[Alberta's Child]

What you're seeing here is the decline of talk radio in the aftermath of media deregulation. Hannity's fixation on promoting books (his own, as well as those of his guests) is a function of this tiresome environment. Television networks, radio networks, print media and publishing companies have all been consolidated into major media conglomerates, and talk radio hosts like Hannity are simply engaging in endless cross-promotion of other forms of media under the same corporate umbrella (if you were to track down the publishers of all the books he promotes on his television show, for example, you'll probably find that a disproportionate number of them are published by HarperCollins, which is the owned by News Corp. -- the same parent company of Fox News).

Ironically, talk radio is dying a slow death because of its unexpected success. These media empires have flooded the airwaves with second-rate imitations in a vain attempt to capitalize on Rush Limbaugh's phenomenal success in the late 1980s.

[OldFriend]

Talk radio is dying because many many people use the internet for their news. If they don't have a computer at home they have access at the office.

We don't need anyone telling us what to think about the news. Certainly not Hannity.

Rush is pure entertainment and there is no one better. He informs, amuses, and even when he occasionally gets below the belt, we always get something worthwhile from his show.