Michael Harrison Says a New Golden Age of News/Talk Radio is at Hand – IF Broadcasters Rise to the Challenge. TALKERS publisher
Michael Harrison addressed this month's meeting of the magazine's editorial board with optimistic observations about the news/talk format's future as the world enters the
Donald Trump era. But he also pointed out that the format's inherent multi-genre potential can
only be reached
if broadcasters have the vision and courage to significantly alter the current paradigm and "take advantage of the political passions that have engulfed a wide swath of the American population, way beyond the traditional
conservative core audience." Harrison was clear that he thinks traditional conservative news/talk radio is here to stay although "enthusiasm for Trump has bent some of the tried-and-true guidelines that provided a dependable ideological template for hosts connecting with their audiences way beyond what were once considered to be their breaking points." Harrison explains, "Conservative listeners will remain extremely loyal to their brand of talk radio because they fear opposition to Trump will water down the changes he promised to bring America in 'making it great again,' adding, "There is indeed room within conservative talk radio for hosts to be critical of Trump on occasions that warrant nuanced alternative perspectives… but then again, that has always been the case. Conservative news/talk has never been as monolithic as its political critics have implied." However, it is the new potential of
progressive talk radio or as Harrison puts it, "resistance talk" that is truly exciting in expanding the boundaries of spoken word strategies on the commercial radio dial. "Intense, passionate and obsessive opposition to Trump has galvanized and ignited a hitherto non-focused target audience for news/talk hosts, programs and stations," states Harrison. "The door is open for performers such as
Thom Hartmann,
Stephanie Miller,
Joe Madison,
Alan Colmes and countless others of the progressive perspective to tap into a potentially vast audience of listeners who, since the election of Trump, deeply care about their message – as long as these messengers are
talented by radio standards. The Trump era offers the talk radio industry the opportunity to double its reach by providing a platform for both the 'revolution' (Trump)
and the 'resistance' (anti-Trump) passions that are clearly exploding in the American marketplace of ideas. Both sides feel embattled." Harrison adds, "If radio misses this opportunity, it would be the equivalent of missing the British Invasion of the sixties, the disco craze of the late seventies, and the rise of conservatism in the nineties."
