Why I Write About Talk Radio: Catching Fire?

Recently I've been asked by several people, including in a national radio interview last night, why I spend so much time attacking liberal talk radio.

Let me make it clear: if liberal talk can succeed on its own, then I have no dispute. After all, who can argue with success?

Countering the dishonesty, that's what motivates the Radio Equalizer. For over a year now, we've been subjected to slanted reports, puff pieces and softball interviews of Air America's air staffers, without any attempt at balance.

This mainstream media-endorsed spin campaign has continued unabated, even without ratings growth. Worse, in the radio industry we've been forced to endure even sleazier pro-Air America coverage in certain broadcast trades, likely due to the incredible amount of advertising purchased by liberal radio syndication outfits.

Conservatives were caught off guard, without proper knowledge of the broadcast industry and therefore started to believe the hype, that liberal talk radio was actually working.

I began to notice, last year, that many on the right seemed increasingly baffled as to how they should discuss, if at all, Air America's presence.

With the help of major conservative writers such as Michelle Malkin, plus dozens of bloggers and news/opinion sites such as WorldNetDaily and Orbusmax, not to mention a surprising number of daily newspapers (in North Carolina, Chicago, L.A. and elsewhere) and trade publications (All Access, RadioDailyNews), we began to document liberal talk's troubles back in January.

What makes this fight worth continuing? The need to counter pieces such as this one, by Howard Kurtz (reg. required) in the Washington Post. An eagle-eyed Malkin noticed right away what was wrong with this story: it suggests liberal talk's bright future is upon us, despite the reality of a poor ratings performance.

To the Radio Equalizer, this piece is especially sinister, because it suggests it will provide a balanced performance account of Stephanie Miller and other lib talkers, then fails to back up claims she is "catching fire" with listeners.

Kurtz initially mentions spotty performance, leading the reader to wonder if he will be providing a fair account of the format's showing, then gets sucked into the idea that liberal talk radio has a promising future, only now beginning to materialize.

Miller's presence here at a weekend radio conference sponsored by Talkers magazine -- which gave Air America's Al Franken its Freedom of Speech award -- suggests that left-wing hosts are gaining a foothold in a conservative-dominated field. Eight months after launching a show in a handful of towns such as Columbus and Anchorage, the former standup comic is on in 30 cities, including such major markets as Boston, Washington (on WRC-AM), and Los Angeles, where she manages to be funny at 6 a.m.

How did their presence at the convention suggest anything, other than their presence? What did Franken do to deserve a freedom of speech award? When did he stand up for free expression?

Why doesn't Kurtz mention that 30 cities, after a year on the air, is small potatoes for talk radio? Or that the two liberal Boston stations are generating no ratings?

Air America, which was nearly grounded by financial woes after its takeoff last year, is on in 61 cities, although registering scant ratings in some of them. And radio giant Clear Channel is flipping some of its stations to liberal talk.

As recently as 2000, Miller hosted a popular show on L.A.'s KABC but had trouble getting syndicated, and then, she says, "I was fired for being too liberal." (She also says the station didn't like the "racy content" of her show, where she sometimes referred to male callers as "love puppet" and "stud monkey.") There was, she concluded, no place for liberals in a talk radio world dominated by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Since when is anyone in talk radio fired for being liberal? Besides the racy content issue, what were the real reasons?

At least Kurtz mentions "scant ratings", but I'm afraid it's just to get us to let our guards down about what's to come.

Miller isn't delicate when it comes to language. She told listeners last week that the argument by Hannity and Bill O'Reilly that "we're the only ones who support the troops" is "making me projectile-vomit." She gloats that "the Republicans have their panties in a twist" over this or that issue. She challenges the veracity of some conservatives with a jingle called "lying sack of crap."

Gee, Howard, could you challenge her on why she can't seem to inject a bit more intellect into her arguments? Vomit, crap, panties? That's primary school-level rhetoric.

Hannity, who once gave her a well-publicized hug, says he's never heard her show. "I've never seen any medium get more attention than liberal talk radio with absolutely no benefit," he says. "There's been more written about liberal talk radio than I've had in my entire career, and I began in 1987."

Again, we get tricked into thinking we're reading a fair piece, with Hannity's spot-on statement.

Much of that attention has been lavished on Air America, which says it is running ahead of projections, with an average of 222,000 people listening at any one time (compared to the roughly 4.4 million that Limbaugh averages at any one time on 600 stations). Franken, who spent part of his acceptance speech ripping O'Reilly, says the industry is no longer laughing at liberal radio. Hannity's liberal co-host, Alan Colmes (who joked at the conference that there are some liberals at Fox -- on the janitorial staff) is now heard on 70 stations.

From where are they getting this 222,000 quarter-hour estimate? It's hard to fathom a number that high when considering the ratings we've seen so far.

As for Colmes, many of his stations are otherwise-conservative outlets, who run him as part of a FOX News branding image.

Miller's emergence as a wisecracking liberal crusader carries a touch of irony, since her father was the late Buffalo-area congressman William Miller, Barry Goldwater's running mate in his landslide loss in 1964. Stephanie, who was 3 at the time, says her dad wouldn't recognize today's more conservative GOP, but sometime after voting for Ronald Reagan, she rejected the "extra-crispy bucket of Republican upbringing" served by her parents.

Miller overplays this tired tale in every media interview. Give it a rest, Steph.

But only since Jones Radio began distributing Miller's program last fall has she seemed to catch fire. With bits and impressions from her "voice guy" Jim Ward, Miller ridicules the administration -- from "Baghdad Bush" to John Bolton's mustache -- with undisguised glee. Miller generally has no guests, though the likes of Howard Dean and Barbara Boxer have made brief appearances.

