Respond to six posts, 6 - 7 sentences each

Respond to two original responses thoroughly in a manner that invites an extension of the conversation. In other words, “I totally agree with you” is NOT a sufficient response. Each peer response should be approximately 6 – 7 sentences, or a paragraph in length. Response needs strong structure and a logical flow. You don't need to answer the original questions.

Part C

Original Questions

Why do you think that talk radio is one of the most popular formats on radio? Do you listen to talk radio? 

Should talk-radio hosts be able to say anything they want on the radio? Is it important to air all potential issues over the airwaves, even if those issues might upset some listeners?

Are radio talk shows just silly sideshows of extreme views and shocking behavior, or do they appeal to listeners in unique and significant ways?

Do all potential topics contribute to democracy? What kinds of things shouldn’t be said or discussed on the radio?

Student A's post

I think that talk radio is one of the most popular formats on the radio for a few reasons. One reason is because the only other popular option would be radio stations that play music, but nowadays why would someone choose to listen to the radio’s random selection of music when they could listen to their own playlists on Apple music or Spotify. Radio’s are being less and less used for actual music. Radio talk shows are great for the people who don’t necessarily like to listen to music on their drives, or prefer to listen to something more informative while they're in the car. This could be a number of different ages or people not necessarily "older people" but generally adults would prefer that over young adults who don’t view listening to music as a waste of time where some people might. Young adults usually view listening to music on their drives as more enjoyable rather than listening to someone talk on the radio.   

I see both perspectives as to why talk radio show hosts should and should not be able to say anything they want on the radio. On the one hand, there’s freedom of speech which they should be able to do and additionally, having your own talk show should permit the host the privilege of being able to express their own opinion; if someone who listens disagrees they could switch the station they are listening to. However, being able to say really anything with no restrictions could be a risky thing to do depending on who’s listening. For instance, if a Father is driving his 6 year-old son to school and the Father is listening to a radio station where the talk show host uses vulgar language, if the Father was unaware of this or unable to stop it before his young impressionable child could hear, this is where it wouldn’t hurt for talk show hosts to have some guidelines. In this circumstance, radio talk show hosts having basic rules to abide by doesn’t seem like a bad idea in case they are speaking about a political topic for example where things could get heated quickly. That being said, I do think it is important to air all potential issues over the airwaves even if those issues could upset some listeners because it’s impossible to please everyone, so no matter what some listeners will disagree and that’s okay, but it makes a significant difference if when the host is talking about a sensitive subject where they are aware that listeners may disagree, to stay calm, be cautious with the words they choose to use, make sure they have the correct facts, and use appropriate language as well.

It’s hard to say whether or not radio talk shows appeal to listeners in a unique and significant way because every person has a different view and opinion which means that to one person it may seem more appealing and to another they might prefer watching the news instead of listening to someone’s commentary about politics. In addition, not all radio talk shows are “silly sideshows” of extreme views and shocking behavior but there definitely are radio stations that discuss unimportant things that are a waste of time, relating to celebrity news or the latest drama going on in Hollywood for instance.

There are several topics for different types of radio talk shows such as sportscast, news, weather, call in shows, radio drama, entertainment or comedic, live music and more that don’t necessarily contribute to democracy and how we the people run our own government. However, radio talk shows that consist of politics and even call in shows where the people can be heard are contributing in a way to democracy. I personally think that topics or things that should not be discussed on the radio include gossip and other forms of drama that serve no purpose but to let others feed off of rumors and other people’s misery.

Student B's post

Personally, I don’t listen to talk radios. Personally, I don’t want to spend my time in a car listening to talk radio, I’d rather listen to my own music or radio music. I think in general people don’t listen to talk radio quite as often anymore because of other alternatives they prefer. However, I also think it depends on the person’s interest and likes. Additionally, I think people listen to talk radio as a form of companionship. Unlike music stations, it gives somewhat of a “human touch” and allows listeners to call in which definitely can be an appeal to some.

I do not think talk-radio hosts should be able to say anything they want on the radio. They do have the power of free speech, but somethings like insulting a particular group or making offensive comments shouldn’t be said to such an extent. However, society is very biased and no matter what, they have the freedom to say whatever they want. Despite my beliefs, I still think it is important to air all potential issues over the airwaves, even if those issues might upset some listeners. Even if some listeners will not particularly like the comments, some issues are too big to hide. For example, one thing many talk radios will bring up is anything related to Trump. Some people will not like what he has to say or what the radio says, but some topics and problems need to be brought up even though it can hurt some listeners.

In today’s society, I do think some radio talk shows are just silly sideshows of extreme views and shocking behavior, however there are many that can appeal to listeners. There are some radio talk shows related to things such as sports, news, or maybe even a particular religion that can appeal to listeners. However, there are certainly such radio talk shows that have extreme views and show shocking behavior. These radio shows are probably trying to appeal to a particular group despite having such biased thoughts.

In reality, most of the potential topics contribute to democracy, due to its important relevance in major discussions regarding American Politics. Somethings that shouldn’t be said are surely curse words and honestly things that are not 100% correct shouldn’t be discussed. To me, I think they shouldn’t discuss something that isn’t true or something that is uncertain. There is radio censorship, but that refers to mostly general words that cannot be said.