Rollye James
| Rollye James | |
|---|---|
 Rollye James 2008 |
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| Show | The Rollye James Show (2000-2011) |
| Station(s) | America's Talk XM 166 WWCR 3.215 MHz online at rollye.net |
| Time slot | 7–10 p.m. Pacific |
| Style | Talk |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www.rollye.net |
Rollye James is an American radio talk show host. She hosted The Rollye James Show nationally and on international shortwave on WWCR from 2000 to 2011. She is also the author of "What Am I Doing Here? (when everything I want is somewhere else)", a motivational book punctuated with numerous historical radio anecdotes published by Nickajack Press.
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[edit] Show content
Voted "Disc Jockey most likely to make Rush Limbaugh sound rational" by Philadelphia City Paper in 1998,.[1]
Among her greatest pet peeves is the government continually capitalizing on the emotion of a situation in order to entice Americans to willingly give up civil liberties. Examples include her repeated reminder that the Patriot Act was not written on September 12 (suspending talk of whether government participated in the September 11, 2001 attacks, she claims it is indisputable that they capitalized on it with the legislation written long before it), the battle cry of "It's For The Children" (as a weapon to instigate everything from smoking bans to internet censorship), and what she refers to as the "stop me from being stupid laws" which range from mandating seat belt use to prohibiting prostitution and drug use. Similarly, she refers to proposed legislation for term limits on politicians, as the "stop me before I vote again laws".
James often focuses on unfairness and injustice. She is heated about her belief that rules and laws must be upheld and applied uniformly, if they are to exist at all. She often uses the war on drugs to explain selective enforcement. Among several recurring themes are James' opinion of the blatant unfairness of Family Court (She regularly details outrageous abuses of non-custodial parents by a system which according to her is anything but "for the children"), the over reaching attitude of Child Protective Services ("The guideline should be, leave the kids with the parent unless you have reason to suspect they'll be dead by morning"), the meaning of the 2nd Amendment ("without it we won't have the other ten, or anything else resembling liberty, something our forefathers knew well"), and her frustration over the apathy of Americans which has enabled the government to circumvent the constitution. She regularly urges listeners to contact their representatives over various issues. She was instrumental in defeating the 2007 amnesty bill but warns her audience that it was a battle won with a war to go, as she implores them to stay involved.
Many listeners find the most interesting facet of the show being James willingness to tackle most any issue a caller might raise. It's likely that instead of politics, a given listen to the program will produce a discussion about the history of Top 40 radio, or James' passion for obscure soul music, which are two categories where she is a recognized expert.[2][3] Rollye James is also a founding member of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
[edit] Controversy
James was fired from KLBJ in 1996 for what management termed as comments that appeared to endorse an assassination of then President Bill Clinton, Vice-President Al Gore, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. James maintains that put in context that was not what was said, nor was it her intent or meaning. In 1998, a jury of her peers agreed with her.[4][5] She became the only person to ever defeat the LBJ family in open court in Texas and achieved record ratings while there.[6]
[edit] Bumper Music
In 2006, Wired Magazine cited The Rollye James Show as having "the best bumper music".[7] In 2005, Philadelphia City Paper bestowed a similar award.[8]
[edit] Revenue
Income from the program is derived primarily from live endorsement commercials. James says she will not promote any product in which she does not fully believe "which explains why I'm not rich" she quips. In addition to James' approval, sponsors are chosen who can measure results. James' ability to deliver live copy is widely touted.[9] The show routinely outperforms much larger venues, delivering what James terms "cash register ratings", a euphemism for actual sales totals, which attract sponsors such as Vermont Teddy Bear who generally buy larger venues.
[edit] References
- ^ "CP Choice Awards", Philadelphia City Paper #702 October 30-November 5, 1998
- ^ "Nobody Stumps Rollye James" Ken Hoffman, The Houston Chronicle, Saturday December 2, 1989
- ^ "Music Moves Her & Moves Her & Moves Her..." Richard Acello, San Diego Daily Transcript, Tuesday February 14, 1995
- ^ "Ex-KLBJ host wins lawsuit. Jury awards $715,000 for libel, compensation after radio station cancelled contract" Rebecca Thatcher & Mike Kelly, Austin American-Statesman, Saturday May 30, 1998
- ^ "Rollye James wins $800k lawsuit vs. KLBJ" Alan Linder, Talkers Magazine, June 1998
- ^ Arbitron Ratings, Austin, Average Quarter Hour Shares, Metro Survey Area, Summer 1996
- ^ Wired 2006 "The Wired winner for the best bumper music was The Rollye James Show. James a radio host... is a prodigy at R&B and top 40 oldies."
- ^ "Editors Choice Awards 2005" Philadelphia City Paper, "Best non-native keeper of Philadelphia music history: Rollye James"
- ^ "The Dual-use Concept" Doug Hatch, Catalogsuccess.com November 1, 2003
