<"Host">, etc

[fiefoe]

From the April issue of Atlantic Monthly.

There's something approaching omniscient (but not annoyingly so) in David Foster Wallace's engaging report on a LA political radio talk show, not the least because of his healthy self-consciousness about his own role as an observer. 'The haphazard start is because the interviewing skills behind the Q parts are marginal.' 'Again, this sort of claim... but - as Mr. Z. himself once pointedly observed during a Q&A - interviewing somebody is not the same as arguing with him over every last little thing.'

The article's meta - for lack of a better word - sense is enhanced by its unusual layout. His asides are literally as such, in neat pastel boxes with titles like 'Contains What Might Be Perceived As Editorial Elements' and 'Just Clear-eyed, Dispassionate Reason'. (The most concise box: '?!')

Things one now know about the radio business thanks to DFW:
"sweeper" - a station's tagline that usually follows its ID
"churn" - a host's opening monologue. (Aptly named, no?)
"monster" - a story of both high news value and emotional voltage
"spot load" - minutes per hour for ads. Distribution of local vs. syndicator ads.
AM is suited for human voice because that doesn't require high-fidelity
A sound-compressor can squeeze time out of recordings, potentially for more ads.
"live-read spots" vs. "endorsement"

The cast of characters in the story:
__ Mondo the board op - 'the placid, grandmotherly eyes common to giant mammals everywhere'
__ the programming director - 'sort of hypnotically intimidating'
__ the producer - '...working closely with Mr. Z, which he seems to accept as his karmic punishment for being so unflappable and easy to get along with'
__ the host - '(in front of PD) exaggeratedly relaxed - he omits to wear his golf cap in her office and his hair shows evidence of recent combing'

Other memorable phrases:
__ Mr. Z: The key to the .. Show is that I am almost completely real.
__ 'nattering nabobs';  'selective self-awareness'
__ Aren't there parts of ourselves that are just better left unfed?
_________________________________________________
From the same issue: the book reviews are fun. I agree heartily with the reviewer about the meek women characters in early John le Carre books. They were not particularly kind to Dave Eggers either. When he is listed under "Who's Who" as 'faux-Wodehousian', the dismissal seemed all the more cutting for being so offhand.

Other notable entries in "Who's Who":
Blacknum, Harry, as slowpoke
Burton, Richard, long face of
Christ, Jesus, neighborliness of
Le Carre, John, cheap complexity of
Samson, troubled marriage of
Wordsworth, Dorothy, incest and
Wordsworth, William, incest and