९ ऑक्टोबर, २०२०

"The conservatism of talk radio only partly overlaps with institutional conservatism, that of right-wing Washington think tanks, magazines and the Republican Party itself."

"By the early 2000s, it had embraced a version of conservatism that is less focused on free markets and small government and more focused on ethnonationalism and populism. It is, in short, the core of Trumpism — now and in the future, with or without a President Trump.... If you visit a carpentry shop or factory floor, or hitch a ride with a long-haul truck driver, odds are that talk radio is a fixture of the aural landscape. But many white-collar workers, journalists included, struggle to understand the reach of talk radio because they don’t listen to it, and don’t know anyone who does.... Because of the ocean of content, one must listen to it at great length, a daunting task for anyone not already sympathetic with a host’s conservative views....  Each show has its own long-running inside jokes and references, a kind of linguistic shorthand that unites fans and repels outside examination.... By 1963 President John F. Kennedy was so worried about what an aide called this 'formidable force in American life today,” which was able to “harass local school boards, local librarians and local government bodies,” that he authorized targeted Internal Revenue Service audits and the use of the Federal Communications Commission’s Fairness Doctrine to silence these pesky conservative broadcasters. The result was the most successful episode of government censorship of the last half century. Conservative broadcasters have never forgotten it, and it is a key reason that a conspiracist mind-set has such a grip on listeners. Since 2003, Rush Limbaugh, who got his start working in radio as a teenager in the mid-1960s, has mentioned the Fairness Doctrine on nearly 150 episodes. He credits the rise of talk radio to the lifting of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 by the Reagan administration."

From "Talk Radio Is Turning Millions of Americans Into Conservatives/The medium is at the heart of Trumpism" by Paul Matzko, author of “The Radio Right: How a Band of Broadcasters Took on the Federal Government and Built the Modern Conservative Movement" (NYT).

By the way, Trump is doing a virtual rally on the Rush Limbaugh show today — here.

८० टिप्पण्या:

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

A conspiracist mindset caused by the fact the government really was out to get them? Too funny!

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

I haven't heard a Rush broadcast since my father died, but I will tune in today and keep it in the background for at least the first hour or so.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

How dare conservatives have an outlet. It must be stopped!

Only the interests of "the party"(D) should be allowed to talk.

n.n म्हणाले...

American conservativism is centered on the political spectrum, is Pro-Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, free of diversity and other class-based bigotry, and Constitutional less the Twilight Amendment.

Expat(ish) म्हणाले...

I think it is very true that white collar workers (not me, i wear a t-shirt to work) are more likely to listen to NPR or sports radio or podcasts (thus spake Rogan).

But I also think this guy doesn't know anyone who isn't like that. The tell is the Paul Krugmanesque "hitch a ride with a long-haul truck driver." Yeah, that doesn't happen anymore, for a host of reasons. Unless you're a truck stop hooker getting to a new location.

-XC

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Censorship will certainly unite the censored. You didn’t think to teach your students that obvious fact, Professor (Emerita)? Shame on you!

rehajm म्हणाले...

Turning millions of Americans into conservatives? I think there's a cause/effect problem here...

tcrosse म्हणाले...

It's not so much conservatism as good, old fashioned Class Struggle, and the NYT is on the side of the Economic Royalists.

PM म्हणाले...

Radio only because cable news, magazines, newspapers, TV talk shows and Oscar™ speeches were already taken.

Carol म्हणाले...

I dunno, I thought talk radio was pretty much down with Conservatism, Inc. until the talkers realized where their audience was going. I was reading Mickey Kaus, Steve Sailer, and Mark Krikorian on immigration, so I was sensitive to anyone would raise the issue.

Rush, Hannity, Prager, O'Reilly, Levin - not a peep. And I don't expect that the issue really touches them in a personal way. What do they care? Happy dudes.

What Trump did was truly shocking. It was all supposed to go down without fuss, our replacement.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

The fairness doctrine required that you air an equal amount of air time of something nobody will listen to for every show that they want to listen to. The result was disqualifying all shows that invoked the doctrine. You can't afford to throw away half the radio station.

