The rise of conservative talk radio, following the repeal of the Federal Communication Commission’s Fairness Doctrine in 1987, has had a profound impact on the political landscape of the United States. Taking advantage of the newly liberalized regulatory order, a wave of reactionary hosts, most notably Rush Limbaugh, took to the air to propagate their far-right political message. Indeed, they formed the vanguard of opposition to the Democratic Party administration of Bill Clinton. And, following the constitutional coup d’état that installed George W Bush as president, the rightist talkers emerged as key regime propagandists. While it is perhaps an exaggeration to claim that talk radio created the political divisions that bisect American society, conservative domination of the medium certainly fed the growing radicalism of the reactionary right. The power of talk radio both to groom and mobilize elements of the American public was not lost on the left flank of capital and, in 2004, Air America, a “progressive” talk radio network, was founded. Yet, this experiment failed and in 2010 the network was shut down. What was the American media landscape like in the 2000s? What explains the failure of Air America? And will the new plethora of independent online left media outlets be able to overcome the issues that brought down liberal talk radio or at they too doomed to fail?
Sam Seder
Sam Seder is a writer, actor, director, and political commentator. He is the host of the Majority Report with Sam Seder.
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