IS THIS THE END FOR CONSERVATIVE TALK? (PART 2)....

[TheBigA]

Which begs the question: Today... who defines what is a conservative.

Conservator of the Constitution of the United States of America and our Constitutional Republic.

Blah. Nobody owns the Constitution. It belongs to everyone, including the President, who swore to uphold it.

If Conservatives are "conservators of the Constitution," why do they keep wanting to amend it?

 

[Parttimer]

I tuned into Rush for about 3 minutes today and heard, "we're angry...we're the majority...Romney lost because he wasn't conservative enough."

OK, check back with you in a few months.

In simple terms, that's unsustainable. The best you can hope for is to lose listeners slowly. How do you grow that?

 

[garnet]

Its the old idea that everyone believes their favorite station, it everybody's favorite station, and they'll fight you on it all day long. I used to listen to Sercomish when he'd fill in on Bill O'reilly's radio show...I'm not the least bit conservative, but always thought he was interesting to listen to, and not combative.

 

[TheBigA]

I'm not the least bit conservative, but always thought he was interesting to listen to, and not combative.

And I think that's the problem. Talk show hosts are coached that if they're not combative, then they're bland. About ten years ago, there was a push for "extreme" this or that. The view is that if you're edgy, that will get ratings. Smerconish doesn't play that game. So his kind of talk is less attractive to stations that want to motivate their listeners, rather than be passive and thoughtful. That works better on NPR or satellite, both of which have similar business models. NPR doesn't really want talk show hosts, but moderators or interviewers. So his only choice is satellite.

 

[KeyTimes950]

I appreciated the point made about the news that goes along with the talk.

WPGB actually runs a promo saying it's where Pittsburgh comes to talk, but except for Jim Quinn's occasional forays into the politics of South Fayette Township and vicinity and Rose Somma-Tennant's ties to the conservatives in such areas as Westmoreland County, I find little that would attract me as a Pittsburgher to FM 104.7.

(On weekends it is a slightly different matter, with Glen Meakem's bartered show and some of the other paid time, including the attempt to continue the legacy of Ron Morris with D. Raja on Sunday afternoons.)

Having said that, let's dissect all the talk radio available in this area:

KDKA has sought more local content within the shows as well as additional local newscasts (including Saturday and Sunday mornings now).

WMNY, WLFP and WAVL all suffer for the lack of local content. In WAVL's case, the decision to dump local content first for a second-rate contemporary Christian feed from Tennessee then to go to conservative talk with a lot of shows running on delays now apparently has proven fatal.

WESA could do itself a favor and try for some additional Pittsburgh-oriented programming, beyond its Essential Pittsburgh which runs live at noon and then is replayed at 8 p.m.

 

[Boss Radio]

WMNY, WLFP and WAVL all suffer for the lack of local content.

They all suffer from the massive apathy people have for picking dodgy AM signals out of the static. There are 12 people who pay attention to these kinds of stations, and they all post here.

 

[secondchoice]

But think about it. People who claim to be Conservators of the Constitution are figuring out every way how they can to deprive certain groups of people from voting.... or gerry-mander districts so some citizens have a value-less vote.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/o...-gerrymander-of-2012.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I checked the math part of this articial and got about the same result.

 

[tce]

I recognize that the theme question for this thread is probably ironic "Is the end for Convservative Talk?" But, based on the case in point - Smerconish leaving OTA for satellite - the answer would seem to be HE doesn't think it is ending. He certainly does not lack ego, so if he doesn't think his kind of program can make a dent in conservative talk, what can? He claims that talk radio will be in real trouble in five years if it doesn't widen the tent. Why wouldn't he want to be around in OTA talk when people start seeking alternatives?

At the risk of repeating myself, Smerconish has recognized that he can't get beyond several dozen small affiliates in secondary markets. It hasn't helped him to scale that wall to a national cable show gig he craves. So, probably with some logic, he is going to a safer haven (safer for a while, he will gave to produce listenership at Sirius) while he waits for cable- any cable - to call.

That said, I enjoyed his program - I was even willing to pay for the podcast for a year - until I got tired of day-old stuff peppered liberally with his enormous ego and his sycophantic side-kicks.

 

[Tim]

I think the general public is slowly realizing politically-oriented talk doesn't represent what really goes on in politics: both parties in reality are about the same as far as how what red or blue does that effects 90%+ of us.

Conservative or liberal entertainers say what they do to create the impression there's a big difference in parties, so they get ratings and make money. It's show-biz, a gig. Not reality.

So, why listen? Boring. No point.