News/Talk Radio Coverage of the Elon Musk vs. Donald Trump Feud Exposes the Format’s Major Flaw

So, how about that Elon Musk and Donald Trump feud on Thursday, huh? News/talk radio stations and TV networks couldn’t have asked for better content.

Yet, I’m not certain news/talk radio handled that gift from the content heavens correctly. That’s a generalization, which is something that I usually try to avoid. Nobody really wins when you paint with a broad brush. But I think the shoe still fits.

I tuned through several news/talk radio stations on Thursday afternoon after Elon Musk took his ongoing feud with Donald Trump to whatever is above a thermonuclear level by asserting that the sitting President of the United States is featured in the files of noted prolific pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, which is why — according to the claims made by Musk — the files haven’t been released by the government.

The overarching response and reaction from afternoon hosts around the country was about the seriousness of the matter, what this means for the country, etc…and I think that’s the wrong approach.

This is a comedy story, in my estimation. This is entertainment at its core. And, to me, it highlights the main issue I have with the news/talk radio format: it often takes matters entirely too seriously and forgets that the content is supposed to be entertaining.

Not every topic is the most serious story that’s ever hit the airwaves. Not every segment needs to be filled with “angry guy yells about politics” radio. Many in the format act as if they’re quasi-politicians, afraid to say the wrong thing that would anger either Trump or Musk and their legion of sycophants by insulting either or both of them.

This is the juiciest red meat imaginable dangling off the entertainment bone for news/talk radio hosts. And many didn’t jump on it like they were starving. There are so many ways to make this a fun, engage, entertaining, and enjoyable topic for listeners.

Yet, as I scanned the stations yesterday, I heard few laughs. There were many hosts lambasting Musk for having the audacity to go against Trump. Others questioned why Trump would turn against such a strong ally.

But, if you ask me, that’s missing the forest for the trees. One host who absolutely knocked it out of the park was SuperTalk 99.7 WTN afternoon host Matt Murphy. I listened to his show longer than any other Thursday afternoon for three reasons: he was interesting, he was compelling, and he was entertaining.

I think it’s easy to forget that listeners show up to be entertained. Are there listeners looking to be informed, have their beliefs confirmed, or who hate-listen? Undeniably. But more than any other reason, they’re looking for entertainment.

And if seeing a couple of billionaires publicly bicker to the point that they’re lobbing wild, inflammatory accusations and threats at one another didn’t set off your Entertainment Censor (patent pending), I’m just not sure what will.

I’m sure that there’s the flip side of the coin that believes the President of the United States feuding publicly with the world’s richest man is well beneath the office and shouldn’t be viewed as entertainment and should be treated as uncouth. I totally understand that standpoint. But, to borrow a phrase from comedian John Mulaney, I agree, but we’re well past that.

Too many hosts today are so laser-focused on winning the political policy discussions or worried about hyping up topics in an attempt to make them the most consequential story of the day, week, or month, that they forget the whole purpose of the genre entirely. High-importance sells, I get it. But so does entertainment.

I’d like to believe that news/talk radio doesn’t simply exist as an avenue to espouse conservative political talking points. I’d like to believe that news/talk radio hosts don’t come to the format to play dress up as the Mayor/Governor/Senator/President. Furthermore, I’d like to believe that there are enough news/talk radio producers, programmers, or hosts that recognize that entertainment has always been the goal of a great show.

There are so many Rush Limbaugh impersonators in the news/talk radio genre today. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing if they could remember what early Rush Limbaugh sounded like, and not “Crusty Old Man Yells at Clouds” Rush Limbaugh of his final few years on the air. The news/talk GOAT earned that status by his sharp wit and interest in turning political topics into entertainment. Not by bitching into the microphone all day that Republicans are good and Democrats are bad. That isn’t entertaining and literally anyone can do that type of show. And when that’s the case, I wouldn’t be too confident when I went into my next contract negotiation.

But you know what not everyone can do? Be entertaining. Make topics that should be boring or mundane interesting, engaging, and compelling. That’s what separates the great news/talk hosts from the good and average. So I was disappointed to hear so many different hosts take the ultra-serious angle about one of the more preposterous stories in recent memory.

Entertainment has been, should be, and — hopefully — always will be the goal of the best of news/talk radio. I hope you lean into that.

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Garrett Searight

Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.