Talk Radio

Conservative Media.

Through the last few decades of the twentieth century, conservative politicians, religious leaders, and other public figures often decried the "liberal media," but in the 1990s conservatives themselves found their media niche—talk radio. By far, talk-radio shows across the nation were dominated by conservative ideologues who attacked everything from feminism and welfare to gun control and the president, although a few liberals remained on the air. By the middle of the decade talk radio was the second most pervasive radio format in the nation, following only country music, and the number of talk stations had increased to one thousand, up from two hundred only ten years before. One talk station manager suggested the reason that conservatives dominated was that they were simply more entertaining. Liberals, he said, "are genetically engineered not to offend anybody. People who go on the air afraid of offending are...