Dueling hosts debate news during weekly WNUR show

By Samantha Nelson

The Daily Northwestern

Students looking to get informed or incensed about controversial issues can tune in to WNUR-FM (89.3) where a newly formatted public-issues show pits conservative and liberal student commentators against each other.

“Feedback,” which runs from 7 to 8 p.m. Sundays, began airing a few years ago as educational commentary with two liberal students discussing current events. “Feedback” producer Kate O’Donnell decided to change the format of the show this year to involve opposing political ideologies, a strategy she said has led to an increase in the number of listeners and callers.

“When it’s more heated, people can get more involved, and ultimately it’s more entertaining,” said O’Donnell, a Communication sophomore. “It’s a different thing but it’s a trend that you can also notice in the past number of years in the media with things like ‘Hannity and Colmes’ and ‘Crossfire.'”

The show is hosted by liberal Gregg Carlstrom and conservative Guy Benson who research each week’s issues, answer listeners’ calls and sometimes bring in guests. This Sunday they will discuss the USA Patriot Act and the conflict in Israel. Past shows have addressed drug policy and abortion.

“They’re both really intelligent commentators,” said listener Vishal Patel, a Weinberg freshman. “That’s what makes it good. They both present really strong arguments for whichever side they support on the issue.”

Carlstrom and Benson said they sometimes have to work to keep the discussion intellectual instead of emotional.

“On a topic like abortion Guy takes a very hard pro-life standpoint and I take a very hard pro-choice standpoint,” said Carlstrom, a Medill freshman. “Tempers did flare over the abortion show, but in a good way. We got into a good intellectual debate.”

Benson, a Medill freshman, said the show’s new format is especially important in educating the campus, which he characterized as liberal, about different ideologies.

“I think that many people here at Northwestern are default liberals,” Benson said. “They don’t really formulate their opinions very well, they don’t really pay attention and by default they jump on the liberal bandwagon because that’s what everyone else seems to be doing.

“I feel that my responsibility at the very least is to teach people to really think through their positions and not just follow one ideology if they haven’t really thought about it.”