Media Roundup: Sports Talk Radio Has Become Progressively Dirtier

If you've ever flipped on sports talk radio in the past - oh, let's say five to ten years - then you know what I'm talking about. Sports talk radio has become progressively dirtier. That's not an opinion, it's simple fact, and it doesn't matter what station you turn to. If it's sports talk, then it most likely has a dirty flavor.

What do I mean by dirty talk? I mean listening to hosts talking about, to put it coyly, male and female body parts and bringing in schoolyard talk into their everyday on-air vocabulary.

Sure, some stations and hosts are better than others. For the most part, the national shows tend to avoid the major dirty talk, but there are some instances where it shows up in some form or another.

Then, there are the local show, and that's where we tend to find the most dirty talk. I'm not going to name names, as this isn't about bashing any radio hosts, but if you listen to enough sports talk, you know who the culprits are.

These dirty-talking hosts just won't stop - a reference to a female body part here, a curse word every other sentence.

They think it makes them come off as cool, down-to-earth and in with the young generation, when in reality, it makes them come off as low-lifes who need to talk dirty to keep the attention on them.

And it's not just their fault - the stations promote this sort of talk as well. By allowing the hosts to talk dirty, they're acknowledging that they have no problem with it. In short, they are proving that they have no moral compass.

Of course, it's not just the host and the station's faults, either. It's our fault. By listening to these hosts talk smut for hours and hours, we are reaffirming that their dirty words are passable.

But what effect does that have on society? Some say none, but I find that hard to believe. The more you hang around a certain environment, the more it rubs off on you. If you're listening to a talk show host swear for five straight hours, it can have an effect on you. That's true in any social circle. 

Now, this is America, and they have a right to talk like that as long as what they are saying is FCC permissible. But nowadays, the FCC allows a lot more dirty talk on our airwaves than they did in years past.

So what's the problem here? The main issue is the fact that there is no child block or parental advisory suggestion on radio. These words are free for all to hear - even young children.

Yet these hosts rarely ever think about the kids - it's all about their target demographics of 18 to 49 year olds and so on. But there are kids listening to these programs, and that foul language can't be good for them to hear.

In truth, it's downright lazy. If you are relying on dirty talk and smut to keep listeners locked on your station, then you just aren't that good at your job, are you? It's lazy, unethical and truly disgraceful.

So what can we the listener do about this? The ratings are in our hands, so we don't have to reward these foul-talking hosts. All it takes is a simple turn of the dial to find a host that won't resort to smut, although it's getting harder to find those hosts today.

It may be harder to carry on a four to five hour sports talk show without swearing or talking about body parts, but it's better for society. But it is possible, it just takes hard work - something some of these hosts may not be willing to do.

If sports talk hosts would take the time to clean up their acts, it would go a long way towards cleaning up our conversations in society. I don't know about you, but I long for a day where swearing and foul talk isn't part of the everyday lingo, and I've even heard that sort of language in business meetings.

Enough is enough, if you care about cleaning up the airwaves, do something about it. Change the station and reward someone who is keeping it clean. It's as simple as that.