When asked where they get most of their news, most Americans today say television; second place has long belonged to newspapers. But a substantial minority to 20 percent in most polls--say that radio is one of their principal sources of news, the questions generally allow respondents to name more than one medium.
Talk radio, in particular, is bigger than ever. Aided by the growth of satellite technology and some favorable rulings by the Federal Communications Commission, the number of stations devoted exclusively to news and talk shows has grown from about 75 in to about 1, today.
In , according to a widely cited study by the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press, 17 percent of Americans said they "regularly" listened to call-in radio shows that discussed politics and current events, while another Use this link to get back to this page. Why talk radio is conservative. Author: William G. Date: Summer From: Public Interest Issue Publisher: The National Affairs, Inc. Document Type: Article. Commercial radio broadcasting was not, in other words, originally conceived as just another for-profit industry; it was supposed to meet a higher standard of social responsibility.
After , though, just another industry is pretty much what radio became, and its only real responsibility now is to attract and retain listeners in order to generate revenue. In other words, the sort of distinction explicitly drawn by FCC Chairman Newton Minow in the s -- namely, that between "the public interest" and "merely what interests the public" -- no longer exists.
Limbaugh is the third great progenitor of today's political talk radio partly because he's a host of extraordinary, once-in-a-generation talent and charisma -- bright, loquacious, witty, complexly authoritative -- whose show's blend of news, entertainment, and partisan analysis became the model for legions of imitators.
But he was also the first great promulgator of the Mainstream Media's Liberal Bias idea. This turned out to be a brilliantly effective rhetorical move, since the MMLB concept functioned simultaneously as a standard around which Rush's audience could rally, as an articulation of the need for right-wing i.
The doctrine survived for decades, but not without challenges. Critics argued the rule suppressed more conservative viewpoints. It was struck down in , meaning stations no longer had to give equal time to contrasting opinions and could lean into more partisan viewpoints.
Conservative talk radio soared in popularity and Rush Limbaugh became its star. With the infotainment format and his unapologetically conservative opinions, Limbaugh's show amassed and continues to sustain millions of listeners, giving him considerable influence over the GOP and paving the way for increasingly conservative and hyperbolic content.
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