Mike Harrison of TALKERS magazine (the folks who gave
Savage the Freedom of Speech award) said that the report
was inaccurate because public radio was not included.
Anyone out there name any conservative voices on public
radio?
from the Boston Herald, last Friday. By Jesse Noyes
Ninety-one percent of the talk on the radio dial during weekdays is given over to right-wing programming, according to a study by Free Press and the Center for American Progress, both left-leaning groups.
The two groups studied 257 news and talk stations owned by the top five commercial station owners in the country earlier this year and found that over 2,570 hours of conservative talk were broadcast on those stations each weekday, while a much lower 254 hours was dedicated to progressive talk.
In a conference call, the authors of report said the Federal Communications Commission needs to step in to limit the number of stations companies can own and make way for more local ownership.
“Our goal is not less speech, it’s more speech,” said Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press. “We want more voices on the radio.”
But Michael Harrison, publisher of trade magazine Talkers, said the report is flawed and narrow. It doesn’t consider the broader spectrum of talk radio, which would include public radio stations, he said.
“There’s a lot more to talk radio than what they call talk radio,” Harrison said.
Even in blue-state Massachusetts, there’s very little liberal talk. WTTK-FM (96.9) recently expanded the time slot of Herald columnist Margery Eagan and NECN host Jim Braude’s show by two hours. By talk radio standards, Eagan and Braude are moderate to liberal.
But Clear Channel dumped its liberal talk format heard on WKOX-AM (1200) and WXKS-AM (1430) last year in favor of a Spanish-language format.
Mike Crusham, market manager for Clear Channel in New England, said the move wasn’t politically motivated but financial.
“I always found, at least in my past life, that it’s tougher to sell advertising on progressive talk,” he said.
Donna Halper, a radio consultant who’s been pushing to get progressive talk back on the air in Boston, said the format can work if given enough resources.
“It isn’t an easy sell but, then again, neither was right-wing conservative talk when it started out,” she said.
Clear Channel’s Mike Crusham on why he dropped prog talk in Boston: “I always found, at least in my past life, that it’s tougher to sell advertising on progressive talk.”
(on your prog talk station):
“Walmart is evil! All these big corporations are evil,
Bush conspires with the oil companies to raise prices—
ah, well, it’s time for a break. We’ll be right back after
these...er...public service announcements...”
Donna Halper, a radio consultant who’s been pushing to get progressive talk back on the air in Boston, said the format can work if given enough resources.
Ah, yeah....you might have known she would be involved
The answer to this is in the Constitution of the USA.
“There shall be FREE SPEECH.”
Has anyone made mention of the fact there is NO legal requirement that people MUST listen to the drivel of the “liberal media”? The station selector is under OUR control, not CAP. If I wish to listen I tune in. If I find myself being insulted, I exercise my right to CHOOSE and I go to another station. Even here in Mass, believe it or not, we still retain the freedom NOT to listen. Now, even this right is coming under threat from the “progressive left”.
In Nazi Germany, it was a crime to listen to forbidden radio programs. A serious crime. Is that where we, too, are headed? You answer.
"Progressives" are anti-capitalists. Why would they get enthusiastic about the products advertised on their shows and encourage their listeners to purchase those products?