Right wing's strength in talk radio, new media frustrates Democrats ("Dangerous Tone")

The Plain Dealer ^ | 11/24/02 | Mark O'Keefe

[Guillermo]

Someone call the whaaaaaaambulance for Senator Durbin!! LOL!

[sauropod]

My heart bleeds for the lost dominance of the lamestream media.

I have never had a high opinion of Durban and now it's sunk even lower. HRP

[Clovis_Skeptic]

. I think the progressive community has to face the reality, especially about talk radio and talk TV, and perhaps put together our own TV shows."

What a laugh! As if liberals haven't dominated the airwaves, and print media for decades.

Thank God for choice! The right to chose an alternative.

Thanks to....
Rush Limbaugh
Free Republic
Sean Hannity
Fox News Channel
Local Talk Radio (KMJ Fresno,CA)
The Internet (thanks Al Gore..lol)

[LilRhody]

Ditto!! The dumbocraps underestimated the power of the "radio", having dominated the TV networks for ages. But I for one didn't spend one hour watching the nightly news in the years before Fox became available in my area (RI). Now I have it on 24/7. What the dumbocraps didn't realize is that almost everyone can have a radio at their work station, their car, a headset, etc. We have been listening to talk radio for years 24/7, not just the dumb hour watching brokaw, jennings, rather, donaldson, woodruf, blitzer. I just keep switching from station to station during the day, picking and chosing my favorite host. And now, at home while working on the computer at night, I listen to talk radio on the net, whether live or reruns from the day. Can't get any better than that.
lilrhody

[arielb]

"You add up all those niches and it reaches a lot of people. I think the progressive community has to face the reality, especially about talk radio and talk TV, and perhaps put together our own TV shows."

yeah like Donahue. They have shows-just that the ratings suck

[MotleyGirl70]

Sean Hannity is on FOX now. He's a dark haired cutie. Easy on the eyes.

[MotleyGirl70]

I didn't know Sean had threats on his life. Scary.

Juan Williams gets on my nerves.

[Tacis]

The old media, inc. CNN, is hindered by unfair rules and regulations. Jennings wasn't able to say anything about the Torricelli double shuffle in NJ. The old media can't talk about black on white crimes, fairy on normal crimes, most dem theft and dishonesty especially if it is a black dem, union corruption, or the use of a weapon to save a life. At the same time, they are required to praise everything a Clinotn, Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Corrie King family member says or does, cover extensively the scream of every environmental/feminist/minority/fairy group responding to an action of a Republican governmental agency, AND carry/praise the stupid opinions of great thinkers like Barbra Streisand, Harry Belafonte, Susan Sarandon, and misc. rock personages.

Once the left wing extremist media is freed of these competitive burdens, they will be able to compete with the free and uncensored folks who are not part of the old left wing, neo-communist conspiracy.

[backhoe]

So we're an "echo chamber" now, huh?

They never miss an opportunity to get in a cheap shot. Still, it may be an improvement over "just entertainment."

[TruthWillWin]

"Why do people go to niches? It's because there's so much news and information out there and the news consumer wants somebody who will give him or her a unique take on the world so they don't have to drink from the fire hose."

This writer doesn't quite get it.

People go to the "niches" because they are tired of the mainstream media's Liberal slant on the news.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

I have no television. Mainstream media is dominated by the left. I don't want to hear it. I get my news on the internet, I get my music on the internet. I am not interested in what Jennings, CNN, Brokaw have to say. Nor am I interested in what Greta on Fox has to say.

[Vigilantcitizen]

The reason liberals demonize talk radio is they know as well as we do their hollow agendas cannot bear the scrutiny of honest, open debate. They limit their media exposure to forums which allow only one way communication, and this strategy worked well untill talk radio and the internet came along.

[FITZ]

How can liberals complain? They virtually own most of television, it's ideal for non-working people who have to have something to fill up their days. They can get their own radio shows if they feel like it ----they can hire Bill Clinton or Al Gore to host a talk show if they want. If they can't find and audience then whose fault is it?

[backhoe]

I wrote this last Spring:

---

Yesterday was a fascinating study in the power and potential of the "new media"- an alliance of the web and talk radio...

I read most of the stories here on Free Republic and logged off to take my wife to work. As we were driving in, the callers to talk radio started coming up, and relaying information, stories, and refutations to "The President Knew!" that had to have come off the web.

By lunchtime, the flow had picked up drastically, and callers were showing more & more indignation- at the clinton's corrupt reign, at the media, and at the spin being peddled.

By late afternoon, the flow became a torrent of righteous anger and indignation.

It was a wonderful thing to behold, and you have to wonder that had it existed 10 years ago, a lot of really bad stuff would have died a-borning...

---

What's apparent- and really worrisome- about this newest dustup is the Left's contempt for, and wish to silence, any opposing opinions.

[Paul Atreides]

The Clinton Party mascot should be changed from a donkey to a crying baby.

[nicmarlo]

"In a sense, it may be that Democrats are still rooted in a kind of populist culture, and they haven't realized everyone is going over to niches."

"niches?" I guess "truth" to Rats is a niche, something they'll never grasp or be able to speak, in any media. Consequently, their ability to "grasp" the American public will continue to dwindle.

[ZeitgeistSurfer]

Dasshole and company's attacks on talk radio were the first salvo in a campaign that is just beginning to eliminate conservative outlets and voices. If the RATs ever return to power they will do two things: reinstall the "fairness" doctrine to drive conservative ideas off of radio and "fix" the Interent in the name of national security. Don't think it's possible? The Internet could be rendered useless by changing the way DNS (Domain Name Service) works in the name of national security.

[SamAdams76]

Conservative talk radio has even penetrated into liberal strongholds. Here in Massachusetts, Republican Mitt Romney solidly defeated Socialist Shannon O'Brien due in large part to local talk show hosts such as Howie Carr and Jay Severin pounding away at O'Brien every day for weeks.

Consider that only 13% of the electorate here are registered Republicans and yet the Republican won with almost 55% of the vote. That is a staggering achievement, especially when considering how entrenched the Socialists are here. Shannon O'Brien had the backing of the entire Socialist machine including the unions and the teachers, etc. Without talk radio, I am convinced that Shannon O'Brien would have won in a landslide.

Now if only the local talk show hosts could concentrate on the state legislatures. But they never talk about politics at the state level beyond governor very much - even Howie Carr, who built his career on exposing the corruption in local Bay State politics.

BTW, for those who are confused with my exchanging of the word Socialist for Democrat, I made a vow several weeks ago that so long as avowed Socialist Nancy Pelosi is the elected leader of the Democrat party nationally, that anybody claiming to be a Democrat is in fact a Socialist and against America.

[bert]

Interesting comment Tacis, worthy of being repeated I think.