Coast to Coast AM

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Coast to Coast AM is a late-night radio talk show that deals mainly with paranormal phenomena. The syndicated program is aired nightly and is broadcast live on hundreds of AM radio stations across the USA (and some affiliates in Canada) through the distribution company Premiere Radio Networks. It is currently the highest rated overnight talk radio program in America.

1 History
2 Topics
3 Format
4 Art Bell
5 Website
6 Dreamland
7 See Also
8 External Links

History

The program was created years ago by veteran radio broadcaster Art Bell, who retired from the show in 2007. Since 1998, Bell has retired from the show several times for various reasons, but has always come back as host in some form or fashion. He announced his permanent retirement from regular hosting of the program's weekend editions in early July 2007, stating that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and newborn daughter. Years earlier when Bell had temporarily retired, Mike Siegel was his first successor as host of the program. Siegel was convinced by the producers to quit in 2001 due to falling ratings. George Noory, who officially took over the show in 2003, is the current host on weeknights. Noory began filling in for Bell occasionally in 2001, before taking over on a regular basis beginning in 2003. During his tenure as host, the program's ratings have consistently gotten higher. Over the years, other hosts of the show have included Ian Punnett (who currently hosts Saturday night's early version of the show), Hilly Rose, and Barbara Simpson, among others. Frequent guests of the program include science advisor Richard C. Hoagland and reporter Linda Moulton Howe, among others.

Topics

Although the program mainly deals with paranormal themes, a wide variety of topics are included. Examples include UFOs, terrorism, psychics, politics, ghosts, breaking news stories from around the world, diseases, creatures (such as Bigfoot, werewolves, mothman, lake monsters, and so on), time travel, the city of Atlantis, space-related news, science news, and various other subject matter. Guests include experts, book authors, scientists, paranormal investigators, and even occasionally science fiction television and movie stars.

Format

The format of the program is usually as follows: The host reads news from around the world for the first five to ten minutes. (This can include so-called hard news, as well as paranormal and science news.) Then, there is usually a first-hour guest who is interviewed for either 15 minutes or the rest of the first hour. Sometimes, listeners are asked to call in to the show during the rest of the first hour and talk about the guest's topic or a topic of their own. The second-hour guest is usually interviewed for the remainder of the program, but the format varies depending on the night and the host. For example, Friday nights are usually reserved for callers from the second hour until the end of the program.

The program is four hours long, but is tape-delayed in some areas and played for five or six hours, depending on each individual station. The show is usually broadcast in the early morning hours starting at midnight (Central time zone), but times are different for some stations. Various call-in numbers are given during the show, as announced by Ross Mitchell: "East of the Rockies," "West of the Rockies," first-time callers, international callers, and the "wild card" line. Depending on the host and guests, callers are either invited to talk about a certain topic or any topic they can think of. Each caller is usually given between 20 seconds to slightly over a minute before the next caller is picked up.

Art Bell

Bell originally broadcast the show from his home in Pahrump, Nevada, for many years, before moving to Manilla in the Phillipines with his new wife in 2006. He broadcasted his shows from there for several months before he and his wife moved back to Pahrump, where he continued to broadcast for several more months before retiring. Regular weeknight host George Noory alternates between broadcasting from Los Angeles, California (his usual home-base), and St. Louis, Missouri (when visiting relatives). In addition to broadcast radio, the program can also be heard through XM Satellite Radio in the USA on channel 165 and through a live Internet feed with subscription to "Coast to Coast Streamlink" via the official Coast to Coast AM website.

Website

The Coast To Coast AM website features information for both upcoming and past programs (such as guest information and links). It also features paranormal news and science news that is updated on a daily basis. In addition, there is a color, monthly newsletter called "After Dark" that is available through regular mail subscription. Some merchandise featuring the program's logo is also available through the website.

Dreamland

Dreamland was another radio program that Bell created and hosted, which was similar to Coast to Coast AM. It was originally aired on Sunday nights before Coast to Coast on many affiliate stations, then moved to Saturday nights before being dropped entirely. Bell handed over control of the show to author Whitley Strieber while the program was still on radio and now the program is only heard over the Internet through Strieber's Unknown Country site. The name Dreamland comes from the radio call sign of the Air Force's control tower at Area 51 (Groom Lake, Nevada).