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Popular Culture Review
future conversation on the show, or a caller could articulate a memorable phrase
that becomes part of the language of the show.
Another important element of sports talk radio is the possibility of moving
beyond inferred community or bearing witness to an event, into a participatory
group in which listeners can be contributors. As community members assume
different roles, there are distinct expectations and contributions that create a
sense of interdependence. The host of the talk show acts as the leader, guiding
the level and type of interaction allowable by members, and serving as a role
model in a “speech community” that is the modem day version of “sports bar or
comer pub” (Nylund, 2007). While the game announcer provides the “eyes and
ears” for the fan not in attendance at the game, the host of a sports talk radio also
supplies the mouth and the synergy critical to maintaining a successful show
(Smith, 1995). By calling the radio personality the “host” of the particular show,
the language infers a dynamic of the sports talk show host receiving guests into
the home of the show, as well as providing and maintaining the guidelines for
interaction.
Listeners can transcend more anonymous roles to an occasional or even
regular presence on the show, becoming bona fide celebrities with technology as
simple as a radio and a phone. Even with the prevalence of the internet,
recognition on the radio arguably carries more weight in popular culture than
recognition on the internet. Whether it is music or other arenas, those who are
popular on internet sites such as YouTube might be “discovered” there, but their
status requires an elevation to a bigger stage—^receiving play on the radio for
instance—for that discovery to be verified as a “real” star.
Even for members that never evolve into callers, they still maintain a
connection with the voices and people from the show that is itself a relationship
that begins the notions of community. The particu lar dynamic of the talk radio
format creates a distinct bond between the listeners and the host (or other
callers) as each voice can be heard in real time, just as in a conversation between
“real” people. Although this may be seen as only a one-sided relationship in
which information flows one way, this “parasocial interaction” still serves as an
entry into the world of community for the listeners (Nylund, 2001).
Are these common interests, rather minimal role identities, levels of
interdependence, and potential for participation enough to establish community,
especially for a listener who might never call the show? While there is
agreement that these components are related to community, how much is
necessary is unclear. More focused examination of a single successful show. The
Jim Rome Show, may provide some indications of the particular dynamics and
more specific requirements.
Finding Community in
Jungle’’ of Sports Talk Radio
In exploring how community can be created through the venue of a sports
talk radio show. The Jim Rome Show provides an excellent example of how this
medium achieves this successfully. It began as a local sports show in 1992 and
was subsequently syndicated in 1996. It is consistently rated as one of the