SEARCHING FOR THE CENTER ON TALK RADIO SURELY THERE'S A BETTER SOLUTION THAN CREATING A LEFT-WING NETWORK.Byline: Lawrence Pane Local View TALK radio was one of the pleasures I missed when sailing around the world from 1996 to 2002. Pre-1996 I could find informative, fun to listen to, and occasionally thought-provoking shows. There were the kooks from both wings, with a good leavening of middle of the road. It was fun to experience the then-extremes by switching back and forth between Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American conservative radio talk show host and political commentator. Born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, he is a self-described conservative, who discusses politics and current events on his program, and Michael Jackson Noun 1. Michael Jackson - United States singer who began singing with his four brothers and later became a highly successful star during the 1980s (born in 1958) Michael Joe Jackson, Jackson . You knew when Rush said he was on a never-ending search for truth that it was entertainment, as was Michael's search for fairness. By scanning the stations, you could find a reasonable representation of all sides of a story, and to ensure that you did, Dennis Prager Dennis Prager (born August 2, 1948) is an American syndicated radio talk show host, columnist, author, ethicist, and public speaker in the United States. He is noted for his conservative political views and for his study of the consequences of secularism in the 20th Century. was there to evenhandedly e·ven·hand·ed adj. Showing no partiality; fair. e  ven·hand pontificate. There was a ``niceness'' to almost every program. One of the shocks of re-entry RE-ENTRY, estates. The resuming or retaking possession of land which the party lately had. 2. Ground rent deeds and leases frequently contain a clause authorizing the landlord to reenter on the non-payment of rent, or the breach of some covenant, when the into the real world was the discovery of the wasteland that talk radio has become. All the entertainment, all the discussion, all the information, has gone. Talk radio has become nasty and mean-spirited. It is almost impossible to distinguish between the Hannity, Medved, Hewitt, Rantel, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Savage and other monologues that pass for radio shows, as they appear to be all reading from the same script. How can these commentators expect to be taken seriously when ``their side'' is never wrong and ``the other side'' is never right? Do they really want a one-party state with no opposition, no dissenting voices, and universal, knee-jerk, assenting responses to the ruling party? Even my stalwart Stalwart A description of companies that have large capitalizations and provide investors with slow but steady and dependable growth prospects. Notes: The annual gain that would be viewed as the norm for investing in stalwarts is about 10% to 12%. Mr. Prager has fallen by the wayside. ``I prefer that people not vote, rather than vote for the wrong person,'' said this once-rational supporter of fair play and democracy to my unbelieving ears. A certain station advertises itself as ``radio on the right,'' which is somewhat akin to a lemming lemming, name for several species of mouselike rodents related to the voles. All live in arctic or northern regions, inhabiting tundra or open meadows. They frequently nest in underground burrows, particularly in winter, although they do not hibernate. announcing that it is a lemming. ``Spin'' has become a way of life, and the ``No Spin Zone'' seems to mean that spinning fast enough makes one appear to be not spinning. There has been a universal replacement of ``My country right or wrong'' with ``My president and my Republican party right.'' ``Search for the truth'' has been replaced by everyone's ``selection of the truth'' without the intellectual honesty to admit it. To not report on and discuss certain stories simply because to do so may require agreement with ``them'' is as morally bankrupt as telling a lie. Actually, all of this would be fine if it wasn't so relentlessly, mind-crushingly boring. The steady drone of right-wing rhetoric is just as dull as the steady drone of left-wing rhetoric, for exactly the same reasons. Whatever happened to reasoned debate? I can remember the time when the proponents of both sides of an issue actually argued the merits, not shouted at each other from the ramparts
v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. partisan positions. Wouldn't it be nice, occasionally, to hear a radio program where facts replaced rhetoric, and where opposing views were actually entertained, instead of being scorned and shouted over? Why can't talk radio again become a source of informative, stimulating discussion? What is stopping interviewers from asking questions that seek the truth rather than support of a predetermined pre·de·ter·mine v. pre·de·ter·mined, pre·de·ter·min·ing, pre·de·ter·mines v.tr. 1. To determine, decide, or establish in advance: position? Surely ratings won't fall if a guest or caller (one of ``them''), is actually selected for having intelligence and a coherent perspective. The world will not end if the host is actually moved to say, ``You're right, I was wrong.'' What is even sadder is that the reaction to this sorry state is to propose the establishment of left-wing radio, as a ``balance.'' Please God, no! What we need is middle of the road, balanced, trustworthy, unbiased, entertaining radio, not more endless position statements. I cannot believe that the population is so brain-dead as to require extreme positions as a requisite for listening. I must not believe that those listeners who call in to the talk shows are representative of anything but both lunatic fringes lunatic fringe - [IBM] Customers who can be relied upon to accept release 1 versions of software. , or I would never venture out of my front door. Where has the relative sanity of just nine years ago gone? |
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