprah Winfrey—all provide Americans with the opportunity to tune in and speak out on dozens of topics, many centering on politics and government. Is this talk truly the voice of the people in a democratic system? Or is it just hot air?
In the 1970s many radio-station owners quickly capitalized on the fact that a multitude of Americans wanted to vent their opinions over the air-waves. Dozens and then hundreds of stations across the country offered this multitude its chance. By the 1980s and 1990s, television caught the call-in show fever, boosting local television talk shows and eventually producing national programs, hosted by Phil Donahue, Larry King, and other television personalities—all prepared to let the American people speak out on just about any topic. Even the all-news television network, CNN, would host a national call-in show, giving the American public the opportunity to "talk back" to public officials and others—over the telephone, by fax, or by e-mail—on any topic, from politics, Congress, and the presidency to O. J. Simpson.
Besides making money for radio and television stations, the call-in shows have attempted to provide a forum for public opinion and even for political activism. Some citizens, no doubt, have used this forum to discuss serious issues. Yet such call-in programs often distort both public debate and the view of U.S. public opinion. For instance, many call-in shows use a screener, who decides, by asking a series of questions, which callers will actually get on the air. Your odds of being chosen usually increase if you fall (or at least claim to fall) into these categories: you are between twenty-five and forty years old and thus project maturity, as well as fit a prime age target for many advertisers; you are an out-of-towner (talk-show hosts have well-developed egos and are impressed by long-distance calls); you are calling on a cellular telephone (they don't want you to run up your telephone bill); and you want to talk on the topic of the day and manage to convince the screener that you have something different and exciting to say, as well as a relevant personal experience to share. It is also a good idea to have a subject to talk about that is both controversial and mainstream.
Although some call-in talk shows provide an interesting and productive forum for the expression of public opinion, the planned and biased selection of a very limited number of callers on any day or in any week can distort the image of what public opinion is on any given issue. As important, myths about how the public views an issue can lead to distortions about how we, as a people, think about a complex problem or policy. One has to ask oneself if call-in radio and television is truly the "voice of the people" in a democratic system. . . or is it all just "hot air."
Source: Peter Laufer, Inside Talk Radio (New York: Birch Lane Press, 1995); Howard Kurtz, Hot Air: All Talk All the Time (New York Times Books, 1996)
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