Most of what passes for talk radio these days is racist, bigoted,
homophobic,
and misogynist in both its tone and overall content. This is a medium
that
continually re-invokes ugly stereotypes, thrives on hearsay and
innuendo, cares
little for balanced journalism, and almost never seeks an objective
analysis of
factual evidence before rushing to pronounce guilt. It is childish and
self-important, loud and demanding, boorish and myopic, rude and
chaotic – a
modern-day bully pulpit that glorifies the rich and powerful while
mocking the
poor and underprivileged. All these and many more are fair descriptions
of what
has become the nation’s most obnoxious forum for political dialogue.
What is
not fair, however, are the various accusations that this genre is in
some way
responsible for the April 19 bombing in Oklahoma City. According to President Clinton, the “loud and angry voices” who
preach hate
over the nation’s airwaves should examine what role their daily sermons
may
have played in this horrible event. In a speech to a Minneapolis
audience
shortly after the explosion, the president noted that talk radio hosts
were
“purveyors of hatred and division.” Clinton said that “When they say
things
that are irresponsible, that may have egregious consequences, we must
call them
on it.” His remarks were immediately denounced as ludicrous by Rush
Limbaugh,
the nation’s top-rated personality in this genre. In his response, he
contended
that he has never advocated violence and that, furthermore, he has
little
actual control over those who listen to his show, a somewhat dubious
assertion
that has heretofore not discouraged advertisers from his program.
The matter might have ended then and there had not G. Gordon Liddy
quickly
jumped into the fray. In one of radio’s all-time cheap publicity
stunts, the
former Watergate thug devoted a subsequent show to the most effective
way to
thwart a raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms: “Have a
prearranged cellular call for members of the militia who can come and
protect
you. And if they shoot, try to kill you, shoot back.”
On the strength of advice such as this, Clinton’s admonitions against
the
sanity of these broadcasters had suddenly been
validated. Smelling
blood
from their upstart radio brethren, the mainstream press jumped to the
president’s defense; they have been piling on against the talk radio
czars ever
since.
For instance, in the April 29 edition of The New York
Times, Bob
Herbert pointed out that “vile comments can be heard morning, noon, and
night
on radio stations from coast to coast. Not only are they seldom
condemned, the
hosts are regularly courted and praised by public officials who ought
to know
better.” Writing in the same publication a day earlier, A.M. Rosenthal
explained: “After the Oklahoma City massacre, Mr. Clinton warned
Americans of
what so many of them knew and smelled – the civic air we breathe is
being
befouled by hatred, spoken, written, and marched, and that this could
have
bitter consequences. In the face of this ugliness, he said to remain
silent was
unforgivable.” A similar column from William Raspberry allowed that,
“It’s not
enough for these men [talk radio hosts] to satisfy themselves that they
meant
no harm. They need to reflect on the possibility that their excessive
language
can lead other people over whom they have no direct control to do harm.”
While tempting, one must resist the urge to jump on this blame-game
bandwagon.
Liddy is crazy, and he should be disciplined by the FCC for his
remarks. But
the majority of conservative talk radio hosts in this country are right
wing
poseurs who bear as little responsibility for Oklahoma City as the
fundamental
Islamic terrorists who were the initial focus of blame. Sure, Rush
Limbaugh and
his dime-a-dozen imitators are mean spirited in their criticisms of
current
White House policies. Yet these criticisms fall within the agenda of
the GOP
and, to a larger degree, the values of corporate America. Above all,
Limbaugh
generally stands up for the status quo, for the rights of big business
and for
the freedoms one can attain through unfettered economic advancement.
Although
Limbaugh did announce himself as a state militia supporter after the
Branch
Davidian inferno, he shares very little with this movement and those
who
allegedly sponsored the April 19 bombing.
If only a now-skeptical nation was completely convinced of this
point.
