Long an outlet for the GOP message, talk radio undergoes a shift

WASHINGTON - When the White House wanted to talk to its political base about a Supreme Court nominee this week, there was no doubt where to go: talk radio.

Vice President Dick Cheney took the administration's case to the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity programs, speaking simultaneously to the normally sympathetic hosts and their audiences of like-minded Republicans.

A decade after Republicans credited Limbaugh with helping them win control of Congress - they called him the Majority Maker - they still look to his conservative-dominated medium for a lopsided communications edge over Democrats. Today, they count on talk radio to rally support for President Bush, attack those who criticize or question him, and stir passions leading into the 2006 midterm congressional elections.

There are signs that the Republicans could be losing some of their overwhelming edge, however. Ratings for Limbaugh and Hannity slipped this spring in some markets. Liberals such as Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller and Al Franken are carving out their own radio niche. And Democrats argue that they have an edge on the Internet, where explosive growth could dwarf the political impact of radio.

Some of that could be just wishful thinking by Democrats. The slip in ratings, for example, could be a normal drop in political interest after an election year. They also could be untrue - radio ratings are difficult to measure. And even if Limbaugh and Hannity have fewer listeners than they did in the past, they still have millions more than liberal talk show hosts.

"My numbers are going up, and theirs are going down. But if I have a million and half people listening to me, that's still just one-tenth of Rush's audience."

Like most people in and around radio, Franken credited Limbaugh's personal talents for creating the genre of conservative talk radio in the late 1980s and dominating it ever since.

"He's very talented, I'll give him that," Franken said. "He's a good storyteller. He's good at framing an issue, whether honest or not. ... He's very good at kicking dust up in the air so you don't see the crap on the ground. It's an evil talent. But he's talented."

Yet Limbaugh, who didn't respond to a request for an interview, lost ground this year in several markets.

Limbaugh lost 30 percent of his audience in Minneapolis-St. Paul this spring from a year earlier. He also lost 9 percent in Miami and 7 percent in Kansas City, Mo. He did have gains in some smaller markets, however, including Charlotte, N.C., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

Some of the loss can be attributed to listeners tuning out after an election year. But they also might be growing weary of the Limbaugh and Hannity format.

"They're pretty much talking about the same thing every day," said Holland Cooke, a Cleveland-based radio industry consultant who said the hosts tend to talk about the same subjects and interview the same guests over and over.

"Last week, Sean Hannity had Newt Gingrich coming on. I've already heard that show. Then he said he had Ann Coulter coming on. I've already heard that show. It's a rerun. You already know what he's going to say."

The 40-somethings with their hands on the driving wheel and money in their pockets - prime radio audience targets - are more likely to listen to news about gas prices than the Supreme Court and more interested in new approaches to their lives than old opinions of politics, Cooke said.

"Most political talk stations (ratings) are down over last fall, conservative or not," added Tom Taylor, editor of Inside Radio, an industry publication owned by Clear Channel Radio. "You can surmise that people are a little burned out on the partisan back and forth. Culturally, this may not be a time when political talk sells."

Democrats insist they have some radio outlets that help them take their case to targeted audiences. Bill Clinton and Al Gore, for example, spent as much time courting urban radio host Tom Joyner as they did television network anchormen, said former Gore aide Chris Lehane.

And they think they can reach more people through the Internet than Republicans. Internet users are younger and more independent-minded than radio listeners and more open to the Democratic message, Lehane said. Democrats Howard Dean and John Kerry showed in their 2004 presidential campaigns that they could reach and organize millions of people through the Internet.

Yet if the communications of politics is changing, it hasn't changed that much yet.

Limbaugh still has about 14.75 million listeners, according to Talkers Magazine. Hannity has about 13 million.

Even the most successful liberal hosts, such as Schultz, Miller and Franken, don't come close yet. None made the top 30 talk radio shows as ranked by Talkers Magazine.

In Rush's heyday, there were plenty of conservative talkers. Matter of fact, conservative talk radio was at it's hottest in the mid to late 90's, Monica time. But it has leveled off. One problem is there is some unease with what's happening, even with control of the White House and Congress that was supposed to go away with Republican control of those institutions. It's better in some cases, but the problems are still there and in some cases growing. Mier isn't the first thing President Bush has done to upset the base. But until this time, the base has been more forgiving. This time, it has and it's been brewing for sometime. Mier just let it spill over. Secondly, many people bit their tongue because we were at war and there was an elections. That's past.

