Saturday, June 23, 2007
Bicker, Bicker, Bicker, It's Different Than It Was
Listening to NPR today, I listened to a pundit claim that the immigration bill failed because of the "viral effect" of talk radio and conservative listeners sending form letters to Congress. It was the pundits assertion that talk radio undermines the democratic process by urging listeners to take action.Uh, what?
The pundit went on to explain that a recent survey of talk radio showed that 90% of radio programs were Conservative, while 9% of hosts showed Liberal viewpoints. However, the poll did not review Public Radio as it isn't a commercial venue, which I feel already skewed the results. I have no doubt it still falls more to the right than to the left, but leaving out a significant part of the talk spectrum doesn't give an accurate portrayal of the situation.
Furthermore, the pundit also made the assertion that Neil Boortz was from the far right of the spectrum. Neil is a Libertarian, and far more moderate than he was painted in this story - I don't believe a die-hard conservative would have no problem with gay marriage, refuse to talk about banning abortions, or rail against the Christian majority as much as Neil does.
What struck me is that despite this tendency towards the right on the radio, political views in this country are still drawn about 50/50. This to me says that the radio plays just as much an influential role as any other media, or the view and opinions of the individual. Perhaps the key difference is that liberals read those that influence their opinions, and conservatives listen?
Labels: Art, NPR, Politics, Talk Radio, The Great Divide
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