Craig म्हणाले...

It looks like Democrats are going to sweep everything in November. The biggest questions remaining are, how far they will go to consolidate their power, and how quickly?

I'd guess that reinstating the Fairness Doctrine (or something even worse) is on the table for 2021. As is packing the courts. Those two would go a long way toward ensuring that Dems remain in power for a LONG time.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Ethnonationalism?

This guy is just making this up. Fake News!

rhhardin म्हणाले...

The Rush/Trump show will be painful. The two will talk about how important the other one is to the country. Trump alone would be good but Rush will change the dynamics to crud. Predicted 3 minutes before the show.

Bob Smith म्हणाले...

If they were really conservatives they’d oppose the current bi-partisan “spent it like it’s free“ policy. They don’t so they aren’t.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

Limbaugh is mid America’s truth and reason applied to coastal mythologist thinkers and easily exposing their tactics.

Mike Sylwester म्हणाले...

Now bloggers too are very influential.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Told you. (listening to empathetic song leadin)

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Goddam (clicks Rush show off). Unlistenable.

Scott Patton म्हणाले...

"ethnonationalism and populism"
Yes, populism, but ethnonationalism? Maybe on the fringes. Nevertheless, it sounds like a snide sideways accusation. Just come out and say it. Don't be shy.

Jason म्हणाले...

LOL @ “ethnonationalism.”

Libtards are constantly projecting their own insane, vile racism and bigotry on normal people.

Fuck these people.

DarkHelmet म्हणाले...

"Ethno-nationalism?" Hmm. I've listened to Limbaugh and others many times and have never heard what I would describe as advocacy of 'ethno-nationalism' (which seems to be a slightly prettier way of saying that talk radio listeners are xenophobic racists -- an article of faith for the left/media.)

I have heard calls for controlling the border and restricting immigration. Largely that has to do with low wage people worrying about being displaced by cheap imported labor. Which is not something that NYT writers fret much about.

It is true that this issue splits the more populist/Trumpian cohort of the right from the more free-trade open borders pro-business cohort which generally dominated the conservative side of the aisle pre-Trump.

It's always useful to consider whose ox is being gored and whose cow is sacred. For not all oxen and cows receive equal consideration in Washington.

Kate म्हणाले...

No one put on talk radio when I worked on a factory floor. What is this guy off about? A factory floor is too loud, too industrial for talk radio. The station choice is rock music that blends into the background.

MayBee म्हणाले...

Remember when Obama tried to make the idea that "Rush Limbaugh was in charge of the Republican Party" into a thing?

And all the republican senators and congresspeople were asked to disavow Rush?
Ahhh, Obama was such a coming together unity kind of guy.

bagoh20 म्हणाले...

"ethnonationalism"?

Really? Does it ever stop. Can anybody talk about conservatives without calling us Nazis? It pretty much stops my interest in the conversation in that first sentence.

I have been listening to talk radio for decades, and ethnicity is not discusses in any negative way. Just the opposite. Different ethnicities that share the same American values is just about the most celebrated thing on talk radio. Modern conservatives fall in love with any minority that expresses support of those same values: freedom, individual rights and responsibilities and self-reliance. Nobody gets the kind of love and appreciation from the right like a Black, or Hispanic conservative. They are considered heroes.

MayBee म्हणाले...

Here's the Guardian from January 2007:
That is why Obama wisely chose him, of all the pundits, to pick a fight with so early in his administration. The sooner he can eliminate Limbaugh as a politically significant force, the closer he will be to enacting reforms. His timing was impeccable – he did it on a Friday, after Rush's show was over for the week, which gave the media cycle time to turn a few rotations before Rush could respond. Obama's attack was swift and direct, using Limbaugh as an example of allowing ideology to substitute for pragmatism in a time of crisis. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he said during a meeting to encourage Republican lawmakers to support his economic stimulus plan.

