Here's Why the Right Wing Dominates Talk Radio Today

Ever wonder why the right wing continues to dominate talk radio, even as it loses elections?

"Your Huffington Post piece showed only the tip of the iceberg," a major talk-show figure e-mailed last month following my blog here on Rush Limbaugh's empire being built initially by giving his show away for free to hundreds of smaller-market talk stations.

My veteran radio source, assured anonymity, added, "The main story here is vertical integration in the radio business" and the way the big urban talk stations get their programs.

Vertical integration: Precisely what the federal government has moved to ban in the television and movie industries with anti-trust actions. But the radio business has gotten a free pass.

Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates righties Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Dr. Laura, among others, is owned by the nation's largest radio-station conglomerate, Clear Channel. Clear Channel, thanks to FCC deregulation, was allowed to gobble up over 1000 radio stations -- including 16 of the most powerful, (lower-case) clear-channel AM stations in major markets.

Today, Clear Channel either owns or programs most of the nation's 58 strongest, 50,000-watt AM radio stations, liberally stocking them with right-wing talk shows. Among them: Los Angeles' KFI, New York's WABC, Detroit's WJR, Denver's KOA, Portland's KEX, and Chicago's WLS.

Yes, Clear Channel does own liberal Air America stations. But none of them is a 50,000-watt "blowtorch." Instead, Clear Channel puts shows like Thom Hartmann's on its smaller, 5,000-and 10,000-watt "sticks" (antennas).

Clear Channel is more than a corporate name. It's also a radio descriptor: A clear-channel radio station is a powerful, 50,000-watt signal with interference-free nightly coverage 750 miles from its city.

Clear Channel owns 17 of those coveted licenses, and its Premiere supplies much of the programming to many of the rest. There are only one or two 50,000-watt stations carrying Air America's -- or any -- liberal shows.

Wherever Clear Channel owns a big AM radio station and other smaller ones, it always puts Premiere's Hannity, Rush, et al on its biggest signal. This puts liberal stations at a big disadvantage in virtually all large markets -- where the real radio money is.

"The prevailing assumption right now in talk radio," one talk programmer told me. "Is that you won't lose money on conservative talk. That could change, but it'll take time."

In the large metropolitan areas where Clear Channel owns station "clusters" -- usually five or more stations -- their sales force concentrates mostly on selling ads for the big, usually right-wing stations.

"If you can sell a 60-second spot for $200 on the big conservative station, or the same spot for $20 on the 5,000-watt liberal station, which one would YOU sell?" a radio sales vet told me during this investigation. Ka ching.

"You need a dedicated sales force for the Air America stations to succeed financially - one that sells ads only for that station."

There's no doubt San Antonio-based Clear Channel prefers pushing Premiere's largely conservative talkers: I once endured right-wing CNN hack Lou "Broken Borders" Dobbs kiss Clear Channel founder Lowry Mays' butt for an hour while "interviewing" glorified billboard salesman-turned-broadcaster Mays during the keynote event at the National Association of Broadcasters' big convention in San Francisco.

FDR's Justice Department took the powerful movie studios to court in the 1930's in a major antitrust case to stop them from both supplying product to -- and owning -- movie theatres.

In the 1970's, the FCC imposed rules to stop vertical integration by the then-Big Three TV networks: It banned them from owning the shows they aired in prime time. (The so-called "fin-syn" rules).

But radio has gotten a free pass from legal action by the government. Which is the big reason why Premiere and its powerful owner Clear Channel have a stranglehold today on talk radio.

Comments

[CroatianCritter]

Don't forget Bill Clinton's TeleCommunications Act of 1996 which allowed for deregulation of the radio industry and allowed ''Clear Channel'' to snatch up all these channels by overpaying for them. Besides destroying independent radio, this corporation has a viewpoint that it wants to sell to the public as this 'ideal' helps them financially. "Clear Channel" also knows that radical voices, while very harmful for society, make selling advertising time very easy. Until we go back to the rules of pre-1996 or create an environment where small businesses can compete in radio, the right wing echo machine will continue to dominate. Another great example where government policy has failed us once again.

[newsmann]

That's exactly right...Clinton allowed radio deregulation. A new FCC could start the reversal.

[Peabodies]

Have to post this gem --

"We're not sexists, we're chauvinists " we're male chauvinist pigs, and we're happy to be because we think that's what men were destined to be. We think that's what women want."

"I'll tell you who should be tortured and killed at Guantanamo: every filthy Democrat in the U.S. Congress."

"Oh, you're one of the sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig. How's that? Why don't you see if you can sue me, you pig. You got nothing better than to put me down, you piece of garbage. You have got nothing to do today, go eat a sausage and choke on it."

The first quote is from Rush Limbaugh, the second is from Sean Hannity & the last is from Michael Savage. All of which are right-wing radio hosts.

