This is the era that public broadcasting first got serious federal support. In just a few years, the radio dial and TV band had become much more representative of all that America was. You saw right wing watchdogs using the fairness doctrine to respond to critical news coverage with pro Nixon content. But conservative voices are part of this public interest moment too.
If you’ve ever flipped through the radio dial — not satellite, not podcasts, but good old-fashioned AM and FM radio — you may have noticed something. Right wing radio talk is everywhere.
But the airwaves weren't always so dominated by such a narrow range of voices. Reporter and friend of the show Katie Thornton has the story of how talk radio has evolved (and perhaps devolved at times) over the past century, and what all of it means for the airwaves today.
The Divided Dial
Hear the rest of the the series from On the Media