Rorschach test. Americans are split across party lines on the war in Iran. The data is consistent regardless of the source. Take your pick: Ipsos, Quinnipiac, Washpo, CNN. Republicans are overwhelmingly supportive, Democrats likewise in opposition, Independents are the tie-breakers and side more with D’s than R’s. The net impact is that a majority are in opposition. But anecdotally, I am noticing something else….
Turn on, tune in, drop out. Calls are the lifeblood of many talk radio programs. When I got started three decades ago – before the age of syndication – they were also the metric by which we were judged, i.e. a host’s ability to make the telephone lines ring. I remember an era when a program director of mine actually had a multi-line telephone on his office desk, mimicking the studio phone, just so he could judge the vibrancy of the program then on air. It took me a while to realize that there was no logic to this measurement. If I wanted to make the telephone lines ring, I could just say the word “abortion” or “guns” and they’d instantly fill, but that was a barometer of passion, not listenership. Passion is good, but that alone cannot sustain a successful program. Thanks for the primer Michael, but what’s your point?
The point is that by the telephone metric, I see lessened public interest in Iran. Saturday will mark two days since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran. For the first week of the war, I pretty much only discussed Iran on radio. The news and listener demand required no less. But I sense things are changing as each day passes. Less listener passion, and less voting on my Iran poll questions. And of course, mine is a program hosted on a SiriusXM channel labeled POTUS – just imagine what that might mean for a lack of attention by the rest of the country. I suspect many are already tuning out on Iran, or maybe never tuned in. (H/t to Timothy Leary who used those words in the 60’s to describe the counterculture at the time.)
The days are longer and Spring is 9 days away. Winter is nearly in the rearview mirror. Someone in my orbit who questions climate change tweaked me amidst all the snow we received in the Northeast where the accumulation was like the days of my youth. Well, I hope he sees the ABC link in today’s newsletter with data showing that the contiguous U.S. just experienced the second warmest Winter on record since 1895 – nine states had their warmest Winter on record.
Finally, in Mingle news, see the story about Jumbo, a Dutch grocery chain with more than 700 outlets, which just created a “chat checkout” lane to cater to seniors who yearn for connection. Ring that up!
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