talk radio in Birmingham (Auburn: home, university, to move)

[Rudbeckia]

first: Does anyone listen to national public radio in birmingham?

There is a show on there called the diane rehm show, i dont think its local, but the lady that hosts it talks abnormally slow. It is painfull to listen too her it is so slow, i feel as if she may keel over at any minute. i have to turn it.


second: what radio talk shows in birmingham do you think are interesting?

[harry chickpea]

Bless your heart, Diane Rehm has suffered through a disease that prevented her from being able to talk at all. The condition waxes and wanes.

"In 1998, Rehm was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition that causes strained, difficult speech. After finding treatment, she wrote several articles and produced a program about the little-known disorder. The National Council on Communicative Disorders recognized her work with a Communication Award, and the Maryland Speech-Hearing-Language Association honored her with a Media Award. ABC's Nightline host Ted Koppel devoted an entire program to a conversation with Rehm about her disorder."

Diane Rehm : NPR

Her successful battle against the disease, and continued reasonably intelligent discourse has impressed a lot of people.

That said, I rarely listen to talk radio anymore. Most of it has devolved into trolling the emotions of the listeners in search of ratings. The real content has largely gone missing. I suppose it helps keep people awake on long drives, but I can't imagine a steady diet of it.

[cpg35223]

I listen to sports talk radio every once in a while, but typically only after a football coach gets fired. The knuckle-dragging hayseeds crack me up, particularly those who sound as if they never darkened the door of a university--yet they're holding forth on the affairs of the local college.

[Rudbeckia]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Bless your heart, Diane Rehm has suffered through a disease that prevented her from being able to talk at all. The condition waxes and wanes.

"In 1998, Rehm was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition that causes strained, difficult speech. After finding treatment, she wrote several articles and produced a program about the little-known disorder. The National Council on Communicative Disorders recognized her work with a Communication Award, and the Maryland Speech-Hearing-Language Association honored her with a Media Award. ABC's Nightline host Ted Koppel devoted an entire program to a conversation with Rehm about her disorder."

Diane Rehm : NPR

Her successful battle against the disease, and continued reasonably intelligent discourse has impressed a lot of people.

That said, I rarely listen to talk radio anymore. Most of it has devolved into trolling the emotions of the listeners in search of ratings. The real content has largely gone missing. I suppose it helps keep people awake on long drives, but I can't imagine a steady diet of it.

thats great that they have allowed her to still do the talk show, and i think her show has great content, but i will admit, its hard for me to listen to


but i agree with you, i think talk radio is going down hill

[Rudbeckia]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

I listen to sports talk radio every once in a while, but typically only after a football coach gets fired. The knuckle-dragging hayseeds crack me up, particularly those who sound as if they never darkened the door of a university--yet they're holding forth on the affairs of the local college.

all they have talked about for a month is the Auburns new coach, they need to move on

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by Rudbeckia

thats great that they have allowed her to still do the talk show, and i think her show has great content, but i will admit, its hard for me to listen to


but i agree with you, i think talk radio is going down hill

Have to admit that it was a problem for me too, for a while. However, when she has problems that are too great, she has subs that come in. One positive aspect is that with slow speech, there is more time to parse the content. It isn't like the roller-coaster ride of a much faster speaker, where you have to stay focused on what is being said just to keep up.

[Rudbeckia]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Have to admit that it was a problem for me too, for a while. However, when she has problems that are too great, she has subs that come in. One positive aspect is that with slow speech, there is more time to parse the content. It isn't like the roller-coaster ride of a much faster speaker, where you have to stay focused on what is being said just to keep up.

very true!

there used to be a talkshow station in Birmingham that just had local people on it all day

it started with a couple called Russ and D, then i think a guy name Matt and then a guy named lee and some others, there were two guys together somewhere in the middle, each having a few hours

they ranged in views from republican to libertarian, it was pretty interesting, i used to listen to it a lot, but then they got rid of the whole station i think, not sure why

[3am green coffee]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

In 1998, Rehm was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition that causes strained, difficult speech.

And yet it doesn't seem to interfere with her ability to rudely interrupt and talk over guests who don't share her political views.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by 3am green coffee

And yet it doesn't seem to interfere with her ability to rudely interrupt and talk over guests who don't share her political views.

LOL! I don't think she has a lock on that problem. As I said earlier, emotion trolling is one of the reasons I rarely listen to talk radio any more. I don't much care which end of the political spectrum is being promoted, or if an unusual view is being discussed, the rudeness of hosts and guests has gone way beyond the bounds of civility. In elections in the 1950s and 1960s, a single remark that was rude was a kiss of death for most political candidates, a cause for a reprimand from station management for talk show hosts, and in extreme cases, a cause for a radio station to lose their license from the FCC.

Since the FCC was forced to loosen its rules, all H has broken loose. I'm pretty sure it was Nancy Grace that was being simulcast to a radio station one day. I had never heard of her before, and she was on the phone with some guy involved in a topic of the day. She started out innocently enough with some basic questions and then started pulling the loaded questions carp and trying to embarrass the guy. The guy kept his cool, very politely told her how rude she was, thanked her for the call and hung up on her. There is hope in the world, but I don't think it is on radio.

The only thing that comes to mind as recent exemplary programming is the two episode "This American Life" that dealt with explaining the financial crisis and home ownership debacle. That was radio at its finest.