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Eleanors38

(18,318 posts)

38. You are correct about the ignorance of RW radio...

Fri Apr 24, 2015, 03:02 PM

Apr 2015

and the gutting of FCC provisions was part of that. I have seen instances where radio stations which were Arbitron leaders in their market being sold to the likes of Clear Channel and its RW shout show artists, and have their share plunge to the bottom and stay there for years. I know this is heresy to the Church of Economic Determinism, but ratings & profits were/are secondary: Control and Eastern Bloc style homogeneity were the order of the day. And it worked.

But what could have been done to prevent this monopoly when the Democratic Party was already bearing its throat to corporate power, and there was no longer any institutional power to coalesce and advance a philosophy anywhere near progressive? You had the 24-7, 365 pounding of the Far Right, and silence from the other side. Put another way, had there been a 100k watt station in every major market -- free of charge -- what could liberals and progressives done with them? Who would they have been? Where are they now?

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A stunning visualization of our divided Congress [View all] phantom power Apr 2015 OP

They lost Northeast Liberal Republicans. We lost the Dixiecrats. nt el_bryanto Apr 2015 #1

1969 it would have been more easy to see R=D Sheepshank Apr 2015 #2

Let's see...Clinton was Pres. (1993-2001) dixiegrrrrl Apr 2015 #4

1995? One word.... bsiebs Apr 2015 #5

reagan killed the fairness doctrine in 1987 certainot Apr 2015 #28

and the amazing thing is, the rw radio monopoly couldn't have succeeded certainot Apr 2015 #32

The class of 94 Cosmocat Apr 2015 #18

The gops Contract On America was around that time. Dont call me Shirley Apr 2015 #24

newt and the contract on america were symptoms of rw radio success certainot Apr 2015 #29

Interesting Cosmocat Apr 2015 #43

protests at rw stations and some of the universities that support them certainot Apr 2015 #49

Newt's Revolution & the Contract on America. Jackpine Radical Apr 2015 #55

Interesting. progressoid Apr 2015 #3

And the MSM continues to support the narratve... SpankMe Apr 2015 #6

Agree. And I'd like to see the flow of $s to that red blob that is pulling away from the group erronis Apr 2015 #16

Now, THAT would be fascinating Novara Apr 2015 #22

Problem is Cosmocat Apr 2015 #19

Heck, this very graphic supports that narrative jeff47 Apr 2015 #33

They do what their owners tell them and pay them to do. hifiguy Apr 2015 #46

Yep. It knows there is little viability in the system, so the myth is mumbled out daily. Eleanors38 Apr 2015 #63

Talk radio became a national factor around '90. /nt Marr Apr 2015 #7

Actually it was in '81 when Raygun RoccoR5955 Apr 2015 #12

Yes, but it took a little while for the new arrangement to gel... JHB Apr 2015 #17

1987 i think- really got going in early 90's, which really jives certainot Apr 2015 #39

FOX "News" and the rise of hate radio SoCalDem Apr 2015 #48

it's funny, but limbaugh has co-opted the "low information voters" label certainot Apr 2015 #53

i completely agree. certainot Apr 2015 #30

Yep-- I think that explains the increased uniformity of umm... "thought"... on the right. Marr Apr 2015 #42

Are you sure you did not post a biology cell division nadinbrzezinski Apr 2015 #8

The red one must be replicating cancer then. Dont call me Shirley Apr 2015 #25

That's A Really Fasciniating Way To Present That ProfessorGAC Apr 2015 #9

I thought this was a Rorschach test. I see a red like cancer cell infecting the body politic. kairos12 Apr 2015 #10

+1000. byronius Apr 2015 #15

Great visualization. Thanks for posting. nt okaawhatever Apr 2015 #11

Nixon won after all. riqster Apr 2015 #13

Has anyone done a graph relating this to income inequality? Jack Rabbit Apr 2015 #14

That is a pretty sharp observation (nm) Cosmocat Apr 2015 #21

I think I see Joe Lieberman... :) Helen Borg Apr 2015 #20

Call it "The Newt Effect". Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #23

IMO newt was a symptom- one of the early successes certainot Apr 2015 #31

Remember when Republicans took over in the 90s? Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #34

jesus, i forgot about that. makes total sense. certainot Apr 2015 #40

What is so god damn STUPID about all this is that whether today or 50 years ago NoJusticeNoPeace Apr 2015 #26

ESPECIALLY in the South. Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #35

the biggest political mistake in history- ignoring talk radio certainot Apr 2015 #27

Media consolidation.... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #36

the telcom act was signed by clinton almost 10 years after certainot Apr 2015 #45

It was Bill Clinton who midwifed/facilitated hifiguy Apr 2015 #47

like i said, the talk radio monopoly that made the difference then and certainot Apr 2015 #50

Be careful with talk like that or you'll be accused of hating Hillary. Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #56

You are correct about the ignorance of RW radio... Eleanors38 Apr 2015 #38

they used it to create made to order constituencies, enable and certainot Apr 2015 #41

Still, there wasn't and isn't a "Left" presence to take seriously... Eleanors38 Apr 2015 #44

i think RW radio's invisibility moves the political center. and in certainot Apr 2015 #51

I have a different take. The way for the Left to push Dems is to directly go after the Party Eleanors38 Apr 2015 #60

rw radio is what enables/intimidates MSM and the dem party to go right- by certainot Apr 2015 #61

If the Democratic Party was really a liberal party, it would have gone after RW radio already... Eleanors38 Apr 2015 #62

so, why haven't the progressive and liberal orgs done anything? your certainot Apr 2015 #64

I hear what you're saying, but I shy away from one-size solutions. Eleanors38 Apr 2015 #65

thanks for all that, except i'd disagree on a couple of things certainot Apr 2015 #66

Dem pols' long obliviousness to the consequences of allowing the RW to control the media snot Apr 2015 #58

if rw radio's invisible to the dems they can't expect their pols to certainot Apr 2015 #59

my son is going to love this. he spent an hour taking abut this last night, verbally seabeyond Apr 2015 #37

+1. Great visual statement. (nt) pinto Apr 2015 #52

Between 1931 and 1995, Republicans only controlled the House for 4 years. tritsofme Apr 2015 #54

Message auto-removed Name removed Apr 2015 #57