I spend a lot of time driving in my day job, and with the new ride came satellite radio. Sirius offers a Conservative talk radio station known as "Patriot", and in an effort to hear how "the pro's" do it, I've spent a good bit of time listening to the likes of Bill Bennett, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin on their radio programs. In the process, I've come up with a few reasons to explain my hostility to conservative talk radio--something that seems to be the lifeblood of the conservative movement in this country.
1. Ronald Reagan Worship. In my book, you don't get to make fun of the other side for worshiping "the One" and then turn around and act as if everything Ronald Reagan ever said or did was divinely inspired. At the point of execution, they believe in their man's ability, persuasiveness, ideas and aura as much as conservatives believe the same in Reagan. Hey, I lived in the Reagan era, I had a picture of Reagan above the door of my first year dorm room in 1983 (one young lady upon leaving the room in the morning told me she would not have provided such able companionship had she seen the picture the night before), I thought the guy was great--but he hasn't been President for 21 years. It's time to concentrate on the here, the now and the future--rather than wallow in past glory.
2. Gold Commercials. Clearly the gold industry has targeted the conservative talk audience as a "take to the fall-out shelters, the world is coming to an end bunch", as you can't go twenty minutes without a gold commercial. It really is pretty ridiculous.
3. Sycophantic Audiences. These shows are exercises in ego boosting for the hosts, what with idolizing sycophants calling in from around the country to tell them how great they are, how right they are, how smart they are, how they are saving the country from socialism, etc....there really is very little good analysis and conversation. There is plenty of misinformation and disinformation--both from the hosts and the callers--even blatantly false statements are rarely called out.
4. Overwrought Language. If I hear one more of these guys say that Obama is "shredding the Constitution" with his healthcare legislation, I'm going to scream. Are there portions of the healthcare legislation that may be suitable for Supreme Court review? Yes. Can intelligent people differ on the issue? Yes. Can both sides point to 20th century precedents to bolster their views? Yes. No one has "shredded" the Constitution.
I hunger on these drives for a "thinking man's" conservative talk radio, with real debate, where policy views are challenged and refined. It just doesn't seem to exist (except on Wednesday nights when The Conservative Wahoo is in the House!)
Friday, April 2, 2010
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15 comments:
You manage to sum up all the reasons I don't listen to talk radio or watch the various "commentary" shows of either political bent.
Shouting and knee deep sarcasm does not make a point more valid.
I'm with Bill on this one. My wife listens to talk radio throughout the day when she is in the car, and she told me that Hannity will cut off anyone who does NOT agree with him. That's not debate. That's rude. And unprofessional. Could be part of the reason we don't have civilized debate on the topics of the day. The Conservative hosts don't seem interested in debate, just shouting. But shouting = ratings = $$$$$$ from advertisers
Well said CW, Bill C and Adam G. Besides, I'm busy with Sirius channels 19-26 and especially 100 and have no time for clowns - locally cand syndicated. OK, except for the clowns on Sirius channel 100!
We can't forget Sirius channel 74. For the Blues is (are?) the foundation of all the other music I listen to.
"Sycophantic Audiences."
I guess this means we can no longer lavish you with praise for running this blog or your talk show?
Not that I ever have, but just in case there comes a time worthy of such praise...
Mudge, you are a cur.
I get that shrill sells, but one element that adds no value to the show baffles me. Seems that almost any part of modern radio - from political talk to morning drive babble - is that the hosts devote a good portion of the show to talking about how they are beating their competition in the ratings. I can understand a "thank you, listeners, for making us number 1" - but it delves into trash talk. Maybe it's necessary to have listeners feel they are part of something, but it seems to occupy a disproportionate part of airtime.
Well there's a lot of "entertainment" in talk radio no doubt. Can you imagine three hours a day of Charles Krauthammer? But they do educate and raise awareness for many conservative issues. You may call it propaganda and you wouldn't be far wrong. But so what? Politics is propaganda. It's the marketplace of ideas and nobody is forcing you to listen.
In my opinion talk radio has been so vilified by leftists in the MSM many people wouldn't listen under any circumstances. Remember, public opinion is what people think other people think so when you get some loud-mouth leftist moaning about "right wing" talk radio it's likely they've never even heard it.
I completely agree, CW. I have virtually stopped listening to many of these talkshows. I don't have the time or patience for what has become low-brow analysis on issues and excessive hype on things that truly don't matter. All the bashing and rudeness takes away from constructive discussion and debate. Unfortunately, we may be in the minority here...based on how their "popularity", they are not likely to change what is viewed as a winning show formula.
You know who has an interesting radio show? Lou Dobbs. No, really. He brings in guests of all stripes and I usually learn something from listening to him. I agree with you about Hannity. You can tune into him any afternoon and hear the same rant from him that you heard a year ago. The guy's still talking about Jeremiah Wright.
...and no radio show is as enjoyable as Mike and Mike's on ESPN.
Best radio show: Car Talk on Saturday mornings, Public Radio.
the "marketplace of ideas"? That dog don't hunt. talk radio, like the internet is where people can go to find someone/site that confirms their existing biases. there is no market force or competition that provides feedback to the listener that might indicate that an idea was wrong and that they should investigate another position on a certain topic. i would also argue that even were there some feedback, said listener (thanks to his biases) would be able to come up with some excuse for why his position was proven wrong.
I stay away from the standard talk radio and listen to Sirius 110 - POTUS. I find it better and more entertaining than any of the others, especially the Morning Briefing show and the Press Pool at lunch time.
you should make it a goal to be mentioned on their BlogCast.
I agree with you and Bill C. I have never been attracted to conservative talk radio, and don't foresee becoming interested anytime soon.
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