Sex, Drugs, and Boredom

Why we should take entertainment more seriously than we do.

Peter Stromberg is an Anthropologist and author of Caught in Play: How entertainment works on you. See full bio

October 18, 2009, Media

Talk Radio as Entertainment

Talk radio and the freedom of speech

Entertainment comes in many forms in contemporary society. Elsewhere I have opined that some self-help books should be considered entertainment, as should much published "advice." Here I'd like to talk about entertainment and talk radio.

Much of talk radio is entertainment. That is, usually talk radio is not about informing listeners about political or cultural issues, it is about entertaining them. Maybe that's not a big surprise to you. But think about how this happens: it happens via the same patterns we observe in other forms of entertainment. Movies, for example, work by creating strong emotions such as terror or romantic passion, and then attaching these emotions to a suspenseful narrative. We watch in large part because we enjoy being drawn into the powerful emotional stream.

Talk radio is also about provoking strong emotions such as outrage, fear, sympathy, disgust...But instead of attaching these emotions to suspenseful narratives, the talk show host attaches them to beliefs, values, and ideas. This has the same effects that entertainment does. If you become caught up in a romantic movie, it tends to strengthen your faith in the ideal of romance. If a voice coming out of your radio is bashing some person and you fall in synch with the strong disdain for and anger at that person, you will tend to form a negative opinion about the person.

Why is this entertaining? Well, the fact is, many strong negative emotions are quite enjoyable so long as one knows one is not in any personal danger. People pay good money to experience strong fear and anxiety in horror movies and on roller coasters. Getting people riled up about political and moral issues is a time-honored way to provoke very powerful physical feelings, and many people enjoy those feelings.

Sometimes talk radio hosts are called demagogues-persons who attempt to gain political power by appealing to the prejudices and even hatreds of their audience. Radio talk show hosts may often use these techniques, but generally they are not doing so to enhance their own political power. They probably have a political agenda, but they also, like all entertainers, are primarily interested in making money by creating a big audience.

So is there any problem with talk radio as entertainment? The biggest problem I see--strangely enough-is a threat to our freedom of speech. Sure, talk radio hosts are free to shout their opinions, but does this really encourage freedom of thought and debate? It is more likely to encourage mutual hostility among our citizens. That's not the product I would choose to sell in pursuit of my fortune.

To learn more, visit Peter G. Stromberg's website. Photo credit: Ctd 2005.