Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews with guests, and/or listener participation which may be live conversations between the host and listeners who "call in" or via voice mail. Listener contributions are usually screened by a show's producers to maximize audience interest and, in the case of commercial talk radio, to attract advertisers.
Talk shows on commercial stations are organized into segments, each separated by a pause for advertisements; however, in public or non-commercial radio, music is sometimes played in place of commercials to separate the program segments.
Variations of talk radio include conservative talk, hot talk, progressive talk, and sports talk.
Talk radio has historically been associated with broadcast radio; however, starting around 2005, the technology for Internet-based talk-radio shows became cost-effective in the form of live internet website streaming and podcasts.
Africa
was a pro-democracy station that broadcast out of London from 2001 to 2014.Australia
In Australia, talk radio is known as "talkback radio".The most popular talkback radio station historically was Sydney's 2UE, whose populist programs like The John Laws Morning Show, were widely syndicated across the continent. In recent years though, 2UE has been eclipsed by its Sydney rival 2GB after the defection of 2UE most popular talkback host, Alan Jones.
As a result, 2UE and owned by the same company as 2GB) abandoned most of its rigid political and hot topic-driven talkback programming in 2016, moving to a less-serious lifestyle and branded content format, although still maintaining a talkback element.
In Melbourne, 3AW is the highest rating talkback radio station and has also been the highest rating Melbourne radio station for several decades in a row.
6PR personality Garry Meadows was the first announcer to use talkback radio in early 1967. 'Talkback' radio, using a seven-second time-lapse mechanism, began in Australia in April 1967, simultaneously on 2SM, Sydney and 3DB, Melbourne.
Female radio personality, 'Andrea', also began talk-back radio, in 1967, on 2GB in Sydney.
In the 1990s and 2000s, "talkback" on FM was attempted. The Spoonman was a program hosted by Brian Carlton on the triple m network in the late 1990s and returned in 2005 for three and a half years, the show wrapping up in 2008. It was a show that covered many topics, but the "hot talk" format in the U.S. would probably be the best way to describe the program.
Talkback radio has historically been an important political forum in Australia and functions much like cable news television in the United States, with live and "saturated" coverage of political issues.
Brazil
The most important talk radios in Brazil are CBN, Band News and Jovem Pan, which has also sports and news broadcasts.Canada
In contrast to talk radio stations in the United States, where syndicated programs tend to make up a significant part of most schedules, privately owned Canadian talk radio stations tend to be predominantly local in programming and focus. There is no Canadian content requirement for talk radio, or "spoken word", programming unless the individual station's license expressly stipulates such a requirement; most do not.The most recent nationally syndicated, politically oriented weekday talk radio show in Canada was Charles Adler Tonight, hosted by Charles Adler and heard on eleven stations across the country. After 5 years, the show ended in August 2021. Until 2006, Peter Warren's Warren on the Weekend was heard Saturdays and Sundays. Both programs are or were distributed by the Corus Radio Network and, coincidentally, both hosts had hosted different morning call-in programs in the same time slot on Winnipeg, Manitoba's CJOB 680 before they became nationally syndicated before Charles Adler Tonight, Corus had syndicated Rutherford, hosted by conservative Dave Rutherford and originating from its Calgary station, CHQR. Rutherford is no longer syndicated nationally but continues to air in Calgary, Edmonton, and London.
Other Canadian talk radio programs which have been syndicated to different markets include:
- The George Stroumboulopoulos Show airs on Sunday nights on stations in Toronto and Montreal.
- The Home Discovery Show, a call-in home renovation program hosted by Shell Busey.
- Love and Romance, a relationship advice program hosted by Sue McGarvie.
- Prime Time Sports, a sports talk program hosted by Bob McCown. A three-hour program originating from CJCL, usually only the third hour was broadcast nationally. The show ended in 2019.
- Renovations Cross Canada, a weekend program about home renovations hosted by Ren Molnar. It is the most widely distributed talk radio program in Canada.