Limbaugh's response came in the form of a widely-reported blog post, and it was interesting. It wasn't a wild ad hominem attack on Obama, as many expected – but then most of his critics don't really understand Rush. He issued a statement correctly pointing out that Obama had singled him out to distract attention from the details of his proposed plan. He finishes his canny analysis by pointing out to his readers that Obama is using the classic community organiser tactics, perfected and detailed by Saul Alinksy in his Rules for Radicals: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalise it and polarise it." Obama has managed all four in one blow, and Rush knows it.

By singling Limbaugh out and making him the voice of failed conservative ideology in the minds of the public at large, Obama has placed Limbaugh and Republican lawmakers in a tight spot. Adhering to discredited conservative principals over the vital need to fix the economy paints Limbaugh as a hopelessly partisan ideologue while the nation craves bipartisanship, and it forces lawmakers to either work with Obama or appear as a mindless tool of Limbaugh's media empire. With one gentle phrase, Obama neatly put Limbaugh and the remaining Republican congressmen at odds with each other. And it's far from over. Rush will respond with a radio tirade that will delight his listeners but diminish his actual political clout. When a highly popular president calls you out the first week in office, you know you've got a target on your back.


BUT...
in Googling for this, I see that Obama is still doing this in his fundraisers for Biden.

The right has the very dangerous Fox and Limbaugh. The left has everyone else.

RK म्हणाले...

focused on ethnonationalism

Bullshit right out of the gate. Lefty projection.

bleh म्हणाले...

Strange. This is the first I'm hearing about JFK's apparently improper use of the IRS and the FCC to target conservatives. Seems like an outrageous, even impeachable, misuse of government resources for domestic political advantage. It's amazing the rosy view we get of JFK, even among conservatives ("he cut taxes and hated commies!"), because he got assassinated.

Has any president ever been so coddled during his presidency and then essentially sanctified in retrospect? His supposed greatest accomplishment, the Cuban Missile Crisis, was precipitated, in large part, by his incompetence and arrogance in Cuba, Turkey and elsewhere. He was hopped up on speed and risking global annihilation. Absolutely insane.

Mike म्हणाले...

How is this a news article? Hasn't this been true for decades? Are they that blind at the Times?

bleh म्हणाले...

This is why I think it's funny that people claim to be worried about Trump being on steroids right now. In October 1962, we had a meth junkie at the controls who almost destroyed the world. The only reason it didn't ripen into a real nuclear war is because of a single Soviet submarine officer. What dumb luck.

JFK ordered a failed invasion of Cuba and then, in response to a nuclear buildup by the Soviets, he ordered a provocative naval blockades. Which was of course an act of war against Cuba, although the U.S. government euphemistically tried to call it a "quarantine." He did all this while he was on drugs.

rcocean म्हणाले...

the NYT/wapo has been writing these kinds of articles for 30 years. Clinton was complaining about Rush Limbaugh having "too much power" 25 years ago. Radio Talk exists because the MSM is 90% liberal Democrat, and they've gotten more Left-wing, and more narrow minded and intolerant of any opposing ideas. Even when these ideas are supported by 60% of Americans, they are totally shut out.

The NYT won't even let a Republican Senator write an Op-ed opposing Antifa without it resulting in people fired and NTY's apologizing. That's one reason why Rush Limbaugh exists.

AZ Bob म्हणाले...

This suspicion that elite institutions — the media, universities, government, Big Tech — are run by hostile liberal gatekeepers seeking to silence conservative voices continues to fuel right-wing anxiety. --NY Times

Suspicion: a feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true.

Really?

iowan2 म्हणाले...

By 1963 President John F. Kennedy was so worried about what an aide called this 'formidable force in American life today,” which was able to “harass local school boards, local librarians and local government bodies,”

What I have been repeating for decades. Local and state government is where each of us should being paying attention. Something like 6 minutes of attention of federal politics for very hour of effort and attention you invest in federal concerns. That is the approximate ratio of importance.
That the Presidential election garners so much attention shows the ignorance of the voters. Can you name your school board members? All agree education is paramount, yet Betsy De Voss we know, local school board, no so much. (although school boards are largely ceremonial)

So understand the NYT report here, claims conservatives "harass" local govt and schoolboards. The next propaganda piece they write, will claim burning down cities and looting small businesses is constitutionally protected free speech, petitioning the govt for redress.

