This Just In: Air America Sucks

Why these idiot MSM rags don't pay me to write their titles for them escapes me. Keep it punchy. Keep it pithy. Keep it "real," as the "downboys" say.

Anyway... here's one obvious reason why liberal talk radio just doesn't, and never will, work, and what liberals plan to do about that:

Liberal bias in the old media. That's what birthed talk radio in the first place. People turn to it to help right the imbalance. Political scientist William Mayer, writing in the Public Interest, recently observed that liberals don't need talk radio because they've got the big three networks, most national and local daily newspapers and NPR.

Unable to prosper in the medium, liberals have taken to denouncing talk radio as a threat to democracy. Liberal political columnist Hendrik Hertzberg, writing in the New Yorker, is typically venomous. Conservative talk radio represents "vicious, untreated political sewage" and "niche entertainment for the spiritually unattractive," Hertzberg sneers.

If some liberals had their way, Congress would regulate political talk radio out of existence. Their logic is that scrapping Air America would be no loss if it also meant getting Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and Bennett off the air.

To accomplish this, New York Democratic Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey has proposed reviving the Fairness Doctrine to protect "diversity of view," and John Kerry recently sent out some signals that he too thought that might be a good idea.

Let me just repeat that:

Political scientist William Mayer, writing in the Public Interest, recently observed that liberals don't need talk radio because they've got the big three networks, most national and local daily newspapers and NPR.

This man is obviously the proud holder of an MFO degree, Master of the F'n' Obvious.

But of course that's the problem. Right radio is an alternative to the MSM.

What the f' is liberal radio an "alternative" to? Reality?*

Bill Kellher, top editor for the New York Times, was discussing media bias, and noted that a lot of liberals were now emulating conservatives in writing letters of complaint that the New York Times was now "too conservative."

Usually, when media people mention this, they claim it "proves" they're actually fair and balanced, as they're "catching heat from both sides."

Kellher, to his credit, admitted his suspicion that most of these letters from liberals alleging conservative media bias were not in fact ingenuous, but an attempt to "mau-mau" (his words) the media more towards the left, or at least prevent the media from making conciliatory moves towards the center to appease conservatives.

* H/t: Thanks for Defense Guy for providing a smart-ass response to my rhetorical question.

posted by Ace at 03:13 PM

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