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Home Front: Culture Wars
Leftist Talk Radio: All Blow but No Go.
2004-03-30
Severely snipped
The whole thing is worth reading, but one concern: NPRII?? Anyone know about this?
You are planning to lure conservative talk listeners? Dream on. You ignore -- or are delusional about -- the gross mismatch between your product and your customers. Your ethos, mantra, unshakeable article of faith, and every utterance will derive from the smug presumption that the values and views of nonliberals are the root of evil: "selfish" because we believe our taxes too high; "haters" because we disdain racial preferences and same-sex marriage; "cruel" because we believe in strong national defense, capital punishment, and actually oppose illegal immigration; and, of course, "stupid" because we reject your benighted viewpoint. Yes, we know you believe with utmost sincerity that we are monstrous Neanderthals, but do you really believe your left-wing/pacifist/United Nations/French worldview will win a big middle-class audience? In America?

Understand: Your success depends on us embracing the utterly fantastic notion that we are what’s wrong with America; that our national, cultural, and personal woes stem from taxes too low, affirmative action too meek, defense too strong, and illegal aliens too few. People who believe such twaddle are for the most part home watching Jerry Springer reruns. Numerous they are. A commercially viable national talk radio audience they are not. Perhaps you will have some federal judge declare unconstitutional the radio ratings system? Or mandate an "earned audience credit" for the ratings impoverished? Which, of course, explains why this new liberal talk "network" is not a genuine business enterprise but rather a fully subsidized propaganda project, funded entirely by wealthy Democrat activists.

Lucky you. Back here on earth, those of us in radio must earn our way in the rough and tumble of — imagine this — competition. Just hope your liberal sugar daddies’ munificence is boundless, because if they tire of losing money, you will be forced to produce real ratings and profits, too. The horror! (Don’t worry: there’s always taxpayer money and "NPR II," right?)
Posted by:badanov

#14  I hope the idea succeeds for two reasons (1) It will rob NPR of ratings and maybe then NPR can go away (2) It will, hopefully, teach the liberals how to debate again because endless name calling will not lead to success.
Posted by: ruprecht   2004-03-30 11:42:46 PM  

#13  NPR II?
Good God!
Posted by: tu3031   2004-03-30 11:39:19 PM  

#12  Six stations? That's one percent of what Rush has now.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-03-30 4:23:25 PM  

#11  "does anyone have a handle on the number of stations that will carry the libtalk program"

-I heard only 6 according to Hannity yesterday. Less then a tenth of what O'Reilly started with when he went radio.
Posted by: Jarhead   2004-03-30 2:42:41 PM  

#10  XM and 3 AM stations is the starting lineup
Posted by: Frank G   2004-03-30 2:32:53 PM  

#9  does anyone have a handle on the number of stations that will carry the libtalk program
Posted by: mhw   2004-03-30 2:07:08 PM  

#8  Lucky: I'm with Shipman. Don't be giving the libs such great ideas, okay? Right--Howard Stern is a separate category. But linking lib talk to quality music and art stuff will give the impression that EVERYONE who is at all cool thinks, or should think, like the lib left. It's the parasite principle. Hook on to something worthwhile and stay there, virtually unnoticed, then drain the life out of the host--make them too weak and sick to fight back. An example of how the libs like to bolster themselves through association with legitimate greatness: I can't even listen to Fleetwood Mac's song "Don't Stop" after the Clinton Dems "nabbed" it--those b-tards! Anyway, cleverly showcasing the droning of nonsense "talk" worked for Hitler, and works pretty well now for the Islamotwerps. Don't underestimate the power of mass media. The libs don't. I just hope their lack of originality will be their downfall. And, as others have pointed out, their (actual) message sucks.
Posted by: ex-lib   2004-03-30 1:03:23 PM  

#7  Shipman, I say bring it on. It will be brutal. There is a lot of talent in hollywood and what I said is chump change for those talented leaders of the mass, unthinking, feel gooders. But I think real meat and tasty fried potatoes will still rule.

Never the less. It will take a mighty effort to crack the daytime television crowd and FM hip, hip-hop.... from their comfy zones. Think Antiwar as a warrior for that group. Oh and muckman as their poet. Oh and Muck4, I'm a fan.
Posted by: Lucky   2004-03-30 12:22:04 PM  

#6  I am off on Wednesday and I plan to listen in on Air America. I am trying to go in with an open mind but I can't listen to too much hate America before I get tuned out. I want to hear how Alan Colmes does on the Airwaves. I like him as a counter to Hannity, but I don't usually agree with him. They have to know that if they play rhetoric 24/7 people will tune out (even the NPR crowd). I will let you know how it goes.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter)   2004-03-30 12:10:55 PM  

#5  Lucky don't be helping these guys.... I think your suggestions would likely be more effective for the libs.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-03-30 11:44:19 AM  

#4  Hmmm. You oughta suggest that. People wouldn't have to listen to Al Franken's crap, then.
Posted by: Dave D.   2004-03-30 10:57:33 AM  

#3  dave D
If your description is correct, couldn't they just play grunge rock 'oldies' instead of actualy hiring people to talk?
Posted by: mhw   2004-03-30 10:37:47 AM  

#2  I think the thing that will do more to kill lib talk radio than anything else is the sheer dreariness of the liberal message: we're all miserable; everybody's cold and hungry; mean people are discriminating against us; bigoted Republican fatcat businessmen are exploiting us; society is unfair; I have a hostile working environemnt; we're all victims; life sucks; and so on and so forth.

Who the hell wants to listen to a steady diet of such depressing garbage?

Call it Radio Woe.
Posted by: Dave D.   2004-03-30 9:54:01 AM  

#1  Janent Jackson's "little tittie in your face" routine really hurt this endeavor. People are getting fed up with low life crap over the airwaves. Howard Stern had great ratings because he talked toilet, stinky shit. And there is a large audience for stinky shit. But now that the airwaves are being more closely guarded with this stuff, what can this new programing offer the spodes.

They can get slick ala NPR. But that just steals NPRs audience. Nothing gained. But like I've said before. Make your Dem Radio as much about music and avant guard art and slide the propoganda in between the lines. Make phone callins against the host taped (and eddited). Bring in all the celebrities you can and goose'm with coke. It'll work.
Posted by: Lucky   2004-03-30 9:32:00 AM  

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