Free speech vs harassment.

My front door has more self awareness than these people that wrongly claim they are journalists.


Owen म्हणाले...

I guess I need to tune in to that stuff. The factoid about JFK turning the Gummint loose on those right-wing cranks is of more than passing interest. Good to know it could never happen again: just ask Lois Lerner.

Rob म्हणाले...

So in 13,000 hours of broadcasting since 2003, Limbaugh has mentioned the Fairness Doctrine all of 150 times? The horror!

Rusty म्हणाले...

Fundamentally misunderstanding conservatism.

Marshall Rose म्हणाले...

Once Rush is gone, current cancer or otherwise, the left will succeed in permanently shutting down free speech.

The upcoming younger generations already believe in censorship and will not lift a finger to stop it when couched in feel good terms.

They won't understand when it comes for them having not been taught history of leftist violence and death.

wayworn wanderer म्हणाले...

Remarkably fair and accurate, given it's in the Times.

SensibleCitizen म्हणाले...

Long-format podcasts are also a favorite of male workers, who listen with earbuds all day, to conservative-leaning content.

These guys, btw, are off the pollster's radar, and they will crawl through glass to vote for DJT.

Ron Winkleheimer म्हणाले...

'By 1963 President John F. Kennedy was so worried about what an aide called this 'formidable force in American life today,” which was able to “harass local school boards, local librarians and local government bodies,”'

Indeed, the nerve of these peasants, attempting to influence the decisions of their betters. Its like they think they have a right to a say in their governance.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

But many white-collar workers, journalists included, struggle to understand the reach of talk radio because they don’t listen to it, and don’t know anyone who does.... Because of the ocean of content, one must listen to it at great length, a daunting task for anyone not already sympathetic with a host’s conservative views....

What a bunch of wussies!

Readering म्हणाले...

"Crawl through glass..." Please tell them about mail-in voting.

Scott Patton म्हणाले...

rcocean said:"Clinton was complaining about Rush Limbaugh having "too much power" 25 years ago."
Wasn't that part of the underlying circumstances that lead to imaginings of a "vast right wing conspiracy"?

Michael K म्हणाले...

Blogger rhhardin said...
The fairness doctrine required that you air an equal amount of air time of something nobody will listen to for every show that they want to listen to. The result was disqualifying all shows that invoked the doctrine. You can't afford to throw away half the radio station.


I remember when KABC in LA had a show like that. It was a well known leftist at the time. Bill somebody and a no-name guy who made pretty good arguments. The same station had Michael Jackson on and he was 100% lefty with no opponent. Jackson, not the singer, was pretty popular until Rush came along. Then he wound up on Saturday morning. He had been on every day about 11.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil म्हणाले...

readering doesn't understand figures of speech.

Rory म्हणाले...

"Limbaugh has mentioned the Fairness Doctrine all of 150 times?"

Especially considering that one of his throwaway lines is, "Equal time? I AM equal time."

mandrewa म्हणाले...

Focused on ethnic nationalism, huh?! -- once again the left projects. It's like they are talking to themselves. The left is consumed with ethnic nationalism. This isn't just a
description of the left. It's a fundamental drive. It's right at the heart of what the left is about! It's not the only thing animating the left, but it's a huge part of what characters, what defines, the left.

There is this "me! me!" character to the people on the left. They want to have everything. They not only want to do bad things. They want to blame the bad things that they do on the people they dislike.

They do ugly things, but as they do it, their awareness of what they are doing disappears, and the blame goes elsewhere.

Drago म्हणाले...

