Radio Content Analysis

By and large, what depth we did find in local radio this day came through “talk.” Those segments were generally much longer but ranged from 25 seconds of commentary following each news headline to nearly 30 minutes of call-ins or guest interviews on a single topic.

The hosts normally included some facts of the story they wanted to discuss, but usually the “reporting” was secondary to the focus on opinion. Sourcing, to the extent it existed at all, was almost always second-hand, and in some cases the reporting came from the listeners who were invited to call in. On occasion the talk format had the quality of blogging, where citizens offered information and the host was a moderator rather than the center of the show. Yet it was impossible to discern whether the information was reliable.

On KSEV in Houston , for instance, the morning show host Chris Begala took three listener calls about a tax bill at the end of the hour that seemed to be offering information, or at least speculation.

The first caller said he had not yet received his appraisal and wondered if it was intentional, on the chance it might change because of the new tax bill.

Begala responded with speculation of his own: “Now that is entirely possible. Of course it is just conjecture on our part. We have no really hard evidence to argue. I can’t tell you why you haven’t gotten yours, but . . . I think that has about a zero percent chance of passing.”

The next caller said she had inside knowledge that a former mayor had wanted to hold off on the assessments so residents did not get upset and vote against him. It wasn’t clear how she had that inside information, but it was good enough for Begala: “Interesting. Thanks Cathy. That is good solid information.”

The third caller added yet another nugget: “I called in to the office and they hadn’t sent it out but the phone person said I have 30 days from when I get it.”

Begala: “. . . Just keep good track of exactly when you do get it. . . . If you were told by that office that you have 30 days, then I’m sure you do . . . but keep the stamped letter as proof. . . We’ve got the most informed, knowledgeable listeners out there.”

On some of the talk programs it was occasionally possible to figure out where a host had gotten his or her information, but listeners needed to be following closely. In the talk on WTMJ about a possible change to Marquette University ’s team name, one of the hosts recapped the situation and did mention his immediate source, in passing:

Jagler: The MU board of trustees has scheduled an emergency meeting today, that much we know. The agenda, according to Rana Altenburg, Marquette ’s vice president for public affairs, is to sit down and discuss all of the communication that they’ve received since the vote one week ago. In other words, they’re going to discuss the outcry and anger they’ve received . . . she doesn’t know, she’s telling the Journal Sentinel, if they’re going to actually vote to reconsider.”

WHBL in Sheboygan , Wis. , actually provided some of the best sourcing we found in any news/talk segment monitored, though it was still clearly used to make a point. The sourcing came from the replay of soundbites, or “news actualities.” In questioning a statement by the mayor that appeared in the Sheboygan Press that morning, the afternoon host replayed a clip from a town meeting earlier that week. The subject was the building of a new police station. The host first read the mayor’s comment in the paper: “He said, ‘The complaints the police have shared with us have never been about location.’ I thought that was the only thing the police were talking about as [sic] their concern.”

The host then went back and played audio from a law-enforcement meeting the previous evening at which an officer, speaking on behalf of the department, had said, “The most significant issue for us is the central location.” The host played the soundbite again and again and again and again to make his point. But listeners were hearing the words of the officer himself. The program, highly local, also had the feel of a public forum to a greater extent than other programs we monitored. Even a local alderman called in to comment. Listen to WHBL Afternoon Host Audio Clip (Get Quicktime® Plug-in)