Radio Vox Populi

Talk Radio from the Romantic to the Anglo-Saxon

By (author) Peter Laufer, Christian Ruggiero

Publication date:

29 November 2022

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781839987540

Talk radio is broadcast discourse expressing – under ideal circumstances – the medium’s full potential as a vox Populi megaphone. Talk radio creates a virtual arena (a Coliseum!) in which topics of public relevance, and most specifically of current affairs, are treated with both expert voices and the continuous contributions of the “man on the street” – the vox Populi. This vox Populi is expressed within the mainstream media context. Radio broadcasters anticipate the active participation of listeners and make them engines of the on-air discussions. Talk radio programs become instruments for intervening in public opinion and, via opinions of the public, intervene in the public agenda. Talk radio and its vox populi amplify the importance of political issues and social issues.

Preface, by David Hendy;Forewords, by Peter Laufer and Christian Ruggiero; Section 1: Making Euros & Dollars with Talk Radio, with contributions by Peter B. Collins, Mihaela Gavrila and Giorgio Zanchini; Section 2: Grabbing Listeners Ears, with contributions by Mark Davis and Giorgio Simonelli; Section 3: Securing Listeners Loyalty, with contributions by Christopher Chávez and Marta Perrotta; Section 4: Selfishly Broadcastinfg Divisiveness, with contributions by Markos Kounalakis, Mauro Bomba and Aida Picone; Section 5: Commercial Propagandizing va. Public Discourse, with contrributions by Terry Phillips, Mihaela Gavrila and Marta Perrotta; Epilogue, by Peter Laufer and Christian Ruggiero; Index

“This book brings together an international community of radio scholars to explore the role talk radio plays in everyday life and does so in a new and original way. It brilliantly captures and describes the ambivalence of talk radio, both as a community aggregator and as a means of polarizing public opinion. It will certainly be a reference book for the burgeoning community of radio, media and communication studies” — Professor Tiziano Bonini, University of Siena.