The vile underbelly of broadcasting

These days we are much concerned about the gladiatorial circus that is social media. The vitriol, shouting and digital eye-rolling has altered the way anger, and news, spreads through societies.

Combined with the power of partisan TV networks, like Fox and CNN, nuanced debate often feels like a quaint relic of the past. From culture wars, to cancel culture, politics is poisonous and polarised.

For the most part, New Zealand has appeared to be sheltered from this howling gale of incivility.

Indeed, just after the election one commentator explained to the Guardian that this was because Rupert Murdoch-owned press have never had a foothold.

But there has always been talkback radio. Loud, overwhelmingly conservative and unabashedly opinionated, it offers up a constant stream of news and debate by hosts who are loud, overwhelmingly conservative and unabashedly opinionated.

Fox News was born out of the format: its creators wanted to bring the issues-driven format and confrontational heat into the television studio.

It is the original outrage discourse, provoking fear, anger and righteousness.

The format is led by the host, who often has as much to say as the caller. But in today’s commercial radio landscape, they dog-whistle with oversimplification, generalisations and often misleading information or scientifically disproved theories.

They skirt the lines of intolerance and bigotry hiding behind a freedom of speech fig leaf. When challenged they rail against cancel culture, pitting themselves against the pitchforks of left-wing social media and the professionally offended.

(Isn’t it funny how advocates often want to use that freedom to be transphobic, homophobic, racist,