From ZenBastard, 7:29 p.m., 5/21/09, HuffingtonPost.

[RobinSeattle]

Even with all that, though, Clear Channel has had to renogotiate its debt load with its creditors.

They are also the biggest reason why terrestrial radio is dead. Internet radio folks, look into it. Live365.com is a terrific example.

[buggey]

Rupert Murdoch owns all of this. " He is " Clear Channel and Owner of Fox News". The little Aussie who became a US citizen, and brings all the hate over the airways. RUPERT MURDOCH.

[MGhamma]

So,the great conservitive media empire is nothing but a manufactured mirage? Go figure!!

[Peabodies]

MGhamma -- In other countries, in other times, such a grip would have been written about as ... f.a.s.c.i.s.m.

[LoyalOpposition]

Clear Channel has a monopoly and is not serving the public good. Lowry Mays is a Texas insider that likes to keep the public misinformed and thereby steer the "public opinion," to the right wing Republican talking points. The people of that state need to have the "lunch counter" radio programming integrated and need those outside the state to help liberate them. I am sure that they are grateful for this article and to have some light shed on their predicament, just as those other hostage states.

[1dogs2]

Perhaps the Obama DoJ will take its responsibility to enforce the anti-trust laws more seriously than the previous administration.

[KoolAidDrinkersAnonymous]

This is bunk...

You still have to sell commercial time in order to make a profit. Only conservative talk radio is making a profit, always has been that way, always will be.

Look at the billions that the rich libs have thrown at air america, yet they have never even had so much as one profitable quarter in their long history?

The truth hurts sometimes.

[emlr]

I'm sorry you must have missed this part of the article:
"If you can sell a 60-second spot for $200 on the big conservative station, or the same spot for $20 on the 5,000-watt liberal station, which one would YOU sell?" a radio sales vet told me during this investigation. Ka ching.
This is after the explanation of how the conservative shows are put on the 50,000 watt channels.

[3dtrix]

How would you know? It appears you've never encountered it...

What is true is not necessarily what people want to hear - quite the opposite, I would expect. What makes the most money is not necessarily what is best. Remember the P.T. Barnum line about no one ever going broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public?

[ike2371]

It is about time for Congress to return to the Fair Doctrine, where the radio stations must broadcast both political views in equal time slots in prime time.

[JessWonderin]

Seems Clear Channel has a vested interest in pumping Right Hate and opposing any attempt to control media market monopolies . . . it will never lead or promote any attempt to loosen it's grip on total vertical market control . . . had the movie studios had controlled of radio, they would STILL have the movie business centered around a two or three major studios . . . .

[UncleDale]

The Right wing dominates talk radio because certainty sells. Someone doing propaganda can be absolutely certain in their viewpoint. They can also put everything in dualistic terms- black/whit­e;gooddoer­s/evildoer­s-axis of Evil,etc. Nature and the real worlds we live in social,rel­igious,mor­al-are not dualistic and can't be simplified to black and white issues.
These clowns are doing real damage by their crude,barbaric world-view.

[WarSkeptic]

The reason they have more right wing comedy style shows on TV and radio is because they do well with advertisers.

Imagine you are selling some type of useless product and you've produced a 30 second radio ad to market it. You want to find an audience who is susceptible to propaganda.
If you listen to Rush and sit there saying "He's 100% right!" then chances are an ad for a useless product will be more effective on you

There's no interest for advertisers in supporting any kind of serious journalism. What's in it for them?

[Peabodies]

WarSkeptic -- so true. so sad.

[AvramMirsky]

And here I always thought it was because the wingnuts can't figure out how to turn on their televisions.

[Jude55807]

why do they dominate cable news commentary shows? the fact is they bring in an audience. look that maddow, glen beck at 5 p.m. brings in three times as many people as she does prime time. the mere fact conservative dominate on t.v. as well shows greater demand--which can account for for higher demand in talk radio. your article suffers because you do not address this fact.

[Peabodies]

Jude -- source? link?

[Dandelion28]

Except that MSNBC, at least where I live, isn't part of the basic cable package as is Fox. It's a three-digit channel.

[plzchuteme]

I had a job for about 5 years that kept me on the road a large portion of the time. I happen to like radio which should have been good since that was my only form of entertainment and distraction while I drove. I heard a lot of radio, and most of it was bad radio; both AM and FM. Sometimes while traveling through rural Iowa, it would get so bad I would turn off the radio, open the window slightly and listen to wind whistle. It was better than the programing. I avoided "talk radio," as I avoid talk shows on television, but sometimes it was the only show in town. I finally figured out the reason that show after show, caller after caller would say essentially the same thing over and over, day in and day out, is that the listeners would forget from one day to another what they had heard or talked about the day before, and the radio host had no imagination. It was like "Groundhog's Day," on the radio.