© 2009 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D.
“If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” – George Washington
The talk in our nation’s capital is about the need to silence conservative talk radio using the misnamed Fairness Doctrine. With the majority of the media in the political fold of the Democrats, it is the one slice of mass media they cannot intimidate.
When radio first started and few channels existed, perhaps there could have been a concern. Today we have thousands of channels with no problem finding points of view from Rush Limbaugh and my favorite, Glenn Beck, to Air America and another of my favorites, National Public Radio.
Differing views from progressive to conservative have their own constituencies. The only local and national programs on the air are those that fill the needs of a group. Without listeners, no one in radio can continue.
Eight years ago this week I went into local talk radio. It was a bit odd that a college professor would do this, but I have always been unconventional. Six years later I returned to academic pursuits, but talk radio still is held warmly in my heart.
I fear for talk radio when I see political attempts to silence the scrutiny of their actions. George Washington said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master.”
While there are a few blogs and newspapers that do not take sides, talk radio is intentionally partisan, as are its listeners. That said, I was not so partisan, though I received a fair share of criticism from both sides for being too liberal and too conservative at the same time.
Mostly what I wanted to do with my local time of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. five days a week was to interview as many diverse and interesting people as I could find. I had people from the far left and from the far right and those who were not on the political scale at all. I was very thankful that radio station KSNM-AM 570 provided this time for me.
Talk radio has the voices of my fellow citizens talking about the problems we face. Often it has been the only way these voices can be heard in a timely manner.
From time to time, anger
I did anger politicians and others from time to time and they did squawk. When a local politician was arrested for possession of marijuana, I quipped, “My favorite ‘pot-a-ti-cian.’” No more Christmas cards.
A school official quit talking to me after a rancher said in a phone call that the school had sent home a note saying he should become a vegetarian to show he cares about animals. He said, “They may as well have asked me to become a dern communist.”
One time an exasperated caller said, “You big fat ugly rich Republicans really make me sick.” I immediately protested, “Ma’am, I am not rich.” The producer laughed.
I did not hurry people even though first time callers might drag a bit. If they were sharing an interesting idea, I let them talk. It was four hours a day, five days a week of community discourse and I was thrilled when people who disagreed with me called. As others will attest, occasionally I would listen a while and then say, “You are right, I was wrong, I now embrace your viewpoint on this issue.”
Some people indicated that they did not listen, but thought I should not be on the radio. That is the question in the Fairness Doctrine. Should politicians prevent others from listening?
Thank you KSNM-AM 570 for keeping talk radio in our community with both national and local talk shows. They are a daily part of my life. I hope no politician silences those voices or, as Washington said, we are just sheep headed to slaughter.
Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.