Think Radio

 

Published 12/10/06

 

In the mid-1990’s I hosted a radio talk show in Alexandria, La.  The format consisted of me offering my political views on current issues and then inviting listeners to call in with their thoughts.

 

Although at the time I respected what Rush Limbaugh was doing, I didn’t agree with what I considered his “style.”  To me, even though I shared his disdain for “liberals,” I thought it would be more productive if I were to voice my views in a respectful, thoughtful manner and encourage those who disagreed with me to call in and do the same.  One of my favorite sayings on the air was, “So long as we respect each other, when disagreement occurs, enlightenment is sure to follow.”  The most frequent comment I got from listeners was “I don’t always agree with you Wayne, but you make me THINK.”

 

To me, that was the greatest compliment I could receive.

 

I’ve learned and grown a lot over the past 10 years.  Nowadays, while doing construction work I’m often exposed to Rush Limbaugh’s show, and I’ve noticed that he’s still saying the same things he was 10 years ago!  It occurred to me that he’s really not trying to get his listeners to think.  All he’s doing is providing entertainment.  “Talk radio” seems to be just like music radio except that, instead of playing the listeners’ favorite songs, they voice the listeners’ favorite opinions - over and over.  Each day, the packaging may be different, but the content has been the same for over a decade.

 

With all of the alternative sources of information now available for people to learn what’s really going on in the world, the opinions that are formed from “talk radio” or any other partisan source are easily recognizable.

 

And they DARNED sure don’t make ANYONE think.