Talk radio is radio format which features discussion of topical issues. Such shows typically include an element of listener participation, usually in the form of broadcasting conversations with listeners who have placed telephone calls to speak with the program's host or in-studio guests. Listener contributions are usually screened by a show's producer.

Two radio stations—KMOX, 1120 AM in St. Louis, Missouri, and KABC, 790 AM in Los Angeles—adopted an all-talk show format in 1960, and both claim to be the first to have done so. KABC station manager Ben Hoberman and KMOX station manager Robert Hyland independently developed the all-talk format. While the all-talk format was new, call-in talk programs had existed in a number of markets prior to 1960.

In the late 1970s, as more listeners abandoned AM music formats for the high fidelity stereo sound of the FM radio dial, the Talk Radio format began to catch on in more large cities. Former music stations such as WLW (Cincinnati, Ohio), WHAS (Louisville, Kentucky), WHAM (Rochester, New York), WLS (Chicago, Illinois), KFI AM (Los Angeles, California) and WABC (New York, New York) made the switch to all-talk as their ratings slumped due to listener migration to the FM band.

Talk radio is not limited to AM frequencies; shows like Talk of the Nation and Car Talk can also be found on the FM-based National Public Radio network. Commercial all-talk stations can be found on the FM band in cities like Los Angeles and Boston.

In the United Kingdom, the leading talk radio station is talkSPORT, formerly called Talk Radio.

U.S. politically-oriented talk radio

The United States saw dramatic growth in the popularity of talk radio during the 1990s. The repeal in 1987 of the FCC "fairness doctrine", which required that stations provide free air time for responses to any controversial opinions that were broadcast, provided an opportunity for a kind of flatly partisan and (often intentionally inflammatory) programming that had not previously existed. The most successful pioneer in this regard was the politically conservative humorist Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh's success demonstrated that there was an enormous market for passionately delivered conservative (and in most cases, partisan Republican) commentary on contemporary events, and many nationally-syndicated hosts have followed Limbaugh's lead in recent years, including Sean Hannity, Michael Medved, G. Gordon Liddy, Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, Larry Elder, Dennis Prager and Michael Reagan. Libertarians such as Neal Boortz and Gary Nolan have also achieved some success. Most of these hosts also make frequent telvision appearances, publish books and make frequent appearances as public speakers (Limbaugh, again, was a pioneer of this model of multi-media punditry).

Liberal and progressive talk radio has also emerged, although an organized network of liberal/Democratic commentators to counter the existing conservative/Republican juggernaut is largely a fledgling phenomenon, with programming from Air America Radio (featuring The Al Franken Show) and shows such as The Ed Schultz Show beginning in 2004. Such shows follow earlier alternatives to conservative talk radio hosted by people such as Jim Hightower. Left-wing opinion radio has long existed on the Pacifica network, though only available in a small number of cities, and in formats that more often act as a volunteer-run community forum than as a platform for charismatic hosts who would be likely to attract a large audience.

Variety of formats

Other topics of discussion in talk radio include:

• ethics and morality from Dr. Joy and Dr. Laura,
• relationships, as on shows such as Loveline
• mental health from David Viscott,
• computers from Leo Laporte and Kim Komando,
• consumer advocacy e.g. Clark Howard,
• automobiles, as on Car Talk, and
• personal finance from Bob Brinker and Dave Ramsey.

Others specialize in talk radio comedy such as Phil Hendrie. George Noory and Art Bell take turns hosting the late-night talk radio show Coast to Coast AM, which deals with a variety of paranormal topics. Some shock jocks such as Howard Stern, Don Imus, and Tom Leykis, are also talk radio hosts.

Sports talk radio can be found locally and nationally (with the networks ESPN Radio, Fox Sports, and Sporting News Network). Sports talk stations like WFAN in New York City and WEEI in Boston have done well in the ratings (aided by baseball and football game broadcasts.)

See also

• Talk show