Diversity, my ass

REPORT: The Right Wing Domination Of Talk Radio And How To End It

whiiiinnne......

Two common myths are frequently offered to explain the imbalance of talk radio: 1) the 1987 repeal of the Fairness Doctrine (which required broadcasters to devote airtime to contrasting views), and 2) simple consumer demand. Each of these fails to adequately explain the root cause of the problem.

Our conclusion is that the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. regulatory system, particularly the complete breakdown of the public trustee concept of broadcast, the elimination of clear public interest requirements for broadcasting, and the relaxation of ownership rules including the requirement of local participation in management. […]

Ultimately, these results suggest that increasing ownership diversity, both in terms of the race/ethnicity and gender of owners, as well as the number of independent local owners, will lead to more diverse programming, more choices for listeners, and more owners who are responsive to their local communities and serve the public interest.

Full report from Center for American Progress

Basically, what the report proposes is that the government enforce "diversity", as though they didn't interfere enough in radio broadcasting. When will some of these people figure out (never) that you can't legislate away your problems?

You know how to get more liberals/progressives/whatever on the radio?

Find people with TALENT.

Air America's lineup consists of talk hosts who drone about the injustices of the Republican government and how everything would work out if more people would just vote Democrat. And that is all. That's all they talk about. They all sound like each other. They all have the same guests. And a lot of them weren't in radio at all until Air America was formed, and they aren't very good at it.

I enjoy listening to conservative talk radio far more than I do its liberal counterpart. These hosts express views I disagree with by presenting a wide variety of subjects, taking calls with opposing views in addition to concurring ones, and exposing their own idiocy in ways that are vastly amusing.

What's the fun in listening to someone who agrees with you all the time?

Not that conservative listeners don't behave the same way, of course. The Portland, Oregon-based Lars Larson show features a local windbag who expounds upon the reprehensible actions of the city and state governments as well as national issues. It's so funny to hear people call up and say "Right on, Lars!" They sound similar to Rush Limbaugh's "dittoheads". I know a guy who loves that show. I asked him why, and he said, "Because it keeps me up on what the government is doing to me." All I have to say is, if you need constant updates about how you're being screwed, whatever they're doing to you isn't affecting your life enough for you to notice it yourself, so why make yourself upset?

Because you like listening to people who agree with you all the time.

Michael Savage, on the other hand, hates Bush and liberals, and he's completely batshit. He sings songs. He stops and tells you what he made for dinner. Then he talks about people he saw the other day who "looked like illegal immigrants", exposing his racism and ignorance. Finally, he delivers an intelligent rant, and then spoils it all by saying something completely stupid at the end. THe content is constantly changing.

He's FUN.

Diversity.

Know your enemy! Spy on the opposing camp! Open your mind, for gods' sake! Be stimulated! Get off your goddamned cell phone, on which you're talking to people who also agree with you, and listen to both liberals and conservatives. Sample the zeitgeist of the whole country. Become truly informed.


And let me digress upon the term "progressive". Liberals are now "progressives", suggesting, I suppose, that conservatives are "regressive" or "static" or something.

When someone says they're a "progressive", it puts me in mind of a story that writer Neil Gaiman tells:

And he said, "What do you do?" I said, "I write comics." See, it was just like I’d said, "Oh, I am a part-time murderer" or some profession you don’t want to get involved with. [...] "What kind of comics do you write then?" "Well I write Sandman. I just did something called Signal to Noise…" "Hang on, hang on. Are you Neil Gaiman?" And I said yes. He said, "My dear fellow, you don’t write comics. You write graphic novels!" And I felt like a hooker who’s just been told she was the lady of the evening.

In other words: you're not fooling anyone, you know.