Why Successful Talk Radio Is Conservative

In an Los Angeles Times opinion piece, Brian C. Anderson explains why successful talk radio is conservative:

• Entertainment value. The top conservative hosts put on snazzy, frequently humorous shows. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, observes: "The parody, the asides, the self-effacing humor, the bluster are all part of the packaging that makes the political message palatable." Besides, the triumph of political correctness on the left makes it hard for on-air liberals to lighten things up without offending anyone.

• Fragmentation of the potential audience. Political consultant Dick Morris explains: "Large percentages of liberals are black and Hispanic, and they now have their own specialized entertainment radio outlets, which they aren't likely to leave for liberal talk radio." The potential audience for Air America or similar ventures is thus pretty small — white liberals, basically. And they've already got NPR.

• Liberal bias in the old media. That's what birthed talk radio in the first place. People turn to it to help right the imbalance. Political scientist William Mayer, writing in the Public Interest, recently observed that liberals don't need talk radio because they've got the big three networks, most national and local daily newspapers and NPR.

Anderson also points out that unable to lick them or successfully join them, liberals now denounce talk radio as a threat to democracy.

Comments

[Improbulus Maximus]

My local station has conservative/libertarian talk radio on M-F until 3:00 pm, but only one leftist show on the weekend. I've listened to it a couple of times and thought about calling in, but it's just so lame. They never approach anything from an objective point of view, or even try to be honest about anything, they just lie and whine and complain. I believe everyone should be able to express their opinion, but commercial broadcast is the litmus test of how many people are listening.

[Republitarian Renegade]

I think that it should also be pointed out that arguments coming from the left typically do not stand up to the scrutiny that can come from taking numerous callers with various points of view.