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You say “AM radio” to a teen, and their eyes just glaze over.

February 1, 2007, 2:34 PM

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh today at home (unusual – usually I only listen to talk radio in the car), and I will be the first to tell you that he’s a wacko. That said (and all that will be said at this juncture, since that’s not what this entry is about), I have to say that I do love listening to talk radio. Hard politics, I love it.

It’s funny, though. I’ll talk to some of my younger coworkers about talk radio, and as soon as you mention the AM band, all of a sudden they’re lost. That’s it. I’m exaggerating a little, but you get my drift. “AM?” Seems many of my coworkers don’t realize or pay much attention to the fact that people also talk about intellectual matters on the radio, rather than just sing. I may not agree with much of what they’re saying, but it’s still stimulating to the mind. It makes you think.

By comparison, I consider music radio to be rather mindless. It doesn’t keep me engaged, and doesn’t give my mind anything to chew on. On the way home from my DC trips, I finally lose the DC area stations around Woodstock, and don’t pick up the stations in my local area until Harrisonburg. I get great reception of the local NPR station, which plays classical music during off-peak times. I like classical music a lot, but not when I’m driving, since it puts me to sleep. The oldies stations and the “top hits” stations do nothing for me. Talk keeps me engaged. It really does.

If I’m really lucky, when driving home late at night, I can get WSB on AM 750 out of Atlanta, where they play what they call “re-Boortz” late at night. It’s a replay of the most recent Neal Boortz show.

Still, mention talk radio to a teen, or AM radio in general, and you get this puzzled look. It’s kind of funny…

Web site: Wikipedia on talk radio

Song: The music that plays on Rush Limbaugh just before they go to commercial. They say, "You're listening to the EIB Network," and then they play a long note over which they often do station identification, and then that one short blast.

Quote: "You know, AM, that part of the radio where people talk about stuff..." - Me on a few occasions to various people

Categories: Radio