Bursting Bubbles

Talk radio has always involved some measure of preaching to the converted, and podcasts are traveling that same route, telling people what they want to hear. Spoken word audio got to the idea of profiting from creating, or taking advantage of, information bubbles before social media turned it into what it is today, profiting from polarization, truth be damned. This is not new, nor is it something I haven't talked about here before.

The last few years have intensified the situation. As I recently spent a column expounding upon, talk radio once valued unpredictability, not knowing what a host's position would be from day to day. We know that's not how it is today. Try this simple experiment: Turn on any talk host or pop open any political podcast today and see if you hear any hosts say anything you couldn't have guessed they'd say about anything in the news. You know what you'll find. That ship sailed a long time ago.

In recent years, I've sensed that the uniformity of talk radio is informed by a measure of fear. Nobody wants to risk saying anything that would alienate the P1s. And then things happen that are nearly impossible to defend and are also right there on video, and you find yourself on the wrong side of history. You don't want that, do you?

Maybe you do. But whatever you're doing, do it because you think it's the right thing to do, not out of a desire to feed your audience what you think they want to hear. The number of "he/she can't possibly believe that" moments I've experienced listening to talk radio lately has been growing; it's as cringeworthy as reading Facebook comments. And now that the news is not just about coronavirus and whether to listen to the advice of scientists or politicians or some "expert" on YouTube, but it's about race and injustice and a murder everyone saw on TV and the authorities turning violence against peaceful protestors and -- this is key -- everyone saw the videos, you have to tell the truth, hard though it may be for some listeners to handle. You can call out authoritarianism and racism, and if some listeners don't like it, hey, invite them to call in; don't consultants always say conflict makes for good radio? But some won't call in, and some will storm away in a huff, complaining like a Karen in a viral video.

You can't live in fear of that. Yes, some people will bail on you if they disagree. That's always been the case. That's the case for conservative and liberal talkers alike, and moderates, and anyone who expresses an opinion or reports the news. I've lost a few followers on Twitter because, I assume, they don't find value in my opinions. I'm not going to change that because someone might unsubscribe. You shouldn't worry about that, either, no matter what your opinions are.

Resist, however, passing along or amplifying falsehoods. Stay away from unfounded conspiracy theories even if your audience wants to believe them. Political differences are fine -- they're what America was founded upon -- but truth is truth, facts are facts, and whether it's because you're afraid your listeners won't like you if you don't indulge or you think it's fun to "own" the other side, passing along bad information will not reflect well on you.

The bottom line is this: Sometimes, even if you've gotten to where you are by preaching to the converted, you have to tell the converted things they might not want to hear, things that contradict their world view, things that are the truth and what they need to hear. They may not be happy about that, but it's the right thing to do. Doing the right thing is what a radio show or podcast should always do, even if the truth hurts.

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Oh, and I know that some of you are probably seething at me for some of the comments in the column this week. That's fine, you're entitled to disagree, but could you do me a favor? Instead of ripping me, take that passion and put it on the air, directed at whatever else you want. My primary goal is to help you make great radio or podcasts. That, more than anything, is what I want out of this. Well, that and money, but I have to set attainable goals.

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