What is it about AM Radio?

[AnnaG]

I like CBC radio 3 (listening right now) but I wish they'd can the rap. Yuck!

 

[Mowich]

It's TV I'm disappointed in. There's no program that discusses important topics interactively with the viewing audience, hence the appeal of talk radio.

Just a suggestion, Walter, but have you ever watched The Agenda or the Michael Coren programs? They seem to cover a wide range of topics and the guests do seem quite intelligent.

 

[TenPenny]

AM Radio has the benefit of transmitting over much longer distances; FM has far superior sound quality.

That's pretty much why AM radio is now the territory of talk radio.

 

[AnnaG]

Just a suggestion, Walter, but have you ever watched The Agenda or the Michael Coren programs? They seem to cover a wide range of topics and the guests do seem quite intelligent.

Steve Paikin, Michael Coren, Charlie Rose, Bill Moyers, Dave Ramsey, etc. There are a few alright.

 

[DaSleeper]

Just a suggestion, Walter, but have you ever watched The Agenda or the Michael Coren programs? They seem to cover a wide range of topics and the guests do seem quite intelligent.

The perceived intelligence of talk show hosts such as Michael Coren or Rush Limbaugh or their guests is proportional to how much you agree or disagree with them...:lol:

 

[AnnaG]

The perceived intelligence of talk show hosts such as Michael Coren or Rush Limbaugh or their guests is proportional to how much you agree or disagree with them...:lol:

I don't know that Michael Coren guy, but Rush Limbaugh isn't informative about much of anything except his opinion. Informative ones are those like Steve Paikin's show, Charlie Rose's show, etc. Even that Greek guy has some interesting people on sometimes, George Panagopoulos and "The Hour" or whatever his name is.

 

[TenPenny]

The perceived intelligence of talk show hosts such as Michael Coren or Rush Limbaugh or their guests is proportional to how much you agree or disagree with them...:lol:

Speaking of Rush, I wonder if anyone will go on-air and accuse him of faking his health problems?

 

[Downhome_Woman]

I've spent the last few days travelling, and while doing so I usually have the radio tuned to talk or sports, tune out music quickly, and intelligent conversation is always welcome on a long drive.

While bouncing around different stations, I ended up on 900 CHML, while listening I found myself awashed in ignorance from one Roy Green. It's not the first time I've heard such conduct from a radio host on the Corus Radio Network, I've listened to FNC approved Charles Adler in the past, and again drowned in ignorance. I thought perhaps he was the only one.

My question is, why is AM radio inhabited by their like, and in the US, Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, etc?

Why can we not have an intelligent political discourse in this country? Roy Green's voice seeped in anger when he said the words "Liberal" "Global Warming" etc. What good does that do anyone? Disagree with the Liberalism? Fine - but argue on the merits.

The extreme Left is no better; they view Conservatives and neaderthals, morons, etc. For the most part this isn't true.

Am I too idealistic in the age of irony and realism? Should I turn in my reasonable person card, and join in the political bloodletting and boil everything down into mush?

I'm fed up with our public airways being used in this manner. Corus Entertainment should be ashamed to sell this product of ignorance and stupidity to the Canadian People.

But it's a business! They pay for the airspace, they get sponsors who pay for advertisements and they cater to a specific audience. If I don't like what they say then I don't listen to them. On the way to work I listen to a local radio station and on the way home I listen to CBC. when I lived in Europe I listened to BBC and when I lived in the States I was in a quandary - Public Broadcasting was interesting to a point, but they tended to repeat their programing over and over. I really missed CBC when I was there. At home we undervalue that institution, but take it from someone who's moved over a fair amount of this country - CBC is nice. I can listen to it in Newfoundland and I can listen to it in Manitoba. On CBC I can hear what's going on locally and I can hear what's going ion in other parts of the country. I never realized just how good it was until I didn't have it when I lived in the States.
As far as commercial radio goes? It's the same as newspapers - or TV news. We have this bizarre idea that those institutions are there to inform us and to tell us the truth. They aren't. As one of my professors said, they primary purpose is to sell advertising and make money. When a newspaper or magazine is set up, the first things that are set are the advertisements. The bigger the ad the better the space. All articles are arranged according to the importance of the ad.
This isn't to say that media institutions don't inform and quite often do a good job at it, but the bottom line is - well - the bottom line.