Talk Back Radio - Helping or Hindering Democracy?

Based off the lectures given by Ian Ward in POLS2111: Politics and the Media, UQ

What does Susan Herbst think talk radio contributes to democracy?

Turner (2009) describes the phenomenon of talk-back radio as radio, whose primary function is to invite listeners to take to the phone and respond (or argue) live with the host over questions or comments they have made. In recent years it has been argued that talk-back radio as a means of public opinion gathering and informing positively contributes to democracy.  Unfortunately at this stage no research has been undertaken in Australia to measure the influence that talk-back may have. However several American theorists have undertaken studies to this same affect. One of the theorists supportive of talk-back radio as a contributor to the democratic process is Herbst, who in her article On Electronic Public Space (1995), states that talk-back radio “provide(s) an excellent, unstructured outlet for public discourse”.

Herbst explains the democratic potential for talk-back radio, describing it as having the “potential for free, unstructured expression” that is achieved through the “…opportunity to engage in mass dialogue about public affairs”. This public discussion is vital in that it allows callers to state their own opinion on matters freely and unreservedly, an opportunity not provided in other ‘public opinion identifiers’ such as opinion polls or through voting. Herbst also identifies the internet as a possible platform for unfettered debate, although warns that the “efficient expression of intense feeling” is difficult to write about, lending itself more naturally to talk-back radio. Turner agrees with Herbst’s assessment of talk-back radio, stating it is “implicitly democratising” through its ground breaking willingness to air the views of the average citizen.

However, Turner has concerns that talk-back radio merely has the appearance of democracy, while it actually relies upon populist opinion to make up the majority of its content. Herbst, allows that talk-back radio is not always democratic, as often the content of the discourse is decided by the hosts and the station, who screen or simply cut off calls, and that it “would be naive to think that (talk-back) will bring us true participatory democracy”. However she still argues that “the potential for unstructured expression” is more likely to become a reality in talk-back radio than in conventional media.

References

Herbst, S. 1995. 'On electronic public space: Talk shows in theoretical perspective', Political Communication . Vol12 (3), pp. 263-74.

Turner, G.    2009. 'Politics, radio and journalism in Australia. The influence of "talkback"',   Journalism Vol. 10 (4), esp. 415 ff.