The Sanity of Talk Radio

When AOL Time Warner's chairman, Richard Parsons, was asked at a recent conference for minority journalists why Fox News was beating CNN in the ratings, he said Fox was more like talk radio on TV. People who watch it, he said, are more likely to stay a while to listen to crazy people exchange views.

Obviously, Mr. Parsons doesn't have a high opinion of Fox, but he also insulted the many millions of listeners who tune in to talk radio who don't consider themselves crazy.

In New York, WABC (770 AM) broadcasts the top-rated nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity daytime talk shows, but the overnight Steve Malzberg program is fast becoming known as the common-sense talk show.

One would imagine that callers to the show, broadcast between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday, would be the most bizarre callers of the talkshow circuit. That's hardly the case.

I met Mr. Malzberg at the Stage Deli on Eighth Avenue near the Penn Plaza studios where Sean Hannity and the morning hosts Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby tape their shows.

Mr. Malzberg said many of his callers are police officers, firefighters, insomniacs, night workers, early risers, and late-to-bed listeners. Occasionally, when the moon is full, he may get a raving caller, but for the most part Mr. Malzberg has a great deal of respect for his audience.

Some 38 regional stations air his show and he sometimes gets calls from all over the country, frequently from law enforcement personnel. He started collecting police patches for his son, Robert, now 5, from officers around the country and has quite a collection. His son's voice begins and ends each program.

He also hosts an early Sunday program, from 9 a.m. to noon, when he interviews some of the most intriguing guests and addresses issues that are not being covered as much in the mainstream press.

Last Sunday, his guest was Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik of Flushing, Queens. The lawmaker defended his opposition to the new DMV policy requiring Social Security cards when driver's licenses are renewed. Mr. Grodenchik claimed this requirement would place a tremendous burden on a hard-working group of people, specifically immigrants.

Mr. Malzberg said the new policy is necessary to ensure people are who they say they are. In this age of heightened security, it's a necessary procedure, and now is not the time to worry about whether illegal immigrants can continue to drive their cars to work. This is just plain common sense and Mr. Malzberg makes his case without resorting to rudeness or name-calling.

Another guest on the Sunday show was the widow of the American Airlines co-pilot of the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. Cheryl McGuinness has written a book, "Beauty Beyond the Ashes: Choosing Hope After Crisis," which describes how the faith she shared with her husband, Tom, gave her the strength to rebuild her life after the tragedy and gave her a ministry to help others reeling from tragedy.

Political guests, inspirational guests, and figures of controversy populate this talk show. It's not crazy people yelling at one another, as Mr. Parsons alleges, although there are certainly plenty of those on the airwaves.

The oddity is that talk-radio programs with conservative hosts are frequently maligned as rabble-rousing fluff by the elite of the liberal press and broadcasting, yet radio personalities like Howard Stern are regarded as creative artists. I'll take a spirited discussion on current events over Mr. Stern's chatter, which alternates between ad hominem attacks on President Bush and his callers' sophomoric sexual fantasies.

Perhaps Mr. Parsons should take a peek of some of the Web sites of the talk shows he disparages and he might learn that far from being a venue for "crazy people," many sane political figures use this vehicle to reach out to the voter.

A visit to www.malzbergtalk.com offers an archive and free download of interviews with such personalities. Hear George McGovern call Mr. Malzberg a "right-wing reactionary."

Far from being a site where the right wing gathers to rant, the Malzberg show prefers stimulating conversations. When looking at the screening board, Mr. Malzberg said he frequently chooses the callers who disagree with him. This makes for a spirited discussion, which the host usually wins because he has the tapes to prove his point.

Even Tony Welch, who is the press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, hung up in frustration when Mr. Malzberg challenged him about a Kerry campaign appearance.

A man in a town hall meeting at City College was castigating the current military serving in Iraq and Mr. Malzberg charged that Mr. Kerry did not defend our forces; Mr. Welch insisted Mr. Kerry defended the troops. When Mr. Malzberg played the audio of Mr. Kerry's speech, Mr. Welch charged that the tape was edited and hung up.

The award-winning host of what may be the only live overnight talk show frequently appears on cable news programs as what he calls a "talking head." His interviews have won him several Achievement in Radio awards, so, if you have trouble sleeping tonight, Mr. Parsons, tune in to learn why.