“Shockjockery”: How Transgression Builds Virtual Partisan Audio Communities

Abstract The term “shock jock” was first used about talk radio personalities in the mid-1980s. While the arrival of podcasts, social media videos, TV chat/opinion/news shows, and internet video platforms has challenged the dominance of talk radio, it continues as one of an expanding genre of “talk” media formats. This article offers an investigation, from the perspective of a variety of disciplines, into the longstanding impact of talk radio hosts who present extreme ideological political content to their listeners. The methods of disseminating political opinions on talk radio share similarities with other contemporary forms of political communication, so that the analysis of these methods is useful for an understanding of partisan media’s political impact more generally. Although discussion here focuses on anglophone countries: the USA, the UK, and Australia, the question is raised as to its relevance elsewhere.