Coast to Coast AM

Last updated

Coast to Coast AM
Coast to coast am logo.jpg
Genre Talk radio
Running time175 minutes, 20 seconds
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Philippines (2006–2010)
Syndicates Premiere Networks
Hosted by George Noory (weeknights and 1st Sunday)
George Knapp (Sundays)
AnnouncerDick Ervasti
Created by Art Bell
Recording studio Sherman Oaks, California
Remote studios Los Angeles, California (Noory)
St. Louis, Missouri (Noory)
Las Vegas, Nevada (Knapp)
Original release1988 –
present
Opening theme"Chase (Theme from Midnight Express)" by Giorgio Moroder
Ending theme"Inca Dance" or "Ghost Dance" by Cusco (Shows hosted by Noory and Knapp)
"Listening to Coast to Coast" by UFO Phil (Fridays)
"Midnight in the Desert" by Crystal Gayle
Website www.coasttocoastam.com
Podcast Streamlink

Coast to Coast AM is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 1988 until 2003, and is currently hosted by George Noory. The program is distributed by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, both as part of its talk network and separately as a syndicated program. The program now airs seven nights a week from 1:00–5:00 a.m. ET. [1] It airs on over 600 affiliates, and has repeatedly been called the most popular overnight show in the country. [2] [3]

Contents

History

In 1978, Art Bell created and hosted West Coast AM, a late-night political talk/call-in show on Las Vegas radio station KDWN. [4] In 1988, Bell and Alan Corberth renamed the show Coast to Coast AM and moved its studios from the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas to Bell's home in Pahrump. [4] After Bell's retirement, the show was hosted by various personalities, including Mike Siegel, George Noory, and others.

At its peak, Coast to Coast AM under Bell was syndicated by Premiere Radio Network, and aired on more than 500 radio stations and boasted a weekly listening audience in excess of 10 million listeners. [5] [6] [7] Since 2013 the weekly listener numbers have declined to 2.5 million. [8] According to estimates by Talkers Magazine , Coast to Coast AM has a cumulative weekly audience of around 2.75 million unique listeners listening for at least five minutes, making it the most listened-to program in its time slot. [9] By 2010 the program was known as by far the most popular overnight show in the country, [2] echoed by The New York Times in 2017, citing Nielsen ratings. [3]

The show is estimated to be carried by over 600 US affiliates, [1] along with a limited number of FM stations, as well as many Canadian affiliates, several of which stream the show on their station's website. The affiliate group is fronted by 12 clear-channel stations, among them WBT in Charlotte, WHO in Des Moines, WWL in New Orleans, WOR in New York City, KFBK in Sacramento, and KFI in Los Angeles. The show is also carried by Sirius XM Radio, on its Road Dog Trucking channel 146. [10]

Criticism

Scholars have criticized Coast to Coast AM for promoting pseudohistoric and pseudoscientific ideas. Historian Ronald H. Fritze characterized the show as an "especially influential example" of the trend in modern media to disseminate false history and fake science. [11]

According to State University of New York (SUNY) professor Paul Arras, early shows hosted by Art Bell featured guests that were frequently pseudoscientists, but "regardless of their reputation, all guests are presented as experts." According to Arras "Bell seems to believe much of what even his wildest guests say". [12] Boston College professor Michael C. Keith noted a "characteristic of distrust and fear that is a part of the text of Coast to Coast —fear of the unknown, fear of invasion, fear of being taken over by some kind of evil force". [2]

Religious Studies lecturer David G. Robertson observed that "sweeping conspiratorial revisionist histories and ancient alien narratives" are a frequent feature of the show. [13] Nolan Higdon of California State University, East Bay speculated that programs like Coast to Coast AM that "propagate unsubstantiated claims" were "potentially dangerous". [3]

According to The Atlantic senior editor Timothy Lavin, host George Noory "lets clearly delusional or pseudoscientific assertions slide by without challenge". Lavin wrote that "Coast to Coast AM has perfected a charged and conspiratorial worldview that now pervades American media". [2]

In 1998, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry awarded show host Art Bell their mocking "Snuffed Candle Award", citing his work "for encouraging credulity, presenting pseudoscience as genuine, and contributing to the public's lack of understanding of the methods of scientific inquiry". [14] CSI fellow Joe Nickell has appeared on the show occasionally as "a voice of skepticism", saying his goal was to explain and demystify the "bizarre topics 'Coast to Coast' deals with" such as Bigfoot and ghosts. [3]

Hosts

Art Bell

Bell was the original host of the show, starting in 1988. He announced his retirement in 2000, but would return as show host, retire, and return again a number of times. [15] Bell died in April 2018.

Mike Siegel

Mike Siegel hosted the show from April 2000 until February 2001. He became a frequent substitute for Bell in late 1999, and when Bell announced his retirement in early 2000, he recommended Siegel to succeed him. [16] Siegel maintained the format of the show that Bell had created, but his personal style was very different, and the show became less popular. Siegel hosted the show from Seattle, Washington, where he lived. Early in 2001, Bell decided to return, and Siegel left the show. [17]

Ian Punnett

Ian Punnett hosted the show sporadically, as either guest host or main host, between 1998 and 2012, and from 2018 to 2023. [18]

John B. Wells

In January 2012, John B. Wells replaced Punnett as host of the Saturday evening [19] and the second Sunday evening programs.

