“Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.” — Senator Trent Lott
The highly politicized, overly partisan and often factually challenged world of talk radio dominates a potent portion of America’s airwaves and provides huge profits to some of America’s biggest media companies.
Yet the dirty secret of talk radio’s success is the use of hate speech under the guise of free speech. Hate speech can lead to hate crimes and hate speech has no role on our public
airwaves.
Noted media critic, film-maker, and blogger Rory O’Connor tackles the hate talk establishment. SHOCK JOCKS: HATE SPEECH AND TALK RADIO (AlterNet Books; June 2008; $14.95) provides profiles of the ten worst shock jocks in America and documents how distorted talk radio is in the public dialogue due to the huge ideological in balance in radio content and concentration in ownership.
We’ll hear about Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and their minions as they ratchet up their anti-gay, anti-women, anti-Arab language, under the guise of “not being politically correct.” This environment leads to a climate that tolerates racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic attitudes and language — making America a coarser and more dangerous place.
We’ll also hear from the alternative — the much smaller but growing universe of progressive talk radio personalities, its rising stars, and the attempt to organize and fund an antidote to “hate talk’ radio.
