Shock Radio: Tracing the Roots of an Expressive Social Movement Richard Hinton A Thesis In The Department of Sociology and Anthropology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Sociology) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada April 2013 © Richard Hinton, 2013 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Richard Hinton Entitled: Shock Radio: Tracing the Roots of an Expressive Social Movement And submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Sociology) Complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: David Howes Chair Meir Amor Examiner Beverley Best Examiner Daniel Dagenais Supervisor Approved by _____________________________________________________ Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director __________2013 __________________________________ Dean of Faculty ABSTRACT Shock Radio: Tracing the Roots of an Expressive Social Movement Richard Hinton Since the 1980s, an important trend in talk radio has established itself in various North American cities, and has come to be known as “shock radio.” Where they have not looked at the issues of free speech and regulation of the genre, previous studies have provided rich insights into the audience and discourse. The present research lays out a profile of the listening audience and connects it with the themes of shock radio within the framework of a social movement perspective. It is hypothesized that shock radio expresses the resentment of a demographic that has been denied recognition in the emerging structure of group rights. Semi-structured interviews combined with questionnaires were administered to listeners of Quebec City’s CHOI-FM and of American shock host Howard Stern. Respondents were mostly male and non-unionized private sector workers or self-employed. Resentment at group claims was present among a certain segment of the audience, offering support to the hypothesis that shock radio draws its appeal from its expression of resentment. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks are due to my professor Daniel Dagenais for his patient guidance and insight which have shaped my thinking as a student of sociology. I would like to thank my readers, professors Meir Amor and Beverley Best. Thanks also to my family for their own patience and support, and especially to my parents. Finally, I wish to thank my close friends, Erica for her wit and humour; Marian for her encouragement and inspiring vitality; and Ryan for his generosity. iv Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Problem Statement ............................................................................................ 6 Background..................................................................................................................... 6 Humble Beginnings ........................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2: Research Question........................................................................................... 11 Competing Perspectives................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 3: Literature Review............................................................................................ 18 Part 1: Discourse........................................................................................................... 20 Gender, Eroticism, Feminism ................................................................................... 21 Class.......................................................................................................................... 25 Generation................................................................................................................. 27 Group Relations on Talk Radio ................................................................................ 28 Powerlessness and Exclusion from the Public Sphere.............................................. 29 Shock......................................................................................................................... 32 Insult/Trash ............................................................................................................... 34 Information, Entertainment, Opinion........................................................................ 35 Identity...................................................................................................................... 37 Mobilizations ............................................................................................................ 38 Part 2: Audience Profile................................................................................................ 42 Features of the Audience .......................................................................................... 43 A Neoconservative Audience?.................................................................................. 43 The Audiences in Comparison.................................................................................. 45 Context...................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter 4: Theoretical Framework ................................................................................... 51 The Elements of Shock Radio in a Social Movement Perspective............................... 52 Resentment.................................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 5: Hypothesis....................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 6: Methodology ................................................................................................... 58 The Comparison of Shock Radio Audiences................................................................ 61 Research Design............................................................................................................ 63 Chapter 7: Results............................................................................................................. 65 Part 1: Listener Opinions .............................................................................................. 65 Mobilization.............................................................................................................. 65 Resentment................................................................................................................ 66 Politics....................................................................................................................... 75 Community/Identity.................................................................................................. 78 Honesty/Franchise.................................................................................................... 80 Controversial radio content....................................................................................... 83 Information ............................................................................................................... 86 Entertainment............................................................................................................ 88 Opinion ..................................................................................................................... 90 v Excursus: Corey............................................................................................................ 93 Part 2: Respondents’ Profiles........................................................................................ 97 Overview of the Audience ........................................................................................ 97 Work ......................................................................................................................... 98 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 102 Aspects of Resentment................................................................................................ 102 Status Decline ......................................................................................................... 103 Powerlessness ......................................................................................................... 106 Merit and Feelings of Injustice ............................................................................... 108 Alternative Explanations......................................................................................... 109 As a social movement ................................................................................................. 110 Methodological Considerations .................................................................................. 113 References....................................................................................................................... 114 Appendices...................................................................................................................... 121 Appendix A: Questionnaire ........................................................................................ 121 Appendix B: Interview Questions..............................................................................