Compared2what
11-28-2003, 04:39 PM
By John Nichols
There is no question that broadcast media are still the vast wasteland that former Federal Communications Commissioner Newton Minow warned about four decades ago.
And by and large, the people who occupy the wasteland are simpering stenographers to power who refuse to question the government, the corporations or the conventional wisdom.
For a time, in the early 1990s, some Americans indulged in the fantasy that a new breed of conservative talk radio hosts might actually challenge the status quo. But for the most part, the swashbuckling radio personalities of that era turned out to be predictable partisans who started marching to the tune of the Washington insiders as soon as their pals became the Washington insiders.
The evolution of conservative talk radio from trouble-making to obedience has had a devastating effect on its quality and its consequence in contemporary society.
With a few notable exceptions, talk radio has become as boring as a policy address by Joe Lieberman. And, again with a few notable exceptions, talk radio matters about as much as a Lieberman speech - which, of course, is somewhat less than zero on the scale of meaningful discourse.
This has not, however, prevented liberals from whining about conservative talk radio. What they have to say is generally true - most conservative talk radio hosts do mangle the facts, engage in ridiculous bombast, and turn into giggling cheerleaders at the mention of George W. Bush's name.
But conservative talk radio really is not the problem. The problem is vapid, cowardly mainstream media.
Unfortunately, some very wealthy liberals do not understand this. As a result, it appears they are about to waste a great deal of money.
A group called AnShell Media, which is led by Chicago venture capitalists Sheldon and Anita Drobny, has assembled $10 million to create liberal talk radio programs for syndication. The idea, according to Jon Sinton, the "proud liberal" who has been hired to head the venture, is to develop a stable of hosts to counterbalance conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. "The marketplace demands equalization," Sinton says.
Sinton is being silly. He could put 100 standard-issue liberal talk radio hosts on air tomorrow and that still would not equalize - or even particularly improve - the discourse.
That's because, for the most part, liberal talk radio hosts are so painfully earnest that they become painful to listen to. There are exceptions, like Madison's John "Sly" Sylvester, but Sly is good because he has not forgotten his rock 'n' roll radio roots - and because he is dramatically smarter than most radio personalities.
And Sly has built an audience by being as tough on Democrats as he is on Republicans. Indeed, when he filets George W. Bush he never forgets to remind people that he hates Bill Clinton just as much - which, of course, does not endear him to the fragile lefties that fret about Limbaugh and Hannity.
Nothing that Sinton or his supporters have said so far suggests that they have the political independence or the insight - much less the courage - to nurture a new model army of radio hosts who might actually pose a threat to the corporate and political orthodoxies of the day, let alone do so in an entertaining manner.
Right now, conservative talk radio fails to challenge the status quo from the murky right. The mainstream media fail to challenge the status quo from the murky middle. And it now appears that a great deal of money is going to be spent on a project that will fail to challenge the status quo from the murky left.
Me? I'll keep listening to Sly.
Any bets on how long they'll last? :sleep:
There is no question that broadcast media are still the vast wasteland that former Federal Communications Commissioner Newton Minow warned about four decades ago.
And by and large, the people who occupy the wasteland are simpering stenographers to power who refuse to question the government, the corporations or the conventional wisdom.
For a time, in the early 1990s, some Americans indulged in the fantasy that a new breed of conservative talk radio hosts might actually challenge the status quo. But for the most part, the swashbuckling radio personalities of that era turned out to be predictable partisans who started marching to the tune of the Washington insiders as soon as their pals became the Washington insiders.
The evolution of conservative talk radio from trouble-making to obedience has had a devastating effect on its quality and its consequence in contemporary society.
With a few notable exceptions, talk radio has become as boring as a policy address by Joe Lieberman. And, again with a few notable exceptions, talk radio matters about as much as a Lieberman speech - which, of course, is somewhat less than zero on the scale of meaningful discourse.
This has not, however, prevented liberals from whining about conservative talk radio. What they have to say is generally true - most conservative talk radio hosts do mangle the facts, engage in ridiculous bombast, and turn into giggling cheerleaders at the mention of George W. Bush's name.
But conservative talk radio really is not the problem. The problem is vapid, cowardly mainstream media.
Unfortunately, some very wealthy liberals do not understand this. As a result, it appears they are about to waste a great deal of money.
A group called AnShell Media, which is led by Chicago venture capitalists Sheldon and Anita Drobny, has assembled $10 million to create liberal talk radio programs for syndication. The idea, according to Jon Sinton, the "proud liberal" who has been hired to head the venture, is to develop a stable of hosts to counterbalance conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. "The marketplace demands equalization," Sinton says.
Sinton is being silly. He could put 100 standard-issue liberal talk radio hosts on air tomorrow and that still would not equalize - or even particularly improve - the discourse.
That's because, for the most part, liberal talk radio hosts are so painfully earnest that they become painful to listen to. There are exceptions, like Madison's John "Sly" Sylvester, but Sly is good because he has not forgotten his rock 'n' roll radio roots - and because he is dramatically smarter than most radio personalities.
And Sly has built an audience by being as tough on Democrats as he is on Republicans. Indeed, when he filets George W. Bush he never forgets to remind people that he hates Bill Clinton just as much - which, of course, does not endear him to the fragile lefties that fret about Limbaugh and Hannity.
Nothing that Sinton or his supporters have said so far suggests that they have the political independence or the insight - much less the courage - to nurture a new model army of radio hosts who might actually pose a threat to the corporate and political orthodoxies of the day, let alone do so in an entertaining manner.
Right now, conservative talk radio fails to challenge the status quo from the murky right. The mainstream media fail to challenge the status quo from the murky middle. And it now appears that a great deal of money is going to be spent on a project that will fail to challenge the status quo from the murky left.
Me? I'll keep listening to Sly.
Any bets on how long they'll last? :sleep: