Power Talk!

Book excerpt: Talk radio was the foundation for what we now know as the Tea Party movement. Mike Siegel was at the center of the growth of populist tea party movements long before the tea parties became a political force.Power Talk: The Influence of Talk Radio documents many of the campaigns and public policy issues that were directly affected by the skill that Siegel used to bring his audiences into the influence his programs had on changing public policy.You will learn about the talk radio campaign led by Siegel to stop a proposed 51% pay raise in Congress. There was also the campaign to protest the oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, when the Exxon Valdez had a severe oil spill. That campaign led to a law passed by Congress and signed by the first President Bush requiring double hull oil tankers by the year 2010. This means that if the outer skin fails, there is still an inner skin protecting against any oil spill.Siegel presents many other talk radio campaigns that had an impact on issues of concern to the public. His success in building relationships with his audience to achieve these results is documented in Power Talk.One of the most gratifying efforts was the reversal of convictions of citizens in Wenatchee, Washington known as "The Wenatchee Witchhunt." Only one other media organization covered the prosecutions of innocent people alleged to have committed crimes against children. Every one of the convictions was later reversed, in part as a result of the talk radio presence in this issue.Power Talk will inspire you in the examples it offers that the media can be used as a force for good and for change. People were feeling alienated from the system and became energized and activated when talk radio offered them hope and a vehicle for change.Enjoy this true example of why we can be optimistic about the future, as long as people have vehicles like talk radio to make change for the better.