Ironically, the Limbaughs of this country must now defend themselves
against
vague and unsubstantiated accusations, the same type of accusations
that
they’ve made their fortunes hurling against others over the last three
years.
Americans are looking for a simple answer to explain what may have
twisted the
bomber’s mind into such an act of hate. For now a convenient scapegoat
is talk
radio, the wellspring of intolerance that has flooded the country over
the last
several years. Defending the genre amidst such charges are family
values
stalwarts like Cal Thomas, Jr., a right wing moralist who has now
become a
leading voice for the virtues of total freedom of speech. Gee, where
was old
Cal when Luther Campbell really needed him?
Until he began equivocating on the matter, President Clinton was
holding down
the other end of this debate. In his infamous Minneapolis address, he
argued
that talk radio has also fostered a certain atmosphere that legitimizes
hate
and intolerance in this country. To this line of thinking, Limbaugh and
others
become indirectly culpable for the April 19 tragedy because they
regularly
satirize and ridicule those elements in our society least able to
defend
themselves: women, the poor, homeless people, and minorities. True,
this type
of sophomoric humor remains repulsive and unacceptable. Yet blaming
these
antics for an event such as the one that occurred in Oklahoma City is
even more
demeaning to the conscious facilities of most Americans to distinguish
between
right and wrong.
Moreover, the fact that Limbaugh is so widely popular does not mean
that all
listeners believe his entire schtick. Give the man credit for doing
something a
little different and pumping new life into the tired AM wavelength.
Like him or
hate him, you have to admit that Limbaugh has brought a great deal of
energy
and imagination to the airwaves. And, to a large degree, this formula
for
success has now moved far beyond the conservative ideology he chooses
to
endorse. Those who claim that the masses will not embrace someone with
an
equally liberal perspective have apparently not been paying attention
to Lone
Star populist Jim Hightower, whose lively and entertaining weekend
call-in show
is quietly adding city after city while amassing some very impressive
ratings.
That the success of this show would have been impossible were it not
for the
ground-
breaking work of various right wing hosts is hard to argue
against.
Moreover, Hightower’s program lends hope to the promise that political
debate
in this country can now extend beyond the narrow perimeters to which it
has
traditionally been defined. This is the hope that a wide range of new
and
challenging ideas can be discussed in this nation, and that reasonable
citizens
should continually challenge our society’s most basic assumptions. It
is a move
away from the paternalistic guidance of the mainstream media towards a
community in which a number of different perspectives are given equal
value.
Unfortunately, much of this promise seems to have crumbled in the
aftermath of
the April 19 explosion. The accusations against Liddy and Limbaugh
could well
have a ripple effect throughout the talk radio industry, with
progressives such
as Hightower eventually suffering as well. For if Madison Avenue begins
to
perceive that a sizable percentage of Americans have come to equate
this medium
with random violence, the advertising dollars will become scarcer and
scarcer.
If this comes to pass, these programs won’t disappear overnight – not
even for
several more years. Some special-interest shows will probably survive
well into
the 21st century, but the audience that these programs command will be
of
little overall consequence. At the zenith of its power, talk radio now
lays
crippled and defenseless, one more unwitting casualty in this gruesome
act of
senseless terrorism.
As much as I hate fact-twisting, hate-preaching demagogues such as
Limbaugh,
the demise of the genre he has made so popular would be a regrettable
loss.
Heralded as a revolutionary medium that was to give common people an
equal
voice as the media elite, talk radio has enjoyed a surprisingly short
life
span. Unfortunately, the capricious rumors, innuendoes and half-truths
that now
plague it are the same nutrients that fueled its massive popularity.
Worst of
all, the potential downfall of talk radio does little to solve the
underlying
factors behind the Oklahoma City tragedy. What America needs right now
are more
voices, more perspectives, more discussions, more opinions – not fewer
of them.
Blaming the media for an event plotted and perpetrated by a few
crackpots makes
absolutely no sense.
This article appears in May 5 • 1995 and May 5 • 1995 (Cover).