A Bittersweet Experience with Talk Radio

After several long attempts to get on talk radio, and some desperate last shots right before the deadline, I have decided to stop and to reflect about the experience I had, even though I did not attain my goal of getting on the air.

Adapting to the climate of talk radio was definitely a struggle for me at the start.  I have never been a talk radio listener, and the process took some getting used to.  Even though in ways I feel like I have failed to reach my ultimate goal of getting on the air, I also feel that I learned a lot through the course of the assignment.  I definitely came a long way from where I started out a week ago.

During my first attempt at listening to a news/talk show, I struggled to even find a station that I could work with.  Using iHeartRadio, I browsed a variety of news stations, but I struggled to find conversations that I could understand, let alone contribute to.  Topics ranged from specific economic news to sports, both of which I lack up-to-date knowledge about.

As the days progressed, I began to look at radio schedules ahead of time so that I would be sure to listen to conversations from their start. This helped tremendously, and I began to become engaged in conversations that I could actually follow.  Even so, the whole concept of calling in did not come naturally to me. I would not realize that something a host said was even provocative enough to warrant a call. All of a sudden, there would be a caller on the line agreeing with the host, and I would realize time and again that I missed out on a shot.

Although it felt forced, I eventually began to dial into shows, as I became more acquainted with the topics being discussed. Having listened even more extensively to the radio over the past two days, I realized that almost everyone was talking about general economic turmoil, the Herman Cain scandal, and today, the conviction of Michael Jackson’s doctor. I sat for hours on end listening to KTLK-AM, a Los Angeles radio station that has a variety of progressive hosts.

I got through to a screener one time while listening to the Randi Rhodes show on KTLK. The conversation was about Herman Cain, so I said that I wanted to comment about the importance of electing presidential candidates who are trustworthy.  Apart from his allegations of sexual harrassment, I felt that the way he avoided questions showed that he was not transparant enough to be trusted with any topic. I did not end up on the air, however, and this was the closest I came.

Although I had one goal in mind while doing this project, I do still feel like I had minor victories throughout.  In the course of about a week, I became much more familiar with current events. Although I think that hosts should have a more diverse scope of topics so that they are not always repeating themselves and each other, I feel like I got a much more in-depth understanding of several issues than I would have if I were browsing a newspaper or website.  I also learned basic things about talk radio, and how it is set up, and I feel much more inclined to listen in the future.