The Democrats are making a huge mistake entertaining ideas about going forward with their attempt to reinstate The Fairness Doctrine. The purpose of said doctrine is to try to even out the bias of the content currently heard on the political talk airwaves. Think of it as the Dems futile attempt, through legislation, to overwhelm the might of Rush, Sean, Laura, Levin, and The Salem Radio Network crew, among others. All right wing, all masters of the medium. The left’s got no one with that kind of national penetration, with maybe Randi Rhodes having the knowledge and radio chops to compete, and Maddow and Olbermann making a stand on the cable TV side.

The criteria for getting air time and national syndication is pretty simple: attract listeners, lots of listeners. Radio’s a business. There’s nothing inherent in their material that accounts for the overwhelming advantage of the right. They’re just better at presenting their slant in entertaining and captivating ways.

I know Rush Limbaugh’s twisting the truth like a baker making pretzels, and Sean Hannity sounds way too smart to believe the lowest common denominator “you’re a great American” pablum he’s dispersing, but they, along with their compatriots, have found a groove that’s working, so there’s no reason to stop their mouth music. Their stations and syndicators care about ratings, not well reasoned and rational thinking.

The Dem’s mistake is trying to legislate talent under the guise of legislating equal time to polarized points of view. What they should be doing is taking Air America (which no one can turn around given the pool of insipid policy wonks the left offers as radio hosts) and treat it as Microsoft should treat Vista: junk it and come up with something compelling that justifies its own existence.

It’s as if the left is admitting defeat in the talk radio space and blaming it on the content, rather than the presentation of the content. The election demonstrated that the Dems were clearly on the winning side of the policy debate. And since these days more Americans get their news from talk radio than from traditional print media (witness what seems like a death a day of big city newspapers), the moderate-left politicos need to see the airwaves as a meritocracy they’ve got to compete in more effectively. In this case, like it or not, the messenger is as important as the message conveyed.

I don’t usually have much in the way of fondness for Rush’s positions, but he’s a hoot to listen to. The left needs equally attractive on-air characters, not legislation that’s the air-wave equivalent of book burning.

                          

The Democrats are making a huge mistake entertaining ideas about going forward with their attempt to reinstate The Fairness Doctrine. The purpose of said doctrine is to try to even out the bias of the content currently heard on the political talk airwaves. Think of it as the Dems futile attempt, through legislation, to overwhelm the might of Rush, Sean, Laura, Levin, and The Salem Radio Network crew, among others. All right wing, all masters of the medium. The left’s got no one with that kind of national penetration, with maybe Randi Rhodes having the knowledge and radio chops to compete.

The criteria for getting air time and national syndication is pretty simple: attract listeners, lots of listeners.  Radio’s a business. There’s nothing inherent in their material that accounts for the overwhelming advantage of the right. They’re just better at presenting their slant in  entertaining and captivating ways.

I know Rush Limbaugh’s twisting the truth like a baker making pretzels, and Sean Hannity sounds way too smart to believe the lowest common denominator “you’re a great American” pablum he’s dispersing, but they, along with their compatriots, have found a groove that’s working, so there’s no reason to stop their mouth music. Their stations and syndicators care about ratings, not well reasoned and rational thinking.

The Dem’s mistake is trying to legislate talent under the guise of legislating equal time to polarized points of view. What they should be doing is taking Air America (which no one can turn around given the pool of insipid policy wonks the left offers as radio hosts) and treat it as Microsoft should treat Vista: junk it and come up with something compelling that justifies its own existence.

It’s as if the left is admitting defeat in the talk radio space and blaming it on the content rather than the presentation of the content. If the polls on the upcoming presidential election and the results of the recent special congressional elections are any indication, the Dems are on the winning side of the policy debate. And since these days more Americans get their news from talk radio than from traditional print media, the moderate-left politicos need to see the airwaves as a meritocracy they’ve got to compete in more effectively. In this case, like it or not, the messenger is as (if not more) important than the message conveyed.

I don’t usually have much in the way of fondness for Rush’s positions, but he’s a hoot to listen to. The left needs equally attractive on-air characters, not legislation that’s the air-wave equivalent of book burning.