Final Analyses

Talk radio has become very popular over the years in American pop culture.  There is a variety of programs available from computers, sports, news/talk, to shock jocks.  I enjoy listening to talk radio, but after I have analyzed popular culture through its theories I think I will enjoy it even more.

The thing that blew my mind the most was the stereotyping that exists in talk radio.  A majority of the hosts in the news/talk format actually hold the conservative view and it’s the audience/listeners that are diverse in their political views and opinions.  I think a lot people feel that talk radio has a huge influence on our political system especially now that we are getting closer to our next presidential election.

A lot of host of talk radio programs are vey iconic and have become well know household names.  You don’t see many heroes, but I would consider most hosts to be celebrities.  Look at Howard Stern and his huge following especially moving from fm radio to satellite radio.  Then you have the likes of Rush Limbaugh who is considered by some to have a huge influence on the Republican Party and conservatives.

I also found it very interesting that each talk radio format had its only blueprint for having a successful show.  The mixture of entertainment, knowledge of a variety of topics, ability to express their own point of view and for some having that taboo quality is what makes their programs successful. 

News/talk radio has become very influential in our society depending on how they “spin” the topic of the day.  I have been guilty of taking a talking radio hosts words as absolute truth, but now I realize that in order to get the truth you have research it for yourself. 

Assignment 1-4-5

Everybody is looking for guidelines for the necessary steps to improve the way things work or make them better.  Everywhere you look you’ll discover some formula was used to bring success or improvement to a product or service.  It’s no different in the talk radio genre.  There may be different formulas for the different formats like news/talk radio, sports talk or pop culture talk radio, but essential there is a blueprint to be followed in order to have success.

Most successful news/talk radio hosts has some type of recipe that keeps their program on the air. The radio host must be entertaining, have the ability to hold the audience’s attention, knowledgeable on a plethora of topics and subjects, have their own point of view and have opposing views on their show.  I’m sure host and producers tweak the blueprint here and there once they find a formula that works well for them.  A plan for one genre may not work for another.  The audience for Rush Limbaugh is quite different than the one for Howard Stern.

Popular culture radio has a different formula in order to be successful.  Shock jocks are more controversial and seem to bring up the topics that no one else wants to bring up.  That’s what brings them success daring to push the envelope to actually ask or say the things that everyone has on their minds, but do not talk about it.

I’m sure when societies taste change, so will the formula.  Those that work in the news/talk radio industry will have to find a new blueprint that will make their programs successful.  Who knows maybe there will be a news/talk shock jock genre coming in the future or something new all together.  Society dictates what formulas work or don’t work by their involvement with radio show programs.  As we as a society change, so does popular culture.

Journal Article Analysis

How does popular culture affect the economy?  Don Cusic and Gregory K. Faulk explored this issue in their article, “Popular Culture and the Economy.”  Cusic had done a study back in 1995, he and Faulk decided to explore a little further into the issue.

A majority of their research came from the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Its Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and U.S. Census Bureau using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) helped defining the cultural products and services by categorizing them into sectors.  The sectors are classified as Information, Arts, Entertainment and Recreation.

One of the disappointing aspects of the article is the some of the cultural products and services were not included in the study.  In the Information sector, for example, computer gaming like software, gaming consoles and the like were not categorized.  With popularity of computer gaming and software, you are missing a huge piece of economic pie.  There was also missing data from the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector which did not give a complete picture of how popular culture impacted the economy.  “Trends in popular culture spending reflect shifting tastes (2009)”.  It was never really explained why certain categories were not included or why research was not done.  I do not understand why research was not conducted to include these cultural products and services to a more solid picture of the popular culture and the economy.

They discussed in the article of how a majority of the cultural products in the Information sector are protected from being copied.  The issue of piracy was not addressed and its impact on how dollars were lost.  With the technology now to download and copy software, DVD’s, CD’s and the like I’m sure you could get an idea of how popular a movie or other product was based on downloads whether it was legal or illegal.

Because society changes its tastes in popular culture most companies in the Information sector are very diverse.  Meaning they have their hands in multiple industries that produce or provide the cultural products and services.  But it was not always like that until the government deregulated these companies and other actions taken by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  So now these companies don’t have to have all their eggs in one basket.  As these companies monitor the trends in popular culture, they can adjust their business strategies and marketing to make maximum profits.

After going over this article several times looking for substantial information, but coming up empty and disappointed at the content.  I was expecting more information on trends and how society spent their money.  I felt article was lacking in the popular culture department.  Like I stated earlier about how the article did not give a complete picture of cultural products and services.  I wanted to know where people were spending their money and where the change in tendency was going.  I really felt this article was pointless towards popular culture.  It was more aimed at business more than anything else.  All in all it would have been more interesting to see what trends had peaked or what was popular based on product sales.  I am actually wondering why this article was in a popular culture journal.

Cusic D. & Faulk G. (2009) Popular culture and the economy. The Journal of Popular Culture, 42(3) 458-479. DOI: 10.1111/jpcu.2009.42.issue-3

Written Analyses

Put Upon a Pedestal

It is believed that we as a society create our own heroes. We create them to fill a void or need in our own lives. We place individuals that are very gifted and talented up on a pedestal and to act as role models, only to be disappointed when they fall.

Talk radio is no different when it comes to creating heroes or making celebrities. Shock jock Howard Stern has become almost like a god to some of his loyal fans over the years. He is the self proclaimed “King of all Media”. Mr. Stern has certainly created ripples in the talk radio realm with his on air stunts. He also has amassed a huge listening audience over the years. Why is Howard Stern so attractive to people, not physically, but his ability to gain popularity among the masses?

