There’s a misconception that News/Talk is divisive. It’s opinionated, of course. If you don’t have an opinion, you should find another job. But divisive? If having an opinion is divisive, then sports talk has to also be considered divisive, no? There’s no better example of this than the national conversation that has continued for nearly three years around law enforcement and the statement “Back the Blue”.
Supporting law enforcement at large in this country is not divisive. It’s American. Men and women who put their lives on the line every single day that they put on the uniform to keep our families safe are not the enemy. They are not inherently bad because they wear a badge. The opposite is true. They deserve our admiration and respect.
None of this means we blindly defend every cop who may do something that is an abuse of authority or illegal. There are 750,000 cops in the country. Yes, there are bad ones. But admitting some do not uphold the standard of law enforcement does not mean you take that case and apply it to the hundreds of thousands of cops who work some of the most dangerous streets in this country daily.
Still to this day, if you say, or wave a “Back the Blue” flag, you are probably considered to be a conservative or a Republican. However, there is undoubtedly a large percentage of self-proclaimed Democrats who may have been sucked in by the “Defund the Police” movement in 2020 who have since realized they fell for a complete scam. Despite this, the base of the party is still, if we’re being polite, interested in playing footsie with the backers of the movement.
That’s where you come in.
Any chance a News/Talk station has the opportunity to show appreciation for law enforcement in their community: Take it. For all the unfair chatter that your content is nothing but divisive, this will be the best opportunity available to you to bring up a topic that will be endorsed by your biggest supporters and even many of your supposed “haters”.
With many of America’s biggest cities suffering through increased crime and near-record homicide rates in the last two to three years, stations in all of these markets would be wise to show support beyond just the on-air content.
Whether it’s on-location shows, fundraisers, job fairs, and more, the options are unlimited as we enter the third year of decreased morale and overworked staff in many of our police departments.
Plus, it’s likely many of the Rank and File will be listeners, given the fact that you may be one of the few voices in local media to support them in recent years. Also, you get great goodwill from your audience across the political spectrum.
This is a win for everyone involved. And the only ones being divisive are those who are crazed enough to still think law enforcement is the problem. Good riddance.
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
