Posted on 01/22/2013 7:27:26 AM PST by SeekAndFind
"First they came for the local radio hosts...." If you want a glimpse into the real, practical mechanisms whereby unprincipled political power diminishes and silences opposing voices, look not to the nationally-publicized attacks on Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. Look to what happens at the local level, to people who do not have a national microphone and millions of defenders. Consider the example of Brainerd, Minnesota's (population 13,613) local conservative radio show.
For almost two years, Guy Green and his partner Tony Bauer have hosted The Speakeasy with Guy Green, a two-hour political talk show airing five nights a week on Brainerd's 3Wi Radio. Uncompromising conservatives, they tackle a variety of local, national, and international issues with equal parts well-researched detail, principled intelligence, and charm. Though a local program on a small station, their hard work has allowed them to attract the highest quality guests, and their seriousness has allowed them to bring those guests (Roger Kimball, Michael Ledeen, Andrew McCarthy, and Jack Cashill, for a very small sample) back for repeat appearances.
The show's hosts are not rich men, and they are not paid to appear on the air. On the contrary, Green paid handsomely for the air time the first year, including a hefty down payment to prove good faith for the air time, and seeks to cover his operating expenses with local sponsors and listener donations. (The station's former owner and now manager agreed to waive the air time fee for the second year, due to the show's success.) Green and Bauer, both grandfathers, are doing this because they could not sit by and watch their country being swallowed up by progressive politicians and an enabling media. This radio program is their attempt to contribute something to the fight.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
NOTE THE LEFT’s MOST RECENT STRATEGERY ( Rush now likes to use that word ) FOR KILLING CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO:
Recently, a new, left-leaning owner purchased the station, with the apparent intention of changing its all-talk (i.e. primarily conservative) format to a music format.
Green has heard from a major radio executive that this is a new strategy of the progressives. Having learned the hard way that liberal talk radio cannot compete for listeners with conservative hosts — the reason is obvious, and explains the “need” for NPR: extended political discussion, in order to be engaging, requires rational arguments and supporting facts, which leftists cannot provide — the left has hit upon the “slow-burned earth” tactic of gradually buying up local stations and converting them off the talk radio format altogether.
Newspapers, radio stations, TV shows, movies ... the crap that is produced doesn't really sell all that well. Who reads the Boston Globe? Who watches CNN? These outlets could make more money is they were more flexible in their viewpoints. Look at Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" -- it made huge money! Did Hollywood follow that up with a much of copy cat Biblical flicks? Not on your life.
They aren't looking for profits (profits are bad) -- they just want hearts and minds. The fact that successful conservative talk radio stations are being purchased, just so that they can adopt some other format (any other format) is an indication that the owners aren't looking for success or money. They just want to squash a viewpoint and they are willing to spend some money to do so.
Head’s up on this new lib tactic to try and bury Conservative Talk Radio.
Who needs music radio when anyone can afford a device that holds 50.000 songs? And you can listen to what you want and not what some programmer in L.A. wants you to listen to.
OK. I give up. What are the major or even medium-sized markets that do not have news/talk format radio?
Maybe it’s just me, but I almost never watch cable news or listen to talk radio. They are such garbage. I do my research online and read as many sources about a story as I can. Sure, I’ll watch some clips of events, but TV “news entertainment”? Please.
Am I the only one? Do most here watch/kisten to that drivel? I don’t care if it is proclaimed as Conservative, it’s crap.
Kill off all pundit shows and news entertainment shows. They won’t be missed.
There is no question that the media is not run on a profit-driven structure and instead is a propaganda arm of the government.
What a sad thought for our country?
There is no question that the media is not run on a profit-driven structure and instead is a propaganda arm of the government.
I have maintained for years that book advances from media conglomerates were one way to provide payola to various leftists such as the clintons, leftist screed writers, and most notably, Obama. Here received two book advances for doing exactly nothing. It was payola. And the beat goes on.
What a sad thought for our country?
One very big issue with this: the Internet can be hacked, modified, even silenced. Rush gets on the air, we KNOW it's Rush, we know his voice, and we know that he's not going to give up his principles to fill the airwaves with lies, distortions, or outright propaganda.
You go to a "reliable" website that's been compromised, and you have no idea if the information being disseminated is true or not. In the event of an EMP, sunspots, or other catastrophic electromagnetic event, the Internet, switches, routers, servers are all kaput. A basic HAM radio can be put together with the proper components to get back on the air.
Radio is a tried-and-true method for information dissemination. It's been in use for almost a century, and there are plenty of HAMs out here, myself included, who can open lines of communication where a digital network can be compromised.
Absolutely correct. It's high time the right got in the game and started purchasing media for reasons other than making money. This is a war, the right needs to join it or be wiped out.
That's your opinion and you are entitled to it.
I've been staying away from all cable news and listening only a few hours a week of Quinn in the AM and Rush in the PM. But yesterday, obama coronation day, Mark Steyn, your undocumented radio substitute, from ice station zebra, was in for Rush and I laughed for three hours.
The man is very conservative but very gifted at seeing humor in the darkest events.
He and a caller from White Plains, NY, did a skit about squirrels and nuts and peta and assault rifles, that had me howling.
It may be drivel, but I haven't laughed at a political subject since november 6th, 2012, a day that will live in infamy.
Many of these station changes involve change from a talk format to a “jock-in-the-box” automated music station, with no live “talent” except for announcements and canned blurbs about the music.
They don’t pull in much listenership but are very very cheap to run, so are more profitable than a traditional music station where you pay for “personalities”, or a talk station where, again, you pay for “personalities”.
Some if not all of this is driven by more and more people getting music online or by satellite, lots of cars have WiFi nodes and better.
I know people that use the USB port in their new car radios to listen to podcasts. I don’t know how prevalent this is but it may be a factor, you don’t miss any talk when you get out of the car.
http://formatchange.com/category/los-angeles/
Ah, but you see that's the real truth here. Talk radio isn't dying all by itself. Radio itself is dying, albeit ever so slowly.
They killed off the local conservative talk shows in Memphis. Either they have added other hosts that are variations of Liberal to drown out the remaining (weak) Conservative, or they replaced the show with a national one.
In southeastern NC on the coast we had major changes late last summer. We no longer have Hannity, Beck, Levin, or Boortz. All were replaced with garbage.
Not just local talk, local shows of all sorts are disappearing, including local hosts for music. I’ve always liked ‘personality’ radio and it’s dying.
Most places are lucky to have a local morning show and a local afternoon show with the rest syndicated.
Mitt Romney’s Clear Channel was a pioneer in stripping local programming.
You’re just upset that there isn’t any left talk radio, at least that anybody wants to listen to. It’s just crap to you, because it is conservative.
You don’t fool anyone.
There is nothing, other than motivation, to stop wealthy conservatives from doing the same thing.
They could buy stations like this to protect them from liberal takeovers and buy liberal stations and convert them.
That would be a start to rolling liberalism back a little
One thing you cannot take away from liberals is their persistence.
They are always pushing their agenda 24/7.
More often than not liberals are the aggressors and conservatives are the defenders.
When you are defending, your objective is to maintain the status quo.
When you are attacking your objective is to gain ground - to move the defenders back.
That is why liberals are always hollering about compromise.
Every compromise advances the attacker and rolls back the defender.
As Ayn Rand said: “In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.