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I always found it funny how defensive conservative or right wingers get over their talk show hosts. Say something bad about one of them and its "you wish, liberal scumbag" or "you flip floppin dern librul"
Its almost like god to them; lets see, A voice in their head that comes from the sky and preaches to them what they should say, do and believe....hmmmm
Do you think that the talk shows are still influencing the establishment of priorities and the framing of issues, or have they had less ability to get traction concerning what issues need to be addressed?
Do you think they have been effective in shaping the perceptions of the war in Iraq?
I realize the liberal talk shows never gained much traction, but does it seem that Rush Limbaugh and company are starting to run out of steam in terms of influence?
I used to only listen to talk radio when I was on my morning and evening commutes but now that I've retired, I listen to it for longer periods of time while I'm doing other things at home. I take great comfort in it and I get to listen to Rush Limbaugh more. I'm listening to him right now as I type this.
What's falling off for me is the TV News Opinion shows. I turn them on but I surf while they're on.
I used to only listen to talk radio when I was on my morning and evening commutes but now that I've retired, I listen to it for longer periods of time while I'm doing other things at home. I take great comfort in it and I get to listen to Rush Limbaugh more. I'm listening to him right now as I type this.
What's falling off for me is the TV News Opinion shows. I turn them on but I surf while they're on.
Do you find that his take on issues appears to be in line with overall sentiments, or are you finding that his opinions are less in the mainstream (as indicated by voting outcomes or proposed legislation)?
With the gains made by John McCain and the lack of traction by candidates such as Tancredo and Hunter, does it seem that talk radio may have reached the point of lost influence?
Considering the Democrats taking control of the House and Senate in 2006, and the results in the Republican primaries so far, does it seem that the conservative talk show host may have reached their saturation point, and aren't really gaining any additional support for their expressed sentiments?
I realize the liberal talk shows never gained much traction, but does it seem that Rush Limbaugh and company are starting to run out of steam in terms of influence?
When did talk radio ever have any influence? I have never heard anyone say that they will be voting one way or another because of what they heard on talk radio. Therefore, if talk radio never had this influence you assume they had, how could they lose what they never had?
I think you are giving talk radio far too much credit. Radio talk show hosts are "info-tainers", nothing more. They provide listeners with their slant on political information in an entertaining manner, but they have no political influence.
When did talk radio ever have any influence? I have never heard anyone say that they will be voting one way or another because of what they heard on talk radio. Therefore, if talk radio never had this influence you assume they had, how could they lose what they never had?
I think you are giving talk radio far too much credit. Radio talk show hosts are "info-tainers", nothing more. They provide listeners with their slant on political information in an entertaining manner, but they have no political influence.
Yeah RIGHT!
So obviously the MSM that the folks on the right are always complaining about have no influence either.
I think you are giving talk radio far too much credit. Radio talk show hosts are "info-tainers", nothing more. They provide listeners with their slant on political information in an entertaining manner, but they have no political influence.
I agree with you in general, but I do think that there are people that really identify with some of them and are influenced. I don't think that it really means anything though that Limbaugh's candidate isn't winning though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordBalfor
Yeah RIGHT!
So obviously the MSM that the folks on the right are always complaining about have no influence either.
I think the influence they have is largely by controlling the topic of political conversation in the country. Their reach is far greater than radio. They dictate the topic, and the radio listeners who are interested in politics listen to further discussion and exploration of the issue. The majority of the population accepts the story by MSM as the way it is.
And talk radio hosts don't control the topic and direction of the conversation on their shows - and "dittoheads" don't accept the story the way Rush presents it?
I know several people who were swayed by conservative talk radio back during it's hayday. Plenty of folks are able to be convinced (Hitler is proof of that) over to a particular point of view. True, the core of right-wing talk radio listeners are folks who lean to the right anyway, but folks in the middle who tune in can (and are sometimes) pulled in that direction. After all, if you listen to someone continually harp on a subject (or group of subjects) long enough and it's not unusual to come around to that point of view yourself - either that or be completely turned off.
The other thing that conservative talk radio did very well, was energizing the base, firing them up and getting them to get out and vote. I think in this regards they played a huge part in the Republican victories during the 1990's and 2000.
So yeah, I think that conservative talk radio was very influentual (not nearly so much now though as the mood of the country is changing away from their particular point of view).
Ken
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