Loveline

Loveline is a syndicated radio program in the United States and Canada. Currently it is heard from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. PST (1 a.m. to 3 a.m. EST) Sunday-Thursday (Monday-Friday in the CST and EST). Syndication is usually on rock, alternative, and adult talk radio stations.

Loveline is hosted by Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky (called "Dr. Drew" on the air). The show follows the basic call-in question-and-answer model with the goal of helping primarily youth and young adults with relationship, sexuality, and drug addiction problems. Being a practicing internist and addictionologist with training in psychology, Dr. Drew's answers have medical credibility, but the addition of Adam Carolla's humor and insight results in a program with entertainment value as well. Carolla's repeatedly stated his role is as something of a trojan horse: He lures listeners with dirty jokes and wisecracks in hopes they'll learn something that can improve their lives. On most nights there is also a guest in the studio, usually an actor or musician.

Loveline began in 1983 as a Sunday-night segment on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, hosted by DJ Jim "Poorman" Trenton and DJ The Swedish Eagle. About a year later, Trenton added a segment called "Ask a Surgeon", hosted by his friend "Dr." Drew Pinsky, then a fourth-year medical student at the University of Southern California. The two segments soon merged into their own show, co-hosted by Trenton and Pinsky. Over the years Trenton's relationship with the station grew rocky, and in August 1993 he was replaced by former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman; around this time, the show switched from weekly to five nights a week. Dr. Drew and Rachtman were joined by Adam Carolla in October 1995, just as the show was first being syndicated nationally. The trio hosted together for several months, but Carolla and Rachtman often competed for airtime, leading Rachtman to resign suddenly in April 1996. Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew have hosted the show since.

A TV version of Loveline ran on MTV from 1996 to 2000; it followed the same general format as the radio program but featured a live audience and a female co-host. The female co-host role was filled over the course of the series by MTV VJ Idalis, actresses Chris McGaha, Catherine McCord and Diane Farr and comedian Laura Kightlinger.

The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide To Life and Love, an advice book written in a tone similar to the radio show, was released in 1998.

The radio show has been the subject of occasional controversy. In 2002, a listener in Vancouver, British Columbia complained about an episode of the show in which Carolla mocked a caller by invoking Holocaust imagery in a sexually aroused tone of voice. The incident began when Carolla suggested to the caller, a phone sex operator, that she could prolong her clients' calls by subliminally inserting distressing imagery into her conversations with them. The caller misunderstood Carolla's request and instead she referred to the Holocaust in a sexually arousing manner. [1] (http://stcroix.globat.com/~dolland.net/loveline/sound/funny/holocaust.mp3) Carolla ridiculed her by invoking Holocaust imagery in a sexually aroused tone. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that the program breached the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Code of Ethics, but was not racist and did not violate human rights. It required the Vancouver station to announce this ruling on the air twice, but imposed no other penalty. [2] (http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/decisions/2003/030827.htm) [3] (http://www.jewishbulletin.ca/archives/Sept03/archives03Sept26-01.html) In 2003, the show was pulled from Hawaiian affiliate KPOI after listeners complained about derogatory comments Carolla made regarding Hawaiians, which he intended to be humorous. [4] (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Dec/23/ln/ln48alee.html)

External links

• KROQ: Loveline (http://www.kroq.com/loveline/)
• The Loveline Companion (http://www.dolland.net/loveline/)
• Animation of Loveline (http://home.comcast.net/~beefypapal/Pages/DThunderbear.htm)
• The Loveline Database (http://lldb.triggersite.com/)
• Loveline Fan (http://www.lovelinefan.com/)
• Official list of affiliates (http://affiliates.westwoodone.com/HTML_pages/LOVELINE.program.html)