I’ll admit I have tuned to his program unable to turn the dial to listen to something less offensive. Howard Stern is the exception to the theory of society creating heroes, I think he created himself. Maybe that’s what makes him so attractive to his listeners that he goes against the social norms. He is not afraid to go against social norms for entertainment value.

Stern fans could get there few seconds of fame be recording themselves calling into news programs during some serious topic or catastrophic event going on somewhere in America. The fan would pose one or two serious question or report some bogus information only to say, “bababooey” and hang up the phone. It’s as if the fan would get some kind of acceptance from Howard Stern for playing the prank and they would become a celebrity themselves.

On the news/talk radio side you have the likes of Rush Limbaugh, who has been labeled the “voice of conservatives”. You also have Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck who have been placed on pedestals by conservatives for their daily ranting and ravings about what’s right or wrong with this country. Sometimes I feel like conservatives take everything that comes out of these radio hosts mouths as gospel. I have to give Glenn Beck credit for challenging his audience to not take what he says or others as absolute truth, but encourage his listeners to research answers out for themselves.

Do we create heroes and celebrities as a society to feel better about ourselves? We may never reach the pedestal that we place athletes, entertainers and talk radio hosts on ourselves, so we idolize these people as a way to fill a void in our own lives.

Written Analysis #2

Rituals and stereotypes of talk radio.  After much analysis and thinking about the rituals and stereotypes that you find in talk radio especially the format of news/talk radio it was kind of disturbing.  More so with the stereotypes found than rituals performed by the talk radio hosts and listeners.

On most news/talk radio shows Friday seems to be the day to call into any particularly show because it is devoted to the listener.  From Limbaugh to Hannity and everyone in between have what they call “open line” Friday where the caller gets to chose what topic is discussed for the few seconds or minutes that they get air time.  Or if you go over to the more popular culture radio and the shock jocks the rituals are a little more risqué.  For example the shock jocks, Opie and Anthony, have dedicated their Wednesday’s to what they like to call Whip’em Out Wednesdays (WOW).  It’s like a mardi gras every Wednesday on their show.  Female fans of the show will call in a give there location, so that male fans can come to the location and see the female fans flash body parts.  A lot of “shock jocks” have their rituals that seem to be sexual in nature and labeled as entertainment.

Some people believe that conservative talk radio is what inspired the Tea Party movement along with some key leaders in the Republican Party.  And indirectly had maybe some influence on the “Occupy Wall Street” movement as a counter measure to the Tea Party movement.

What has been really disturbing is the stereotype or label of “racist” being given to any conservative or Republican who disagree with any actions of President Obama.  For all I know you can be an independent and still be labeled one if you disagree in any way with the president.    Conservative talk radio hosts are labeled as angry white males that do not believe in big government.

I’m sure rituals will change as new hosts hit the airwaves or those that have been doing it for years find it more profitable to change and do something else.  As the political winds change, so will the stereotypes of those that host and listen to talk radio.

Written Analysis Assignment 1-4-2

Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Stern, and Dr. Drew are familiar names among Americans that listen to talk radio.  It seems nowadays that anyone can host a show on talk radio you just need to have interesting material to keep the audience’s attention.  And there is a variety of formats to choose from, sports talk to news.  And just who are the people that listen to talk radio?

Most talk radio host lean towards the right, but it is not necessarily true about those that listen and call into the shows.  According to Talkers magazine, “the listeners are far more diverse in terms of philosophy and party affiliation (2011)”.  For a short period the left had an answer to the more conservative dominated air time by creating Air America radio network.  Due to some financial and ownership issues the network how to shut down.  Talkers magazine determined in its report  that “the continuing expansion of the ideological menu now being offered in the form of liberal (or “progressive”) hosts appearing locally and nationally is far more likely to increase the total listenership of news/talk radio than dilute it (2011)”.

Is it not diversity that makes America great? And can it be said that diversity also makes talk radio what it is to its audience? If you are a frequent listener to news/talk radio programs it seems like every third or fourth caller disagrees with the radio host.  But that’s the beauty of talk radio is the difference of opinion across America.  The myth that news/talk radio is dominated by conservative ideology is not necessarily true.  Listenership is a mixture of ideas and opinions about the past and current events of our nation.

My Icons

First icon I chose was Lego’s.  They have been around for well over 50 years and have not lost their appeal.  Lego’s were one of my favorite toys to play with while growing up.  They inspire creativity and imagination.  Shapes and sizes have varied over the years and now you can find themed Lego sets.  As a father I value the time I spend with my 6 year old son Elijah building the unimaginable and creating adventure with the little plastic blocks.

My next icon is college football, it may not be America’s favorite past time, but it’s up there among one of its favorites.  Although there is a lot of debate about how college football should decide its national championship, Saturday’s in the fall are filled with action packed games.  I enjoy watching college football because I feel the players play with more heart than those that play in the NFL.  It’s also something my family enjoys doing together, eating a hearty bowl of chili while watching our favorite teams play.  Last year was very interesting during 2010’s Sugar Bowl when my favorite team, the Ohio State Buckeyes, played my wife’s and in-law’s favorite team the Arkansas Razorbacks. 

My final icon is geocaching.  It’s the modern day version of treasure hunting and always provides an adventure.  You can go at it alone or with a group of people and make a day of it.  Sometimes people organize special events so that while you are searching for treasure you are also picking up trash to keep the environment clean.  You can find different kinds of swag at each location from travel bugs to specially made coins for geocachers.  I enjoy geocaching because it gets me outdoors and always provides an adventure or I may see something that I may never have had the opportunity to see.