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Dr. Laura Schlessinger to Quit Show In January

Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief in Featured Articles, Politics, Society.
Aug 18th, 2010

After getting in trouble for repeatedly saying the “N-word” on the air when talking about how much black comedians use the word on HBO and issuing an apology later, popular talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger has told CNN’s Larry King that she intends to quit her show when he[r] contract runs out in January — citing a desire to get her First Amendment rights back:

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A PERSONAL NOTE: I was a huge fan of Dr. Laura when she was on KFI in Los Angels. Her radio persona gradually evolved. She was funnier and friendlier on KFI but still capable of being almost dogmatic when she gave advice to callers. The station used to run its slogan and Dr. Laura said it in a taped hourly teaser in such a sexy, funny way that some other hosts chuckled at it. “This is KFI, More…stimulating…talk radio…” I listened the day that she came on the air elated saying things such as “oh, this is very nice” after signing her multi-million dollar contract that made her a national media powerhouse for years.

At one point on KFI, she did a show with her then young son and I wrote her a note about how good it was and she wrote a very nice, humorous note back to me. I didn’t always agree with her advice, but Dr. Laura was fun to listen to and seemed to love her listeners and her job.

But once she went syndicated, her air personality seemed to change — coming more brittle and less fun. [snip]

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In an important sense, when Schlessinger repeated the “n-word” repeatedly to make a point about how blacks comedians can use it on HBO but others get in trouble for using it, she illustrated a key point:

Once upon the time the real “shock jocks” were people such as Howard Stern, who used language and pushed the envelope on what was accepted speech dealing with sex.

Schlessinger’s show only seldom dove into politics (she was generally on the same wavelength as Fox) and she dealt with social issues as seen from a socially conservative perspective. But in repeating the n-word she joined the ranks of the political talker “shock jocks” who have become so popular since the success of Rush Limbaugh — talkers on the right and left who use a form of “shock jock” political talk to push the envelope, push hot-buttons with their like-minded readers, accenatuate resentments, gather an audience and deliver that demograpic to advertisers.

Full article @ TheModerateVoice.com

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I agree with the author on this; and I too used to like Laura S and gradually developed distaste with her waning sense of humor.  Laura will very likely become even more prominent on conservative and more visible TV and other media channels including others' hosted radio shows (we know at least three radio host names who will gladly have her as their guest) and end up minting millions from her 'lapse.' Very smart of her to get her news item out on Larry King Live.