The Most Inga-like Poster Readering: ""Crawl through glass..." Please tell them about mail-in voting."

tsk tsk tsk

Like Howard and Inga, readering joins the ranks of lefties who are always weeks and weeks behind the latest democratical/LLR-lefty narratives:

"Democrats scramble to soothe voter fears about in-person voting ahead of November election"--Sep 17

"After months of warnings about the risks posed by in-person voting in a push to expand access to mail-in ballots, Democrats across the country are increasingly focused on communicating to voters that it is safe to cast their ballots in a voting booth."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/politics/election-2020-democrats-in-person-voting/index.html

Leland म्हणाले...

I think part of the Trump/Limbaugh rally is a test. I'm waiting for Democrats to call it an in-kind donation on the part of Limbaugh, which if they do, would spring a trap.

Caligula म्हणाले...

Rush Limbaugh is national, yet most talk radio remains local. Perhaps the gradual replacement/supplementation of broadcast radio with streaming will change that, but, for now much of even the streaming audience remains local.

Local talk radio will be plugged into national issues, but its reference remains local. And considering that, and that its audience is reasonably diverse, "ethnonationalism" is not a good fit for local talk radio.

Which is why you won't find much of it there.

I Callahan म्हणाले...

I don't know why the NYT types misunderstand all of this.

Jobs that Americans had went to places like Mexico and China. A couple of years ago, Disney fired a big chunk of their IT staff, and told these people they wouldn't get their severance pay unless they trained their foreign, lower-wage replacements.

There are myriad examples of stuff like this. So I have to ask: is it really any wonder why a certain segment of the American populace might think actual Americans should come first? This really isn't that hard.

I Callahan म्हणाले...

"Crawl through glass..." Please tell them about mail-in voting.

Don't need to. They'll do it in person.

wild chicken म्हणाले...

The GOP old guard here hated Rush like they hate Trump now. Just mention his name and some old crack would say "no, no! we don't talk about him!"

And still no acknowledgement of how many young Republicans Rush made! Probably the only reason any new young person would show up at any of our meetings!

There was always a big disconnect there.

Greg The Class Traitor म्हणाले...

Readering said...
"Crawl through glass..." Please tell them about mail-in voting.

No thanks, I don't want a person paid by the Post Office (calling them "workers" often seems like a stretch) to throw out my ballot

gadfly म्हणाले...

"Talk Radio Is Turning Millions of Americans Into Conservatives"

Wrong! At one time that was so, but since the major Talk Radio stars - Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Beck, and Levin - dropped pure conservatism for Trumpism, the "turning" changed direction. In the old days, we conservatives believed our honored hosts, but then Trump gangsters took over the entire Republican Party along with the conservative talk shows mentioned above and blogs such as Power Line, Instapundit, American Thinker, PJ Media and Legal Insurrection. There are now few if any talkers and bloggers emphasizing smaller government, individual rights, rule of law and balanced budgets.

Rush Limbaugh is doing something today that he never did for any Republican President - conduct a three hour campaign event allowing Trump to talk about his imagined conspiracies and to attack his perceived opposition with personal insults and lies. Rush used to ask guests tough questions but he is providing Trump with softballs couched with suggested answers to keep our mental giant president saying the right things as best he can.

I don't want progressives in charge but there is no other way to oust Mafia Don and his toady VP. My mail-in ballot was sent during the 3rd week of September.

tim maguire म्हणाले...

In the mid-90's, after college, but before career, I spent a summer working for a large Columbus, OH, landscaper. Dozens of young guys of varying backgrounds (some working class, others college students on break or landscape architects getting started). Rush Limbaugh was always on in the trucks. Everybody listened to him. I can't believe he's still at it 25 years later.

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

From "Talk Radio Is Turning Millions of Americans Into Conservatives/The medium is at the heart of Trumpism"

You just have to laugh at the breathless reporting of the NYT. Is this news? The left/media/Dems/NYT was going apeshit over Rush Limbaugh in the early 90s!!!!!

buwaya म्हणाले...

"Crawl through glass..." Please tell them about mail-in voting. "

Suffering cements commitment. No joke.
Catholics know this.
So does the Yakuza.