- The Roy Green Show, a political and entertainment-based show hosted by Roy Green that airs on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, primarily on the Corus Radio Network.
- The 'X' Zone, a nightly show about paranormal topics hosted by Rob McConnell. It is also syndicated throughout the United States.
Syndicated programs from the United States which air on Canadian radio stations are typically non-political shows such as The Kim Komando Show and Coast to Coast AM, as well as sports radio shows from the 24-hour networks in the U.S. Traditionally, politically driven talk radio from the United States does not air on Canadian stations, with a few scattered exceptions. Top political programs such as The Rush Limbaugh Show are never broadcast on Canadian stations, mainly due to high rights fees compared to their relevance to non-American audiences. American stations near the Canadian border can provide many Canadians with access to American talk programs.
Local talk radio plays a significant role in the politics of Newfoundland and Labrador. Political parties have systematically coordinated call-ins by Members of the House of Assembly when public opinion pollsters are known to be in the field. The provincial government routinely purchases transcripts of calls.
Finland
A state-owned public channel called YLE Puhe. is broadcast throughout the whole country in the Finnish language. The programs include sports and news broadcasts. Its weekly listenership is about 550,000. Finland's first commercial talk station, Radio Rapu, started operations on March 1, 2014.France
Talk radio is a popular form of radio entertainment in France, exemplified by Europe 1, RTL, and RMC, plus state-owned France Inter. A premier English language talk radio in France is the Gascony Show. Launched in early 2011, this show is broadcast weekly to the Gascony region of the southwest of France, as well as to the rest of France via Internet streaming.Germany
Radio talk shows are popular in Germany and have a long tradition. The first talk show on public radio was Werner Höfer's, a political talk begun in 1952. The talk show on wheels Hallo Ü-Wagen ran from 1974 to 2010, begun by Carmen Thomas for WDR.Italy
Talk radio in Italy is popular. Radio 24, part of the group Il Sole 24 Ore privately owned by Confindustria, is the most important commercial "news/talk" talk radio station in the country. Its focus is mainly on independent news about the Italian and European economy, finance, culture, and politics, but it also hosts programs focusing on sports, personal finance, music, health, science, technology, and crowdsourced storytelling. State-owned Rai Radio 3 is mainly dedicated to literature, the arts, classical music, and general cultural issues. Several regional stations use a format combining that of all-news and talk radio.New Zealand
In New Zealand, the talk radio format is popularly known as talkback radio. The major radio network broadcasting in the talk radio format is Newstalk ZB. Sport Nation also largely broadcast in a talk format with Sport Coverage. Other stations such as Radio New Zealand National have a large component of talk-based content but do not have talk-back. Previous Stations Included Radio Live, Today FM Radio Sport and Live Sport, All now Defunct.
Newstalk ZB is the New Zealand market leader, but Radio tried to establish itself with a greater presence in the talk radio market since its inception in 2005, then changing to Magic Talk before closing in 2023.
Philippines
Almost all AM radio stations are talk stations. A few stations from Radio Mindanao Network and Bombo Radyo are on FM. Radyo 5 News FM is the first talk radio station in the Philippines.Poland
There is two talk radio station in Poland, called TOK FM, which is owned by Agora SA, a Polish media company. Its programmes are broadcast in 10 large cities including Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań, and Katowice. The programme is also available via the Internet and transmitted by the Hot Bird constellation. It was founded in 1998 as "Inforadio"Second talk radio station called Radio Wnet, which is owned by Radio Wnet sp. z o.o., a Polish media company. Its programmes are broadcast in two large cities including Warsaw, Kraków. The programme is available via Internet. It was founded on 25 May 2009 by Krzysztof Skowroński, Grzegorz Wasowski, Katarzyna Adamiak-Sroczyńska and Monika Makowska-Wasowska, Wojciech Cejrowski and Jerzy Jachowicz.