How has she caught fire? With 30 tiny stations? Kurtz has a chance to back this up with ratings performance, or other industry yardsticks, but doesn't. It just dangles there, unverified.

Until we see more honesty in this type of reporting, the mission continues. Thanks for your participation in this effort, we have much more work ahead, I'm afraid.

KABC fired Miller due to poor ratings, I believe. Her show staggered on a couple months with the odd situation of having her flagship station no longer carrying her, though she was still on in Boston (WRKO) and one or two other cities. Finally ABC pulled the plug completely.

From R.Waggoner, March of 2000: " Stephanie Miller is out, Mr. KABC is in as KABC (790 AM) makes a long-overdue change in its evening lineup, attempting to spread Mr. KABC's good ratings to more than just one hour per day.

"Miller came to KABC more than 2 years ago after a brief stint at sister station KTZN ("The Zone," 710 AM) When the Zone went under, management brought her over to KABC. Previously, Miller had been on competitor KFI (640 AM), but left that station in order to launch a television program called The Stephanie Miller Show. After it flopped, she returned to radio on KTZN.

"For a time on KFI, Miller's program was somewhat fresh and rather funny. On KABC, her program devolved to become a stale rehash of bitter jokes and bad sound effects. Her show ceased to be creative long before it debuted on KABC: the last two years only made it worse.

"Interestingly, it appears that, while her show will not be heard on KABC, she will still broadcast from KABC's studios under a syndication deal she has with ABC Radio. Her program can be heard on over twenty stations across the country. Just not here... And while Miller has hinted that her liberal politics played a part in her show's cancellation, Mr. KABC told me, "Her show was canceled because the station believes that I am a better fit and that my ratings are on the rise. Her politics played NO factor in her demise. I'm as liberal as I have always been and know that if Leon Trotsky could get a five share at night, KABC would replace me with him."

>>> Gee, Howard, could you challenge her on why she can't seem to inject a bit more intellect into her arguments? Vomit, crap, panties? That's primary school-level rhetoric.

So Stern has some competition.

Scatological humor and giggling lesbians being asked questions I don't need the answer to really gets the day moving for me. /s

Intellect would help on these shows; but intellect is something that the left has been incapable of for the last 30 years.

Stick to the poop and stinky panty jokes, it is all you have on the left left that can get anyones attention anyhow. Stay with your core audience, usually found around the fourth grade lunch tables, in public school cafeteria.

>>> Gee, Howard, could you challenge her on why she can't seem to inject a bit more intellect into her arguments? Vomit, crap<, panties? That's primary school-level rhetoric.

So Stern has some competition.

Scatological humor and giggling lesbians being asked questions I don't need the answer to really gets the day moving for me. /s

Intellect would help on these shows; but intellect is something that the left has been incapable of for the last 30 years.

Stick to the poop and stinky panty jokes, it is all you have on the left left that can get anyones attention anyhow. Stay with your core audience, usually found around the fourth grade lunch tables, in public school cafeteria.

These poeple of the 'Left' are no more that 'shadow people'. . .whose reality can only be defined by the 'light' or the 'Right' - so to speak. . .

And so it is that no more than pathetic discourse is offered by these self-congratulatory, inauthentic Lefties who pose as 'real' sources of information but who offer no more than the fraudulent franchising of the truth they hear articulated by Rush et al. . .

I have never seen/heard Alfrancken engaged in conversation without his mentioning O'Reilly or Rush. He shows up 'late-night' and who does he 'bring with him'. . .his conservative nemesis, of course. . .It is an amazing dependence to see.

It is not surprising that Francken cannot even make an acceptance speech w/o 'mentioning' his favorite Conservative(s).

(It's late. ..early. ..let me try this one more time. . .typos corrected. . )

These people of the 'Left' are no more than 'shadow people'. . .whose reality can only be defined by the 'light' or the 'Right' - so to speak. . .

And so it is, that no more than pathetic discourse is offered by these self-congratulatory, inauthentic Lefties who pose as 'real' sources of information but who offer no more than the fraudulent franchising of the truth they hear articulated by Rush et al. . .

It is not surprising that Francken cannot even make an acceptance speech w/o 'mentioning' his favorite Conservative(s).

Conservatives were caught off guard, without proper knowledge of the broadcast industry and therefore started to believe the hype, that liberal talk radio was actually working.

I doubt that any FReepers were "without proper knowlege of the broadcast indusrtry", raccoonradio.

After listening to Rush, Liddy and Ollie North hitting the airwaves (beaches) for years, and opening up the flood gates for Hannity, Glen Beck, Michael Medved and others. Conservatives have had a far greater grasp of the radio forum, which depends on opposing views and opinions to work.

That and time, of course. The Conservative Radio Movement has taken nearly two decades to get where it is today. When I first heard that WJFK was going to carry Liddy in the afternoon on FM, I didn't think it would work. Until I started listening.

While Libs see Instant Gratification in twisted ratings numbers and a solid "Hallelujah Chorus" of like minded Moon Bats.

Jack.

http://www.michellemalkin.com/

Look for:
ON THE ROAD WITH AL FRANKEN
By Michelle Malkin · June 13, 2005 09:45 PM

Brian Maloney at The Radio Equalizer has the scoop on Al Franken's painful performance at the Talkers Magazine radio hosts' convention on Friday night. Maloney also points to this amusing account of the evening from the NY Post:

)etc/

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