The Atlantic: "The Listener"

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201001/coast-to-coast

 
 
In the current “State of the Union” issue of The Atlantic, there’s a profile of George Noory by Timothy Lavin, who described the host of the late night radio talk show “Coast to Coast AM” as “a man of long radio experience, indeterminate politics, and ominous generality.”
 
Lavin wrote: “From an unexceptional corporate tower in the San Fernando Valley, Premiere Radio Networks fills the American airwaves with 90 syndicated programs every day . . . For four hours every night, on holidays and weekends, Coast to Coast beams from a small, unmarked studio, down the hall to Premiere National Operations Center, then out to 525 affiliate stations reaching every major radio market, and into the home of some 3 million people and counting.”
 
The show has been known to address topics often categorized as 'paranormal phenomena.'  Some of the show’s background was related by Lavin and I’ll add some additional details while sharing my perspective.
 
Noory became the official primary host of the show in 2003 after original host Art Bell retired.  There was an interim when Mike Siegel was the main host.  The program that became what is now known as “Coast to Coast AM” was hosted by Art Bell (a U.S. Air Force veteran with a long radio career) at KDWN in Las Vegas in 1989.  Syndication began in 1993 and the show soon expanded to hundreds of stations.  In 1998 the show was purchased by Jacor Communications, Inc., which merged with Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., which in turn became a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, Inc.  Art Bell was succeeded by a series of hosts and a more regulated format implementing strict call screening.  Guest credibility has always been something best evaluated on an individual basis.  Considering all aspects of the show during the year after Noory became host, I would say that a greater emphasis on entertainment was noticeable.  I've rarely listened to the show since 2003.
 
Noory’s and Art Bell’s interest in ‘paranormal’ topics has brought comparisons to the Long John Nebel WOR broadcasts from New York City to the eastern United States from 1956 through 1963.  These shows also were often devoted to discussing UFOs and other unexplained phenomena although, unlike Art Bell, Nebel professed to be a nonbeliever in UFOs.  Nebel also broadcast from WNBC (1963-1973) and WMCA (1973-1978).
 
An omission of The Atlantic career profile of Noory is his nine years in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Public Information Officer.  In March 2005 when I listened to the show for the first time in many months, George mentioned having been at the Pentagon, Defense Information School at Fort Benjamin in Indianapolis, and Pensacola.  On that particular evening there was a “Zombie Hotline” for “Open Lines” callers.  The reason I mention this is because every military or corporate occupation poses some degree of indoctrination.  No government or corporation has ever had a single thought or accomplished anything — it is individual people who make the decisions.
 
Lavin observed Noory and producer Tom Danheiser in the studio during a recent broadcast when the topic was 'freaks' and this was Lavin's viewpoint.
 

Ralph from Oceanside, California, on the West of the Rockies line, is telling Danheiser a rambling tale about mysterious desert cats of unusual jumping ability.  Danheiser listens impatiently, then interrupts him and puts him on hold.  On Noory’s monitor, he types: “Ralph, Oceanside, CA—FLAG.”  The flag, I assume, means don’t take this crazy call.  In fact, it means just the opposite—take this crazy call as soon as you can.  Callers who are too polished (boring callers, in the vernacular) sometimes have a harder time getting through, though Danheiser admits that the line between interesting and unhinged is a fine one.

 
The article concludes with Lavin describing listening to “Coast to Coast AM” one night when physicist Brian Greene was the interview guest.   Greene is reported to have said he has never encountered anything that has convinced him, even in a slight degree, that there’s anything beyond death so I'm going to Email Brian a link to this blog.