Yes I know you are joking about a joke.

Greg The Class Traitor म्हणाले...

He'res the relevant point, Althouse:

He's not a Trump supporter.
He could not have been encouraged to attack Whitmer by anything Trump said.
Any attempt to blame this on Trump, in any way shape or form, is illegitimate

Everything else is wanking

iowan2 म्हणाले...

MSM is 90% liberal Democrat, and they've gotten more Left-wing, and more narrow minded and intolerant of any opposing ideas.

I could handle that, if it weren't for the outright lies. The Propaganda. "good people on both side", All of them lie with impunity. A small few actually watch curated "news" content. A scary majority get their "news" from places like facebook. I'm so old I can remember when the lift had kittens because President Trump beat them at their own game. Did facebook better than Obama. That's why facebook and google are censuring anything that is not leftist, hair on fire, news.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil म्हणाले...

"After months of warnings about the risks posed by in-person voting in a push to expand access to mail-in ballots, Democrats across the country are increasingly focused on communicating to voters that it is safe to cast their ballots in a voting booth."

That's because they're afraid Dem voters are so stupid they won't fill out the ballots correctly. They have a point. They sure had a problem figuring it out in Florida in 2000.

William म्हणाले...

Rush is the only talk show host I listen to with regularity. His talent puts him a quantum jump ahead of the others. I don't understand why this is, but people with Rush's talent for humor and sharp observations are nearly always on the left. There are other kinds of talents and genius besides the ability to entertain people, but talented people in the entertainment industry generally drift left....Tom Cruise would be a bigger star if his voice had the reassuring timbre and warmth as that of Rush. Rush is literally a voice that can live inside your head.....I admire the way he is handling a major illness. I can hear no diminishment in his enthusiasm and verve while undergoing treatment.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

Maybe someday we'll see and explanation of Trumpism by somebody who is not its enemy. One can hope.

hstad म्हणाले...

"... By the early 2000s...it had embraced a version of conservatism that is less focused on free markets and small government and more focused on ethnonationalism and populism..." OMG, another deflection narrative by the NY Times and 100% wrong.

What the Times know, but refuse to tell Americans, is that "Globalism", has benefited everyone but the "middle class" in America. Mr. Trump recognized this and as a DC outsider and used it politically to win in 2016. Will do so again in 2020. Sanders also recognized this, for different reasons, that's why he was so popular. But the Democrats destroyed Sanders' movement because the "Globalists" co-opted both Democratic and Republican Elites. That's why the historical groups cobbled together by the Democrat's had split in 2016 and will fracture in 2020. Just look at the Unions. 2016 was just the beginning of Union members voting for Mr. Trump - 2020 will exhibit a tsunami of Union votes for Mr. Trump. Why, because in 4 years he has renegotiated massive trade deals with Mexico + Canada (NAFTA), Korea, Japan (all signed) and next is the UK. That has produced large increases in jobs for both Union and non-union American workforce. While President Trump was smartly doing these deals - what were the Democrats up to? "Russiagate", "Impeachment" and "Orange Man Bad" (with willing push by the MSM). What are they now doing just 25 days before the election? Speaker Pelosi announces BS investigation into President Trump’s mental health so they can apply the 25th Amendment. My friends - Democrats know they are losing and losing massively!

William म्हणाले...

I heard the show with Trump. Trump was diffuse and rambling, but he had energy and you could understand what he was driving at......Trump sort of stumbled into his fame. He certainly sought and enjoyed fame in the way of celebrities and not politicians, but real estate developers can only acquire so much fame. It was the television show that actually scratched and stimulated that itch. I suppose the plus side of being a real estate developer is that a large building with your name on it gives your name some kind of endurance and prominence, but for widespread fame it can't match a top rated television show. Well, now Trump has the Presidency. In terms of both endurance and reach, that's the highest form of fame. Even if the Dems succeed in ousting him, his lasting fame remains assured. Trump's lust for fame has been gratified if not sated. The Dems efforts to discredit, impeach, and dishonor him have only served to buff the gilt of his fame. Trump has led a charmed life.

