Have You Gone Overboard on News/Talk Radio?

I have spent most of the summer on Treasure Island and have been keeping up with current events by listening to news/talk radio. That’s because the TV no longer works since we haven’t gone digital, we don’t take a newspaper, and there’s no computer. According to the Center for American Progress web site, I’m not alone when it comes to tuning in to news/talk radio. They estimate the weekly audience at 50 million, supporting 1700 commercial stations nationwide. Clearly the format is popular. Lately, however, I have been wondering if I and others have gone overboard in our allegiance to this mostly conservative medium. To answer that question, I devised a test.

I could just ask you to estimate the number of hours you tune in. There are several problems with that approach. For one thing, you might not know and for another you might not want to know. Plus to interpret your answer, I would need to know how much free time you have.

Instead we’ll use a different metric — a 10-question quiz that will give you a quantified result. Simply answer “yes” or “no” to the following items. There are no “right” answers. If you aren’t sure about a question, the answer is probably no. Brief guidelines for evaluating your score follow the quiz.

1. Do you think news/talk is the best format on radio (above sports, religious, adult contemporary, country music, jazz, and so on)?
2. Do you visit the web sites of your favorite hosts to read their blogs esp. when their shows are off the air?
3. Would you recognize your favorite local hosts if you saw them out shopping at the mall?
4. Have you ever called in to a news/talk radio show (sending an email no matter how profound doesn’t count)?
5. Have you increased the minutes in your cell phone plan in case you are subjected to a lengthy hold when you call in?
6. Are you disappointed when your favorite shows are over for the day?
7. Are you disappointed when your favorite hosts are on vacation (they do seem to get a lot of time off)?
8. Do you buy the 16-pack of Duracell or Eveready batteries for your portable radio?
9. Are more than half of the presets on your car or portable radio tuned to news/talk stations?
10. When listening to news/talk radio in the car, do you wait for the next commercial break before going in to your home, office, or a store?

To evaluate your score, count the number of “yes” answers:

If you are worried that your score is too high, the simple antidote is to spend more time with family and friends. For the record my score was a solid 7.