I think this is getting lost in the dustup: Joe Rogan is not a conservative. Don’t expect him to be. He’s more like a left libertarian who is sort of moving center to right over time, but he is never going to be a conservative. The reason that people on the Right like him is that he allows dissenting (often our) views to be explored on his show. There’s no sound-bite games or off-limits topics. His show has been a rare platform for free speech. That he is not a conservative makes the Leftist actions against him all the more interesting. They cannot tolerate any views that might fail to 100% agree with them. They certainly cannot tolerate any free speech.
Television is not the future of media. Rogan outperforms all shows at Fox, CNN, and MSNBC, and it’s not close. The best analogy is Rush Limbaugh. Rush used what was thought to be a dead medium to do an end run around the Left. His reach was huge. Rogan does the same thing with newer technology. Many of the things that made rush popular are present in Rogan. He comes across as a nice, polite, and interesting person, so the listener doesn’t want him to go away. He offers a point of view (his own and/or those of his guests) that is different from the tv talking heads. He does a well produced show that is entertaining. You can listen to it while on a walk, working out, driving, whenever.
There are also some major differences. Rogan, sort of a left leaning libertarian, is not an ideologue; Rush unapologetically was. Unlike Rush’s, Rogan’s show is all about guests. Rogan is not nearly as funny as Rush, though some guests can be hilarious. Imagine in 1998, being a person who followed news and politics, but not knowing who Rush Limbaugh was.
20-40: Who is Neil Young?
40-60: Is Neil Young still alive?
60+: What is Spotify?
They are coming for Rogan. Hard. I doubt that he will be on Spotify by the end of this year. He has enough audience and money to end up being a kingmaker in new media. He and Donald Trump will decide the future of it. Clearly, there is an audience for them. Let’s see what the market provides.
“They cannot tolerate any views that might fail to 100% to agree with them.” Sounds more and more like those of us on the “right” these days.