Sports Talk Radio: Finding Community in
“The Jungle” of Jim Rome
Abstract
Sports talk radio represents a particular niche form o f popular media
whose influence on American culture extends far beyond its
predominantly male audience. The sports radio talk format engages a
dynamic between host and listener, as well as across listeners, which
allows for an examinati on o f how community can exist beyond
geographic boundaries, building upon the use o f social identity
theories, popular culture, and other sociological constructs. This
paper focuses on the Jim Rome Show, arguably the most
recognizable name in sports talk radio, to better understand how the
medium can create an environment o f community.
Sports talk radio represents a genre of media that significantly impacts
American culture, and indeed, provides an example of how popular culture can
reflect, as well as influence, social interaction. Even in an era when new forms
of media communication are constantly emerging, sports talk radio still
exemplifies how popular culture can transmit and create social values. But how
can a narrowly defined element of popular culture such as sports talk radio
represent and improve upon a significant social issue such as how to define and
create community? The struggle to understand how community is constructed
has rising importance as people are increasingly disengaged from more
traditional social networks, which create the vital social capital that benefits both
societies and individuals (Putnam, 2000). Challenges to the existing sense of
community include increased expectations around work and standards of living,
geographic separation, and more isolated social habits such as watching
television and internet usage (Putnam, 2000). Can radio, specifically sports talk
radio, help alter these trends?
To consider this question, a brief history of sports talk radio will be
provided for context, and an illustration of one successful show. The Jim Rome
Show, will serve as an example for how to combat the trends of disintegrating
community. Attention is paid to how this show exhibits characteristics unique to
sports talk radio, and what conceptual frameworks can be used in order to
advance the creation of community through this expression of popular culture.
The Emergence of a Genre: Defining Sports Talk Radio
Sports talk radio represents a particular genre of talk radio found almost
exclusively on stations that use what Arbitron, the leading radio research
company in the U.S., calls an “all-sports” format. Although these shows are
based on a “News/Talk/Information” format, they have enough significant