George Noory

George Noory first took over show hosting duties in 2003 as a replacement for Bell, but was temporarily discontinued after Bell returned citing disagreements with Noory. After Bell's death in April 2018, Noory said that the two were "not that close" personally and that there were major differences in their approaches. Despite this, Noory said that Bell was "instrumental in me being where I am right now." [20] Noory currently hosts the show on weeknights and on the first Sunday of every month.

George Knapp

George Knapp joined the show in 2007 and is currently hosting every third and fourth Sundays of every month.

Others

Guest hosts have included Hilly Rose, Barbara Simpson, Rollye James, Dave Schrader, Connie Willis, Lisa Garr, Richard Syrett, Rob Simone and Jimmy Church.

Guests

The show featured a number of guests, some recurring. [21]

Associated shows

Several shows associated with Coast to Coast AM have aired in the slot immediately preceding the late Saturday night edition of the program, from 6–10 p.m. Pacific Time.

Dreamland

Dreamland was another Art Bell creation, nearly identical to Coast to Coast AM but less caller driven. Bell recorded Dreamland on Friday afternoons where the show streamed live over the Internet and listeners could call in towards the end of the show. The show then aired at various times on different stations during the weekend, but doing eight shows a week got to be too much and he handed over control of the show to Whitley Strieber. Many affiliates aired the show before Coast to Coast AM on Sunday nights, but Premiere Radio pre-empted that time spot after it began to syndicate Matt Drudge, and then dropped the program entirely.

Coast to Coast Live

Upon Art Bell's January 2006 return, Ian Punnett hosted Coast to Coast Live on Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern Time. A spin-off of the original Coast to Coast AM, the show covered similar topics as its flagship program. With Bell's July 2007 retirement, Coast to Coast Live was discontinued, with Punnett returning to host the regular Saturday edition.

Art Bell, Somewhere in Time

Replacing Coast to Coast Live in the late Saturday time slot is a series of reruns of classic Art Bell episodes of Coast to Coast AM, airing under the title Somewhere in Time.

Midnight in the Desert

Midnight in the Desert was a live radio and podcast which Art Bell founded. The program was later hosted by Heather Wade and then by Dave Schrader.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 Randy Dotinga (February 15, 2006). "Coast to Coast AM Is No Wack Job". Wired .
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lavin, Timothy (January 2010). "The Listener". The Atlantic . Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bromwich, Jonah Engel; Wertheim, Bonnie (February 20, 2017). "Does Bigfoot Have a Soul? A Radio Host's Audience Ponders". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Knight, Peter (2003). Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia . ABC-CLIO. p.  120. ISBN   1-57607-812-4.
  5. ↑ "Radio Host Art Bell Dead At 72". Inside Radio. April 16, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  6. ↑ Fisher, Marc (March 29, 1998). "The outer limits: A lone voice in the desert lures 10 million listeners". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  7. ↑ "The Top Talk Radio Audiences". Talkers Magazine . Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Top Talk Radio Audiences". Talkers Magazine. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Top Talk Radio Audiences (Updated 2/15)". Talkers Magazine . Archived from the original on February 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Road Dog Trucking Shows". Sirius XM Radio. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ Ronald H. Fritze (2009). Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-religions. Reaktion Books. ISBN   978-1-86189-674-2.
  12. ↑ Paul Arras (2018). The Lonely Nineties: Visions of Community in Contemporary US Television. Springer. pp. 137–. ISBN   978-3-319-93094-7.
  13. ↑ David G. Robertson (2016). UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age: Millennial Conspiracism. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 101–. ISBN   978-1-4742-5321-5.
  14. ↑ Roberts, Sam (April 17, 2018). "Art Bell, Radio Host Who Tuned In to the Dark Side, Dies at 72". The New York Times . Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  15. ↑ Dickey, Jack (September 23, 2013). "Insomniac Radio King Art Bell Reclaims His Crown". Time . Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ Judith Michaelson (April 11, 2000). "Veteran Talk-Show Host Mike Siegel to Succeed Bell". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on May 9, 2009.
  17. ↑ Edward Mazza (January 6, 2006). "Weird Radio Host Art Bell Returns". ABC News.
  18. ↑ "Coast To Coast Am". Coast To Coast Am. August 20, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Ian Punnett To Step Down From Saturday 'Coast To Coast AM,' John B. Wells Named Host". All Access. December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Coast to Coast AM". Talkers. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Guests". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  22. ↑ "David Edward – Guests". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Katherine Albrecht – Guests". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Capt. Martin Bayerle – Guests". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Howard Bloom – Guests". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  26. ↑ "9-11 Theories & Evidence – Shows". Coast to Coast AM. February 23, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Catherine Austin Fitts – Guests". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Richard C. Hoagland: out at Coast, in at Dark Matter Network". Dark City. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  29. ↑ Darby, Seyward (July 21, 2020). Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism. Little, Brown. ISBN   978-0-316-48779-5.
  30. ↑ "Zecharia Sitchin – Guests". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  31. ↑ Spotlight on UFO Phil. Coast to Coast AM. October 12, 2010.

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