[BC] liberal versus conservative radio

[Rich Wood]

------ At 01:08 PM 10/15/2005, Donna Halper wrote: -------

>America safe, my friends on the right thing that's just splendid-- 
>it's not negative or nasty or rude, it's just the truth.  But if a 
>liberal host bashes the policies of the president, or accuses right 
>wing hosts of stretching the truth (or even, gasp, of lying to make 
>a political point), suddenly liberal radio is a failure, it's not 
>entertaining, and ooo it's bad radio.

That's always been the case. It's particularly obvious now with an 
ultra right/religious government in power. We're also in a war, so it 
becomes much easier to equate criticism of the government with a lack 
of patriotism. Much like everything in the media is wrong because it 
harms the children we can add criticism of the war as being 
unsupportive of our troops. Simplicity is the key. Black or white. 
Even though we give lip service to troops fighting to keep Democracy 
and freedom of speech possible.

Also understand that the average American doesn't listen. We used to 
refer to Talk Radio listeners as angry white males. I recall one 
caller who complained that he was passed over for a promotion. They 
hired a Black candidate. After a little prodding we found the angry 
guy hadn't graduated from High School and the Black guy had a Ph.D. 
He still felt the job should have gone to him because he was white. 
He felt life had stiffed him.

>How come my friends on the right can only see the truth of their 
>position and defend their own talk show hosts, while offering only 
>contemptuous dismissal of the other side?  I have yet to read an 
>objective critique of today's talk radio-- partisans on both sides 
>spin their points of view, and in the torrent of accusations, not 
>much exchange of ideas occurs.

Neither side is objective because they're so far on the extremes. I 
absolutely believe the silent majority are moderate with slight 
leanings left or right. Many are fiscally conservative and socially 
liberal. Actually, truly conservative Conservatives should be even 
more liberal than Liberals when it comes to letting people alone, 
getting the government off our backs. Unfortunately neo-conservatism 
requires evangelical religious support and are willing to cave to 
their demands. Now is the best time I've ever seen to see the divide. 
Neo-Conservatives are OK with the deficit, OK with religion meddling 
in politics and expect goodies in return. The Supreme Court is a good 
example. The current candidate must pass a litmus test by one of the 
most radical fundamentalists there is, James Dobson. We see true 
Conservatives concerned about the abandonment of true Conservative 
values. They clutch their chests at the sight of the deficit. They 
clutch their chests over the Patriot Act

>   I wish I knew how progressive talk is REALLY doing-- and I wish I 
> knew whether people are just getting fatigued by so much negativity 
> from both sides, because as a programmer, I want my audience to 
> feel they are getting both entertainment and information.  These 
> days, I just don't know, and when I try to find out, I run into a 
> ton of spin.  The right absolutely wants left wing talkers to 
> fail.  The left absolutely dislikes the tactics of the right.  And 
> on and on we go.

Most major market Talk stations are also the city's news stations. 
Their ratings will vary depending on this survey's crises. I suspect 
Talk Radio will have awesome books in the Fall survey and a bump in 
Summer because of the third month of the summer survey. Iraq, 
Katrina, Rita, Tom Delay ethics, Bill Frist ethics (remember Martha 
Stewart? She went to jail over the same thing)., Halliburton no-bid 
contracts, etc. It's been a very news intensive period, so how much 
of Talk will be overshadowed by news coverage is hard to determine. 
We've also had the death of a Supreme Court Justice, the new 
candidate is now Chief Justice and we have great controversy over the 
current nominee because she might not be rigid enough in her beliefs 
and willing to act on them in spite of the law.

>So, in my personal view, Rush Limbaugh is often pompous and 
>dishonest.  So is O'Reilly.   But their audience loves them, and 
>since survey after survey states that the majority of talk radio 
>fans identify as conservative and Republican, I expect they will 
>continue to say what they need to say in order to please their base.

Right now that's the base of Talk Radio. It actually took 
neo-Conservatives a long time to dominate Talk. Progressive Talk has 
to endure that building period after entering the fray a couple of 
decades late.

>My question is-- when liberal and progressive hosts try to create a 
>base and make it happy, why is that so terrible and why do some of 
>our listmembers rise up in horror?  I find it quite horrifying the 
>way the right wing talk shows portray liberals and progressives-- I 
>see myself as a moderate, but according to some of the right wing 
>shows, I am a godless commie pinko who hates America just because I 
>don't support many of the president's policies and because I believe 
>strongly that the separation of church and state is a good thing. 
>Still, even when these shows misrepresent my views, I don't think we 
>should ban right wing talk shows.

Part of this is the amount of money involved in Talk Radio. If they 
have to share the stage with Liberals their numbers will go down even 
further. With Limbaugh getting tired, Savage fixated on Gays and 
Hannity wimpy on most everything except uber-patriotism I think 
they're beginning to lose sight of what their base is. Options are 
their greatest threat.

>I do however wish there were more opportunities for listeners to get 
>both sides of today's issues, and right wing talkers still dominate 
>the playing field.  So, whether you like Al Franken or Ed Schultz or 
>Stephanie Miller or Alan Colmes, that's not the real issue.  I still 
>believe a few successful left or progressive shows are just what 
>America needs.

Not going to happen. There aren't many first tier Talk stations doing 
Progressive Talk. WABC isn't going to change any time soon. Neither 
is KSFO, WLS, KFI and the hundreds of neo-Conservative stations who 
take cash to the bank in wheelbarrows. Progressive Talk is what you 
put on the failing station in your cluster with the tiny signal. If 
you can't receive it, you can't listen and you won't include it in 
your Arbitron diary. Progressive Talk is getting far more media 
coverage than neo-Conservative because it's new, not because it's 
turning the ratings world upside down.

What I'd like to see is neo-Conservative Talk up against an equally 
strong Progressive facility where the content has an equal chance at 
success. That's the only way you're going to discover its potential. 
Right now the neo-Conservatives have all the good facilities.

In my market we have a major newspaper called The Republican. Its 
editorial pages are terrific. There are always Liberal and 
Conservative columns, giving me analysis from both sides. It's a 
great read and I finish reading it feeling like someone has actually 
tried to give me the whole picture. That's rare.

Rich


Rich Wood
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