Inga Latham : In your ear
What fresh aural hell is this? Subjected on Cape Talk to talk show host Sister and comedian Mark Banks’s infantile derision of callers, I began to question my conversion to talk radio. To the best of my knowledge the imperatives of talk radio are to inform and to discuss, exposing the public to opinions which may differ from their own in an atmosphere of tolerance. And Sister, you of all people should be tolerant.
As someone who is openly gay and has considerable influence by virtue of a public profile, to be seen, or rather heard, to ridicule individuals on account of their ethnicity, age, or any other group affiliation is potentially damaging to the gay community – not nice to be lumped together like that is it?
That Jewish boy you lashed into because of his ”privilege” will doubtless recover from his bruised ego (perhaps you could have given the performance a grand finale by buying him off with the tickets he was phoning in for), but this display of callousness cost you listeners.
My faith in talk radio was restored, however, by Lisa Chait in the noon slot. She manages to combine humour and intelligent observation without undermining callers. Chait’s subject matter is well chosen and she is unflappable under pressure, talking her way through any hitches. It is talk radio after all.
Call me a stickler for routine, but what time are the news bulletins on Cape Talk? Inquiries revealed that the age-old convention of every hour, on the hour, is followed, but in practice this is often only theoretical. That said, the news reportage is always of a high standard, and the interviews very professional.
Newstalk, At Your Service and Martin Jordison: these shows are delivered with a level of professionalism that one would expect of talk radio. Leave the juvenile mud-slinging to the DJs on music radio.
This is not to say that talk-show hosts are meant to be objective facilitators of debate. Maytham in the Morning is ”talk show lite” and Jon Qwelane (Talk at Nine) is one of the most controversial voices on the radio, often rubbing people up the wrong way, and these are probably the best shows on Cape Talk.
The difference between controversial and offensive is in the delivery, and the delivery is often a reflection of the thought process and professionalism of the host. In the fever of democracy and individualism which grips the media, we sometimes mistake self-indulgence for these noble tenets. Cape Talk is on 567MW in Cape Town