Once This Is Over

Reminder: Someday, we don't know when, this will be over.

Another reminder: Someday, when this is over, whatever we do and say right now will be judged, whether by others or by ourselves.

What will Future You think about Present You?

I'm bringing this up again because talk radio is earning a reputation during the pandemic, and it's not a good one. Let me give you an example: The other day, we went to Trader Joe's early to shop for food. Not quite being eligible for the Special Senior Line, we queued up in a sensibly-socially-distanced line waiting for our turn, and the guy in front of us was on his phone, talking to a friend. I wasn't paying attention, but Fran nudged me and said "you gotta listen to this guy." So I did, and what I heard was a litany of misinformation and conspiracy theories. The virus isn't so bad, he said. The flu is worse, he insisted. It's a Wall Street plot, engineered by Obama and the Chinese communists. You get the idea, and he kept it up all the way to the store entrance. And when I talked about the guy to friends and on social media, there was one uniform reaction, from people both inside and outside the media:

Must be a talk radio listener.

Uh, yeah. Sadly, the stereotype is out there. And the truth is, some of you are contributing to the problem. You can see some of it in the ProPublica article about what some hosts have been peddling; when mainstream hosts are in sync with Alex Jones, there might just be an issue. You can see it when major talk radio shows and stations post social media "news" that's already been debunked, downplaying the virus' threat. And you can see it when even people in talk radio itself, even solid conservative hosts, will, with great embarrassment, note that a conspiracy-spouting guy in a Trader Joe's queue sounds like a talk radio listener.

In fairness, the guy could just as easily soaked up his "information" from social media, or friends, or communications with his home planet. But when this is all over, talk radio's image, and talk hosts' reputation, will come under scrutiny. When they return, advertisers will be sensitive to where and when they ads run -- just this week, there's the story about the unnamed major brand advertiser which set its programmatic schedule to avoid placing online ads near the word "coronavirus" and thus pulled ads from practically every news website. And that's just the business aspect. When it's over, will you feel comfortable with your role in all of this? What will your family and friends think of what you did? Did what you said on the air and online help save lives or condemn them?

Talk radio is going to get quite a ratings bump during the pandemic. What happens to it after the crisis subsides may be another story, especially if the public perception is that talk radio led people astray. You are entitled to your opinions, of course, but being free to express them doesn't protect you from having to deal with the consequences. You can listen to, and relay information from, actual experts, doctors and scientists and economists, or you can parrot internet memes and quackery. Just remember that there will be receipts. Your reputation, and talk radio's, will be judged. Be better.

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Helping you with all kinds of topics you might not have seen elsewhere, coronavirus and others, is Talk Topics, the show prep column at All Access News-Talk-Sports, which you can find by clicking here and/or following the Talk Topics Twitter feed at @talktopics with every story individually linked to the appropriate item. And there's a new "10 Questions With..." KCSP (610 Sports Radio)/Kansas City afternoon

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You know what you can do? Just get on the air and repeat "Stay home. Wash your hands. Stay six feet away from everyone else. Be patient." over and over. Like, for hours. It WOULD get some attention, wouldn't it?

Perry Michael Simon
Vice President/Editor, News-Talk-Sports and Podcast
AllAccess.com
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