Web Turns Up the Volume on Talk Radio

In recent years, talk radio has emerged as a sure-fire way to rile up the masses with provocative, passionate speech. But even the most out-there radio jockeys are subject to a certain verbal restraint.

But that maverick digital frontier known as the Internet has given voice to a variety of iconoclasts who are not under the regulatory thumb of the Federal Communications Commission or the screws of big business.

One new talk radio Web site is https://www.eYada.com (as in “yada, yada, yada” of “Seinfeld” renown). EYada claims it is “the Internet’s first all-star, all-talk network,” with a lively lineup of chatters including ex-Sex Pistol and original bad boy Johnny Rotten; Richard Johnson, editor of the New York Post’s Page 6 gossip column; George Rush and Joanna Molloy, the New York Daily News’ husband-and-wife gossip duo; and Bob Berkowitz, former host of CNBC’s sex advice program “Real Personal.”

“EYada.com is composed of entertainment visionaries, willing to take chances and ruffle feathers,” says the solo-named morning host, Lionel, a self-described former prosecutor, comedian and bluegrass musician. “They’re not tethered to the mediocrity and predictable blandness that is conventional radio.”

*

Or as Rotten said on a recent show, “I don’t come gift-wrapped. I’m not Backstreet Boys.” His radio show, which is broadcast live from his newly wired home in Los Angeles, is a four-hour weekly marathon called “RottenRadio,” in which the ex-Pistol chats with callers and responds to e-mail. Though he now goes by his birth name, John Lydon, most of the calls seem to be from fans of the ‘70s punk band eager to hear the inside scoop on Sid Vicious’ death and other memories of the heyday of punkdom.

“The Web is the perfect medium for John,” said EYada.com President and Chief Executive Bob Meyowitz, who created the rock-radio show “King Biscuit Flower Hour.” “He can be as outrageous as he wants to be. He can say and do anything he wants, and that is what Web radio is all about.”

But if anarchy isn’t to your liking, EYada offers a slew of other gabbers for your listening pleasure.

Gossip columnist spouses Rush and Molloy bring their dish and dirt to EYada each weekday as they spill the beans on the rich and fabulous. “At newspapers, people take themselves very seriously. At EYada.com, people don’t take anything seriously,” says Molloy.

Another newspaper person with an ear for gossip is Michael Lewittes, who follows Rush and Molloy weeknights with his irreverent take on the day’s news. Lewittes, who cut his teeth as Dr. Ruth’s personal assistant, wrote for VH1’s “Pop-Up Video” and “Spin City,” and now serves as a New York Post editor.

EYada also offers sports talk, and future plans include channels devoted to health, women and business.

Looksmart Radio (https://www.looksmartradio.com) is another online locale for original streaming radio. Regular shows include “Net News,” “Book Beat,” “Connected Traveler,” “Media Look” and “The Independent Film Channel,” a collaboration with the cable TV outlet that features talk with the creative forces working outside the established film industry.

In the coming months, talk radio on the Internet will no doubt proliferate. It’s cheap to produce, and there’s no limit to the Howard, Rush and Dr. Laura wannabes eager to espouse their two cents.

Salon.com has launched “Salon.com on the Dial,” featuring original and syndicated audio content. Currently a variety of music is available; by this spring, Salon Radio will be offering on-air essays, commentaries and interviews by some of Salon’s stable of renowned writers.

Already online are between-song “POWerbytes,” which are short, cutting-edge segments such as “Heard It in a Newsgroup”--quotes, stories and reports uncovered while eavesdropping on Usenet newsgroups.

*

Erika Milvy writes about arts and entertainment from San Francisco. She can be reached at erika@well.com.