Thursday

Blogosphere Gossip: The Radio Talk Show Hosts

9/14/2004

The Talk Radio Hosts

What with the pajama-clad insurgents taking over the country’s business on this day of our Lord, Kaitlyn Mae, it seemed prudent that to give the many Bloggers, radio talk show hosts, web posters and web site designers more legitimacy by spreading some gossip. Until one is talked about by others, sweet Granddaughter, one is a nobody.

It’s the American Way.

Grandmother will begin by critiquing some of the mighty political talk show personalities of the day. Then onto the political show hosts then onto those loud web sites that serve as wellspring for the pajama brigade to start their own Blog or use their huge numbers and access to all the data in the …world … to light fires under the pundits and media. This category would include Free Republic, Lucianne.Com, Democratic Underground and National Review Online.

Grandmother begins this quest due the recent rise of the pajama clad minions who would dare have an opinion that needs expression. The pajama reference is made, Kaitlyn, due to a recent remark made by a CBS hack essentially stating who you gonna believe, us or some pajama-clad nitwit? This all a part of the drama of the Great CBS Swindle of 2004, Grandmother’s own moniker.

Mighty CBS, it would seem, devoted an entire hour reporting on bogus documents as regards the sitting President’s National Guard Service from over 25 years ago. Bogus documents delivered by who knows how or who knows when, but their fakery discovered by various members of the pajama brigade due to that little problem of the fonts that did not exist in the era of Bush’s tenure in the Guard. The Blogosphere as it exists at this time, Kaitlyn, is quite mighty, so mighty in fact that I’m not even sure the pj pundits have any idea how powerful they are.

They can, with the click of a key, obtain any information on earth, they can mass mail it off to the politicians, advertisers and mighty business men of the planet. They can nag and click and paste, all with little effort, their snowball growing by the second as various minions with special talents and skills weigh in and add their expertise.

In your day, Kaitlyn, the Blogosphere will be taken as an everyday given as you struggle with one of your two required weekly entries into your personal Blog. During this time of our Lord, Kaitlyn, the Bloggers managed to build up a big boulder of a political snowball that caused Dan Rather and NBC to recoil in fear.

As stated, the Blogosphere needs the legitimacy of gossip and critique and Grandmother will begin the trend. We shall include talk radio hosts, Kaitlyn, because, with no pre-plan, their talk mission intertwines so intimately with the Blogosphere to include web cams and instant email response on subjects discussed.

There’s gossip and satire in everything. Why should the Blogosphere be different?

Of course when one even begins to discuss talk radio one must begin with the pioneer, Rush Limbaugh.

Who will be, Grandmother is quite sure, mentioned in your history books if Kerry doesn’t win this election.

I’m not sure that Rush Limbaugh will still be broadcasting when you are old enough to care about what he has to say, Kaitlyn. More’s the pity.

For Rush is a master at what he does and Grandmother states this with no envy but pure admiration for a skilled craftsman. Limbaugh’s show is definitely of a conservative bent, make no mistake Kaitlyn Mae. But at least the man doesn’t try to pretend to be a fair and partial CBS type of affair while using forged documents to try an unseat my President.

There’s gossip about Rush. The man has a riddled marital history and there was some flap up recently about prescription drugs. Which all causes Grandmother’s eyes to glaze over though I’d perk up at any hint of Rush gossip. Every day he declares he ships tapes of his “broadcasting excellence” over to some mythical institute. Rush speaks with his tongue in cheek so often at times Grandmother doesn’t know whether he’s pulling her leg or just what.

Rush Limbaugh has a wonderful voice with the ability to have the words trip off his tongue fluidly and without hesitation. He is sure of his convictions and he wishes to make his convictions yours. But he’s up front about it and one can always flick the dial.

Sean Hannity is another national talk radio show host. His show comes on right after Rush Limbaugh. Kaitlyn, Sean is a bit younger than Rush so you may very well be hearing his broadcasts in your adolescence. Too bad if you won’t have Rush to compare Hannity to.

Grandmother listens to the Hannity radio show but as a host, Sean doesn’t hold a candle to Rush. He does have interesting guests and few are the times when Grandmother has to rattle the dial because the man has irritated me. He will talk over his guests, going on and on with some point or another that makes no sense. An example, on his Fox cable show, one night, Sean had a guest of the liberal type and the argument stuck in his head was “Name one Republican who questioned your patriotism”. Once Sean gets an idea in his head no matter what the guest is trying to say, Hannity keeps saying this one point over and over until Grandmother must change the channel. If it’s Hannity’s intention to stick a talking point in our ear by saying it over and over again even if irrelevant to the discussion, well Grandmother gets it already. Grandmother would prefer a dialogue that genuinely tries to elicit opinion and points of view rather than having talking points, or Hannity’s genius perhaps as he sees it, screamed into her ageing ears.

Other radio talk show hosts of note include Hugh Hewitt, Bill O’Reilly, Laura Ingrahm and Gordon Liddy. The qualifications of these people, Kaitlyn, to be radio talk show leaders varies from being a well-known Blogger to a former Nixon White House felon. Their talk show talents are varied as well.

Hewitt is a very talented talk radio show host and is as close to Rush, but still nowhere near as good, as any of the others. Gordon Liddy is better than static air. Bill O’Reilly also is currently host of his own Fox show titled, interestingly, “The Bill O’Reilly Show”. This guy is a blow-hard trying to ride the coat tails of the conservative Blogosphere by setting himself up as some sort of middle of the road, happening and hip kind of guy. He takes public positions that enrage his audience yet O’Reilly thinks he’s too cool to be disparaged. Grandmother considers him another Dan Rather in the making. Grandmother also predicts that O’Reilly will be nobody within two years.

Next: The Hosts of the Political Shows: O’Reilly, Matthews, Russert and many more.

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