There’s often a difference between what you legally can do and what you should do. Say you’re running a talk radio station and your morning host one day publicly announces that he’s running for governor next year. What do you do?
Do you immediately yank him from the air? Do you leave him on the air, because, since he hasn’t filed his paperwork to be an official candidate, there’s no equal time requirement yet?
My old radio station, New Jersey 101.5, is in that precise position now. The morning host has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor of New Jersey, something that’s been percolating for a while. The election isn’t until next year, but he’s been building his campaign organization and he’s made a public announcement.
However, since he hasn’t filed the paperwork yet, he can continue hosting his show until those petitions are filed. It’s all kosher, so no problem, right?
Well, now, let’s think about this for a moment. Allowing a political candidate to continue to host a radio show – not just any show, but the morning show on the biggest radio station in the state – is handing that candidate a megaphone that no other candidate can wield.
Again, it’s legal, he and the station can claim First Amendment rights, there’s no FCC rule prohibiting it, no equal time requirements involved, and, no, the Fairness Doctrine wouldn’t have prevented it either, so save that fantasy for misguided social media posts. They can do it, so they will.
But should they? The advantage and head start the host will get over his primary rivals for about a year is one issue.
Another issue is what it says about the station. When we started the format in 1990, it was apolitical. Oh, we talked about politics, but it was always from the position that we were on the side of the people and against any politician – left, right, centrist, whomever – who was up to things that weren’t in the audience’s best interest. We went after governors and senators from one party, and when the other party came into power, we went after them, too. And we talked about lifestyle stuff and pop culture, and we did very, very well.
Things change. Today, the morning man is running for governor and proclaiming himself “unapologetically conservative, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-Trump,” thus describing himself as exactly like practically every other talk host on the dial. And it reflects on the station, which once prided itself on being exactly like nothing else on the radio. Now, it’s as partisan as the rest of ‘em.
They can do what they want, but having a candidate for the state’s highest office as your morning host is not just problematic as an ethical issue, it raises questions about exactly what the show is going to be moving forward, and whether it will be entertaining or just an extended campaign ad.
It also stresses that the host/candidate is not a talk show host or entertainer, he’s a politician. He’s far from the first to blur the lines (hey, Mike Pence was a radio host), but talk radio shouldn’t be looking at politicians or wanna-be politicians as hosts, especially when you know they plan to re-enter politics at some point. Talk radio is entertainment and opinion, and talk hosts should be talk hosts.
A politician ranting on the radio will get you that loyal core audience of 75+ men. If you want anything more, you need someone who’s committed to the job at hand, not dreaming of the State House or Capitol Hill or the White House.
It’s not supposed to be a radio station’s job to promote a candidate or allow a candidate to promote themselves with their own show daily. Judging by the state of talk radio in 2024, that ship sailed sporting a Trump flag, but when you’re in charge of one of the few broadcast megaphones around, you can and should do better.
Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