I know a lot of former talk radio listners that are listening to sports talk, books on tape and other things to divert time behind the wheel. Even some have transitioned to NPR outlets. They hate the tilt, but the are tired of the spin by the right for the right.

Hircus Emissarius

Plato’s Apology is a drama that portrays the current Left wing frustration with talk radio in America. The people of Athens (the Left) are demanding that Socrates (Rush) be silent. Socrates refuses and the elite of Athens demands the execution of Socrates. The modern Left wants a figurative execution of Rush Limbaugh and others like him (although ‘figurative’ would quickly become tangible, if the Left ever had the unchecked power they desire, just as it was with Socrates). In terms of this ‘figurative execution’, the cancellation of the Michael Savage and Dr. Laura Schlesinger television shows are perfect examples!

Radio is the focus of only one of the five senses. A listener has to really tune in to the subject matter and focus on the content of the ideas - - one reason, among others, why so-called "liberal" talk radio has been and is a failure in the free market. Notice how most of them like "public radio."

Television is a combination of sensory focus and it is far easier to distract and misdirect viewer attention from essential topics presented.

Considering that 90% of people tend to be more influenced by the visual, television has become a new religion. It is analogous to Plato’s cave allegory and the pagan Oracle of Delphi. Television as a propaganda tool helps create visual phantasms or fantastical images of the brain.

There are three ways people are influenced according to the school of behavioral psychology - - visual (sight), auditory (sound), kinesthetic (emotion). The kinesthetic or ‘feeling’ is also based on olfactory and tactile sense, just like Pavlov’s salivating dogs.

Visual images and sound portrayed can be used to anchor emotional and/or conditioned responses desired by those that present them, which in the case of television, is the Leftist television media, actors who create phantastical images in film, and Leftist politicians who pander to ‘symbolism over substance’ (like Rush Limbaugh always says about them).

The print media somewhat also uses the visual aspects of that phenomenon. Interactive talk radio requires thought; television does not and relies on this as a means to influence viewers. One should also notice the emphasis on interactive talk radio, something "public radio" is careful to avoid; unlike most commercial talk radio programming.

Part of this is the promotion of "public radio." The government funded NPR and other "public radio" non-profit Leftist garbage is not making it. While I am not enamored with some of the canned music formats of much commercial radio, I am no fan of the Leftist non-profit NPR-like stations that play third world, grass skirt, bone-in-the-nose pagan voodoo music either, with the touchy-feely, multi-cultural, anti-USA Leftist commentary of the hosts. These insipid people actually think they are clever with the sedate, monotone presentations (neuro-linguistic programming).

[Observe when in public places, at your workplace or in other community activities (i.e., restaurants, retail stores, gas stations, etc.) the pervasive presence of some exposure to music or television. This is because many people are actually terrified of being alone with their own thoughts or at the prospect of it (neuro-linguistic programming).

Try an experiment, turn radios off at work, request as a customer patronizing private businesses that music or television is unplugged so you can have some personal tranquility with your family, friends, associates, etc. You will find a great resistance, even hostility to such a request. Ask yourself why, then consider what thoughts such people have they are so afraid of, if they are capable of or desire to have any of their own.]

Also part of this is the loss of broadcasting licenses by "public radio" stations to a company that is buying licenses to broadcast Christian programming. This is pushing many Leftist public radio stations off the air. There is more to this issue than most people realize and it is not exclusive to the attack on talk radio. The recent moves to prevent more deregulation of FCC broadcasting and ownership rules in the Congress are the latest Leftist attempts to kill free speech.

"I think Rush is starting to grow old. There are people who don't want to hear about golf and the NFL."

Why this urban myth is perpetuated is beyond me. As an almost "professional" Rush listener for well over a decade, I fail to see why this golf and NFL garbage is still bandied about as contemporary truth.

While Rush touched on these topics quite a bit during his few early years, he dropped doing it almost to a non-existent point. Now when he discusses golf, it's to mention a charity golf affair he's going to or had just participated in. Plus, if you notice, he mentions the NFL and upcoming games mostly at the end of each Open Line Friday show during football season. Rush knows his football, and it's fun to get his few inside comments on the upcoming Sunday games.

If a listener faults Rush for something he hasn't done in ages.......or if a listener can't take a few minutes of interesting sports news from him once in a while, I recommend banishment to the minors (listening to Allah Bin Air America) as a well-deserved penalty for roughing the quarterback.

Leni

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