Why do conservatives dominate talk radio?
"We the People just need to listen with an open mind, sort through the bs, and think quietly for ourselves."
A year ago I retired from 54 years in the radio business as a news and talk show host. As you might understand that experience, wonderful and rewarding as it was, pretty well burned me out on talking politics anytime, anywhere. I don’t do it in my Substack pieces. I tend toward the fluffy, touchy-feely stuff. Besides, as my old friend Cowboy Lou once told me, “Political opinions are like hemorrhoids. Sooner or later every asshole gets one.”
Here then is a one-time peek into mine.
Political opinions, that is.
From my weekly news/talk opinion column for Barrett Media, a highly successful radio industry publication. This one ran on July 23, 2024:
Last week I listened to some live news talk radio reports from the Republican National Convention. I enjoyed what little I heard not because it was the GOP convention but because it reminded me of the good old days when presidential nominating conventions were the every-four-year Olympics of American democracy packed with genuine intrigue and patriotic excitement.
In those days listening to the “gavel-to-gavel coverage” of rousing speeches, platform votes, and behind-the-scenes reports from smoke-filled back rooms where real decisions were being made allowed me the pride of feeling I was participating in my duty as a citizen.
You have to go back 40 years to remember a truly contested presidential candidate nomination. (1984: Mondale beat Gary Hart for the Democratic nomination and then was slaughtered in the general election by President Reagan.) Now we get short sound bites, a sentence or two from network news anchors, and a lot of biased commentary.
Say what you will about politics today, but it used to be a lot more engaging, though much of it was staged hype even back then. We knew that but we still loved it.
Sometimes curiosity bites off more than it can chew. I knew this as I listened to the RNC conversation last week and wondered again, for maybe the 10-thousandth time, why conservative politics dominates talk radio.
I went to some experts for answers and got some interesting responses.
Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers suggested that the question assumes a too-narrow view:
“Conservative talk radio is a format unto itself and it’s a very successful one because it has high profile talent. It makes the news a lot. Ratings-wise, it’s moderately successful, but it doesn’t dominate. Country music is big. Sports radio is big. All news radio. In other words, it’s one format out of many. It’s also not as dominant in political talk (as people think) because (we) don’t call public radio, liberal radio.
Yeah, the people that work there say “We are liberal,” but anybody who knows radio politics knows that commercial news talk radio or political talk radio leans conservative, and public talk radio, NPR,
and all the others, which have millions and millions of listeners lean liberal. So, when you look at radio, the big picture of talk radio, as opposed to focusing on commercial news talk radio, you find out that radio does have more variety in terms of politics than would meet the eye or the ear.”
For a view from the happy, proud, and righteous right, I turned to Mark Davis, mornings on KSKY, Dallas, and former frequent fill-in for Rush Limbaugh:
“There is an appetite for conservative talk radio because so many other sectors of life are dominated by liberalism – the dominant news culture, Hollywood, academia. People say talk radio needs balance. Actually, talk radio IS balance. It offers conservatism against the wave of liberalism found elsewhere.
“Why have many liberal talk shows failed? As with the Air America network example, liberal talk tends to be a parade of humorless partisans offering nothing but a scolding and hatred of America. Rush Limbaugh and a generation of other conservatives have offered a foundation of optimism and good humor, even while lodging sound objections to the direction in which America is headed.
“Another characteristic of conservative media is the welcoming of liberal ideas. We love to mix it up, we love to debate. The left shrinks from that challenge, and it is evident every day on liberal cable networks, just as it was on liberal talk radio.
“There have been liberal shows that have been successful in individual markets, and it is because they have observed the primary rule of radio – be entertaining first, and the political flavors will be more popular.”
I agree with Mark. My general impression of progressive/liberal commentators is that they tend to be angry, snarky, insulting, and often profane. They don’t invite me to consider their views, they dare me to disagree. Again, that’s a generalization but it has been created by most of what I’ve heard and read over the past 40 years.
Not coincidentally, 40 years ago in 1984 I was a Democrat but voted for Reagan. He smiled a lot, told jokes, and offered an optimistic plan. Mondale and Hart just sniped at each other. That was my take, anyway.
A few years later I was doing morning news on KFBK, Sacramento, and excitedly introduced a live interview with SNL funny man and future Democratic Senator Al Franken reporting live from the DNC convention in San Francisco. I gave him the standard big teases and introduction and then it went off the rails:
ME: Mr. Franken, good morning!
AL: Just a minute, I’m having a conversation. Go ahead and talk among yourselves.
I hung up on him.
Of course, there are professional, clear-headed liberal talkers. I wish I knew more than a couple of their names.
“Be entertaining first,” Mark Davis says, a radio summary of the age-old proverb, “You’ll attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
Michael Harrison agrees:
“The trends go where the talent lies and conservative talk radio has had some enormously successful talents. But why, what is it about their message and their style? There’s more to success in talk radio than just your message. There is charisma, and entertainment, there’s personality, there’s that X factor: creating relationships with listeners, trust, and credibility.
“There are so many factors involved in what makes a talk show host successful. It has been said that if Rush Limbaugh were liberal, he’d still be successful because he was a talented broadcaster. So one of the reasons is the trends go where the talent lies.”
Mr. Harrison wasn’t impugning the individual talents of any particular left-wing talkers, but the point is clear and accurate. Nobody can succeed in any radio format by being pissy, sarcastic, and insulting. Americans are better than that and they have bigger lives to lead. Your snark is just a tiny voice in the cacophony.
I’m trying to present a balanced and thoughtful view of this, I really am. I remember when the radio and TV networks featured respectful opposing commentators in their convention coverage. Rather than being assaulted with cherry-picked quotes out of context, we were encouraged to listen, absorb, and think for ourselves.
But there I go again, being a wistful old fart.
Back to now, here’s a liberal/progressive view from…
(This space is blank because none of the three big-name liberal talkers I reached out to bothered to reply to my invitation for comment. Make of that what you will. I tried.)
Politicians divide us for power, talk show hosts need us for ratings. We the People just need to listen with an open mind, sort through the BS, and think quietly for ourselves.
If only we would, talk radio would follow.
Dave Williams spun top-40 hits in Sacramento before RKO Radio snagged him as Program Director for K-Earth in L.A. and WHBQ, Memphis. He ultimately began 40 years as morning news host at KFBK, KFWB, KNX, and KLIF, earning ten AP awards with his partners as Best News Anchor Teams in California and Texas. Dave now hosts and produces a podcast featuring some of the biggest names in radio programming and management. You can find it on YouTube and top podcast audio apps at Conversations.buzz. Follow Dave on Twitter @RadioDave.
Teriffic article Dave Be entertaining first applies to me too