Abstract: The Rush Limbaugh phenomenon raises serious questions about the way political thought may be influenced by a medium—talk radio—that adheres to no standards of credibility. The author analyzes the way Limbaugh uses call screening, half‐truth, oversimplification, and undocumented opinion to, in effect, carry on a monologue under the illusion of dialogue. She concludes that Limbaugh's rhetoric must be judged as both unethical and demagogic.

Abstract: This paper reevaluates and questions some of the assumptions that have been made about the efficacy of radio broadcasting in rural Africa—the target of most domestic and international social change programs. Among other possibilities, the paper suggests that the inexpensive availability, portability, and nonliterate accessibility of rural audiences to radio are necessary conditions but are insufficient to maximize the medium's potential utility for social mobilization. Using an existent tripartite concentric cultural diameter as the basis for argument, the paper reemphasizes the claim that the rural African community is distinct from the suburban and the urban. Recommendations are offered, on that basis, for a restructured radio network that would reflect the uniqueness of rural communities and the changing phase of Africa's marginalized population.

Abstract: The history of French noncommercial, community radio is traced in this article, and its current status in relationship to state‐owned and commercial radio is described. The author concludes that community stations have been put at a disadvantage through regulatory policy, especially in the relatively low power that has been assigned them, but that they play an important role by offering an alternative to the rationalized and bureau‐cratized services of Radio France and the commercial stations.

Abstract: Early in 1996, Congress passed sweeping changes to the Communications Act of 1934. Among the largely common carrier provisions were several important changes in the laws affecting radio broadcasters. These included a longer license term, a near‐assurance of license renewal, and liberalizing of ownership restrictions.

Abstract: This study measured the attitudes of public radio listener‐contributors regarding listener‐focused marketing strategies used by public radio stations. Four hundred forty‐two questionnaires from Northern Colorado and Central Michigan were returned. Overall, respondents expressed a positive attitude toward on‐air fund‐raising. Although they held a slightly negative opinion of on‐air pledge appeals, these negative responses were offset by positive responses about the perceived need for such fund‐raising. Respondents appreciated receiving direct mail from their radio station, but were strongly opposed to telephone contacts. They also agreed that underwriting announcements sound more like commercials than in the past.

Abstract: This essay chronicles the early history of New York radio station WEVDAM. Erected as a monument to socialist leader Eugene Victor Debs, WEVD was an electronic voice for the socialist ideas and causes that Debs championed. This essay examines how WEVD struggled to defend its license to become an early radio pioneer for socialist rhetoric and, through the process, guaranteed access to the airwaves for minority viewpoints. These struggles occurred during the formative years of broadcast regulation, and WEVD played a significant role in defining the public interest standard for American broadcasting.

Abstract: This study uses Herzberg's Two‐Factor Theory, Vroom ‘s Expectancy Theory, and London's Theory of Career Motivation as the theoretical framework for analyzing employee motivation. Radio personalities within the state of Indiana were mailed questionnaires and interviewed by phone to respond to questions regarding job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The results showed that small‐market radio personalities felt the work itself, advancement, recognition, and feedback from co‐workers and supervisors served as satisfiers while compensation and job security served as dissatisfiers. The study also found that small market radio personalities had career insight from a moderate to a large extent and career resilience from a moderate to a very large extent.

Abstract: This article traces the development of Father Charles E. Coughlin's rhetoric as it evolved over a six‐year period during the height of his popularity, from 1930 to 1936. Bormann's Fantasy‐Theme method was used to evaluate Coughlin's rhetoric. The findings offer insight into Symbolic Convergence Theory by demonstrating how Coughlin attempted to integrate his political and personal agenda with changing social context and audience needs. The implication is that fantasy themes are open systems, which are circumstantially constructed and thus evolve and change over time.

Abstract: Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first American president to make extensive use of electronic communication. From the beginning of his presidency, FDR's voice entered the homes of America, and in what were termed “Fireside Chats,” Roosevelt encouraged, challenged, and reassured a nation. His style of presentation seemed ideal for the medium of radio. The natural, conversational approach made listeners feel he was speaking directly to them as individuals, and that he was aware of their problems. This audience response gave Roosevelt a tremendous amount of political leverage, a likely factor in his election to four terms in the White House. Nearly half of his 28 radio talks to the nation took place after the beginning of World War II. Throughout the war years, FDR used radio to stimulate morale and to boost domestic efforts on behalf of the Allied cause. His success in using broadcast communication played a major role in his being ranked among our greatest presidents, and is considered by some to have tilted t...

Abstract: Even by modern standards, the success of Huey Long's rhetoric in the 1920s and 1930s is remarkable. When Long was assassinated in September of 1935, he was a potential candidate for the presidency and one of the most powerful members of the U.S. Senate. He was also widely perceived as being a demagogue. Long's training as a radio speaker began in the 1920s during his stormy political career. Most city newspapers were against him, but Long had a friend who owned a powerful radio station (KWKH) in Shreveport, Louisiana. Long got free time on KWKH to take his case to the people. Long often talked for several hours at a time, sometimes by remote control from his hotel room while lounging in his pajamas. In the final nine months of his life, from January to September of 1935, Long received free time on national networks for eight major broadcasts. This paper makes a fantasy theme analysis of these broadcasts, and examines whether or not Long was a demagogue and what influences he has had on subsequent politica...

Abstract: This study examines the debate over clear channels from 1934 to 1941, focusing on the activities of the Clear Channel Group (CCG). The study shows how social, economic, and political issues subsumed engineering concerns in determining policy, and how interest groups contributed to the policymaking process. The CCG, which represented the interests of clear channel AM broadcasters, was able to show that such stations could play a significant role in providing coverage to isolated rural areas of the country, but could not effectively counter concerns about monopoly power.

Abstract: Isolated radio stations serve predominately Native American populations in the Alaska Bush. This study sought to ascertain radio's influence on local cultures and its ability to serve local needs. Issues relating to control and staffing of stations were also examined. Clearly there is a growing push for Bush radio to help preserve Alaska's native cultures and languages. Stations differed in their approaches to some common problems, but all appeared to be moving in the direction of increasing native involvement in station operations.

Abstract: Mary Margaret McBride, under the pseudonym Martha Deane, sparked controversy when she began her broadcasting career on WOR (New Jersey) in 1934. Yet her interviews kept listeners coming back for more, and only two years later, her compelling on‐air presence earned her a medal from the Women's National Exposition of the Arts and Industries for the year's “greatest contribution to radio.” The author explores McBride's interviewing technique—developed through her years of experience as a newspaper reporter—and her ability to win over listeners.

Abstract: Little research has investigated how variations in the electronic reporting of rape affects perceptions of listeners The authors' experiment provides some insight into perceptions of college students who listened to simulated radio news reports of rape They found the most significant differences in attitudes toward assailant and victim depended on whether stranger rape or date rape was reported

Abstract: During times of chaos and confusion—like the late 1930s—people desperately search for answers. Rumors were coming out of Germany about Nazism, about Jewish persecution. Then came Kristallnacht, Nov...

Abstract: All female speakers must deal with the societal “double bind” that insists both that they be feminine and that they be effective speakers, when effective speaking is usually defined by masculine norms. The conservative woman speaker feels the double bind most acutely, because she generally has even less option to appear unfeminine. This paper examines the rhetoric of one conservative woman rhetor: Beverly LaHaye, president of Concerned Women for America. LaHaye's daily radio show is the focus of this examination, which explores the rhetorical strategies she uses to deal with the double bind and some potential implications of those strategies.