Maillard Reactionary म्हणाले...

This has to be the scariest thing since first-person shooter video games were going to turn teenagers into psychopathic killers.

The problem is, how can you put a warning sticker on a radio program?

NYT: Where right-thinking people find out what to worry about this week.

Maillard Reactionary म्हणाले...

rhhardin: Thanks for listening to that for me. You're a good lad, for sure.

No class snob I, but yours truly cannot stand talk radio, especially on AM, with its lousy audio quality and constant background noise. (Even rhhardin eschews what the ARRL guys call radiotelephone, which has similar sonic qualities.) I'm a print media guy by nature and preference.

Regarding NPR: For years I listened to National Palestinian Radio in the car, to and from work (where my collars were button-down, and I never lifted anything heavier than an a scope probe). The last straw was when they had some commentary a-hole on there who stated casually just in passing that "America is a racist country", with no follow-up with a contrasting view. That was enough of that for this feller's lifetime. These days I usually show up at the shooting range with the classical station on (today it was one of Respighi's Suites of Ancient Airs and Dances-- lovely, I hadn't heard it for years). I fit in just great there with the tree men, spaghetti sauce factory foremen, ex-police officers, and occasional retired EE (Hi Stan!). They are all sensible folks and nice to be around. (They're not all old and white, either, in case anyone is worried about that.) If any of them listen to talk radio I don't hold it against them, but it's not for me.

The classical station gets switched off when they run the NPR news, however.

effinayright म्हणाले...

gadfly said

"I don't want progressives in charge but there is no other way to oust Mafia Don and his toady VP. My mail-in ballot was sent during the 3rd week of September."

**************

Anyone who doesn't want progressives in charge but will vote for them because Trump doesn't push limited government and a balanced budget has truly pissed in his own whiskey.

Michelle Dulak Thomson म्हणाले...

rehajm, that's exactly right. If you read the article, you find that the only people listening to "talk radio" are the people who have always been listening to it. It's literally impossible for something unheard to "turn" millions of people into conservatives.

MayBee,

The right has the very dangerous Fox and Limbaugh. The left has everyone else.

That's almost completely true. The right has many talk-show hosts besides Limbaugh, though he's the most prominent; it also has websites, though "social media" has been basically severed from anyone conservative. Fox is it for TV, but I doubt most people get their news from TV these days. Almost all the major papers are on the left; the only exceptions that come to mind are the WSJ and IBD. There are print zines, but they are few and almost all anti-Trump, though not to the point of being actually pro-Biden. (Sad little story on NPR this morning, about how canvassers are trying to get voters to commit, not just not to vote for Trump, but positively to vote for Biden, and how hard a task that is proving.)

But the overwhelming pressure of the media is against Trump, which is why he can state over and over again that he condemns white supremacy and be complacently accused, one more time, of dodging the question; why Harris can say that she'll take a vaccine if Fauci tells her to, but not if Trump does (what if they agree, Kamala? What do you do then?); why both Harris and Biden will not tell us what they will do wrt court-packing.

Maillard Reactionary (love the name!), I understand both your being put off by talk radio and your preference for classical music (but not NPR). Which of the three suites was it? I like No. 3 best myself -- that's the strings-only one, with a certain number of Viola Moments in it . . .

अनामित म्हणाले...

The snippet Althouse posted reads like a cultural anthropology study of an isolated indigenous tribe somewhere in the jungles of New Guinea. These people who write stuff like this live a vacuum. Most have never met a black person who didn’t have a masters or a PhD. Surely never met a for real ghetto black. Same about never meeting a real Mexican American that works with his hands and doesn’t have a degree. They should get out more and rub shoulders with real ordinary people.

Michael K म्हणाले...

At one time that was so, but since the major Talk Radio stars - Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Beck, and Levin - dropped pure conservatism for Trumpism, the "turning" changed direction.

