LA Times: Air America Dead
Columnist Brian Anderson (author of South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias) notes that although Air America is in over 50 markets, conservative radio host William Bennett started at the same time and is in over 120 markets (including 18 of the top 20). In addition, ratings are “pitifully weak”. For instance, the flagship WLIB in New York City is 24th – worse than the all-Caribbean format it replaced.
Anderson gives some reasons why liberal radio is failing while conservative radio continues to thrive. My favorite is this:
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.
How true.
HT to Advised by Wolves.