One can see that you don't know what you are talking about. Before the election, people like Mark Levin were anti-Trump. His successes have converted all of those who are not on the payroll of leftist billionaires, like Bill Kristol. Time for you to get out of your basement and listen again.

Michelle Dulak Thomson म्हणाले...

Sacto_Dave,

The people you are complaining about would never "rub shoulders" with anyone not of their own class. We're all diseased, see? You stay virus-free only if you shun the diseased, and obviously anyone who listens to talk radio is diseased. Unless it's NPR. Those people you can hug.

I would be one of the elect myself (graduate degree from UC/Berkeley, if you can believe it), if I weren't constantly begging to be put in the other camp.

ken in tx म्हणाले...

Here’s how the fairness doctrine worked in Tuscaloosa, Al, in the 60s. There was a radio station that aired Liberty Bell, a conservative political commentary show sponsored by H.L.Hunt, the oil tycoon. Not only was the show paid for by Hunt but it was popular and provided an audience for local advertisers. They also broadcasted Joe Pine, a syndicated conservative talk show, which featured non-conservative guests which Joe contested and argued with. It was also popular and generated advertising income for the station. A local group, loosely associated with the University of Alabama, filed a complaint, under the fairness doctrine, against the station’s FCC license renewal. They demanded equal time for opposing views. However, no one was providing opposing content of equal popularity. The station would have to loose money to broadcast an unpopular show. So, they stopped airing political commentary altogether.

Later, Hunt did an end run by changing his program to a religious show. The name was changed to Life Line, and started and closed with a hymn and and a prayer. Religious programs were not subject to the Fairness Doctrine. However, it still contained the same anti-leftest commentary as before. I don’t remember how that worked out.

Ambrose म्हणाले...

You can always tell the articles even NYT know are stupid - they do no allow comments. Red meat for the paying subscribers and after all they are the paying subscribers.

Pat म्हणाले...

Liberals never seem to get that people don't get their conservative views from Rush Limbaugh or Fox News (another source that gets "blamed" for converting good people into conservatives). They start with the conservative views and are pleasantly surprised to find someone in the media who thinks the way they do.

Stephen St. Onge म्हणाले...

rhhardin said...
The fairness doctrine required that you air an equal amount of air time of something nobody will listen to for every show that they want to listen to. The result was disqualifying all shows that invoked the doctrine. You can't afford to throw away half the radio station
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Quite. But the networks were all dominated by liberals, which somehow did NOT require equal time. It was always used in practice to suppress dissent.
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DarkHelmet said...
"Ethno-nationalism?" Hmm. I've listened to Limbaugh and others many times and have never heard what I would describe as advocacy of 'ethno-nationalism' (which seems to be a slightly prettier way of saying that talk radio listeners are xenophobic racists -- an article of faith for the left/media.)

I have heard calls for controlling the border and restricting immigration. Largely that has to do with low wage people worrying about being displaced by cheap imported labor. Which is not something that NYT writers fret much about.
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They not only "don't fret" about it, they positively WELCOME it. Those illegal immigrant nannies and gardeners are a positive blessing to the upper-class. And who cares about the large class of blacks who used to do such work? They can go on welfare, and then vote Democratic.

Brian McKim and/or Traci Skene म्हणाले...

A "conspiracist mindset?" Might that have something to do with the fact that, as we learned just a few hundred words back, about how Kennedy authorized targeted Internal Revenue Service audits and the use of the Federal Communications Commission’s Fairness Doctrine to destroy broadcasters? Is it a "conspiracy" to wonder if the government might do the same thing again? Is this a variation on "Republicans pounce?"

mikee म्हणाले...

Limbaugh won't be around forever. Who will be the next voice of conservatism in the US?

Drago म्हणाले...

The Poor Man's LLR-lefty C**** gadfly's "Mobying" is so 2004-ish laughably pathetic.

LOL

Michelle Dulak Thomson म्हणाले...

mikee,

My guess would be Mark Steyn, who already subs for Limbaugh occasionally.