You don’t think demographics might possibly have just a teensy bit to do with the perilous state of talk radio in California?
by James Edwards
Republicans and mainstream “conservatives” actually prefer living inLa La Land. Why? Because that way they can avoid facing the cold, hardfacts about race and demographics. Last week I blogged about an LA Times piece about conservative local radio dying out in California. Then last night I saw this on Kathy Shaidle’s site.She links to a guy named Brian Maloney who “refutes” the LA Timesarticle, and says that the rumors of the “death” of local conservativeradio in California have been greatly exaggerated by the lying liberalmedia.
Uh-huh. I see.
Well, here’s his article. In it, he says the LA Times piece is nothing less than “sheer dishonesty.” First off, you knowthis guy’s a complete fraud because he regularly appears on FOX News,which is the lying “conservative” media. And if you want sheerdishonesty, get a load of his brilliant “refutation.”:
Yes, local talk radio is on the decline, becausenearly-bankrupt broadcast operators can no longer afford them. But thepaper never explains what those reasons might be, even though they areunrelated to talk’s own performance.
As we’ve been chronicling for several years here at the RadioEqualizer, talk radio is performing as well as ever, if not better, butis suffering from deteriorating overall industry conditions. Stationowners are struggling under huge debt loads caused by overpaying forpurchases at the peak of the market several years ago.
In addition, music formats have been abandoned by many young peopleand some corporate suits remain hostile to talk radio, despite itsunparalleled success.
Yes, that has thinned talk radio’s local ranks, particularly in hard-hit California. But is it really on the wane? Not exactly.
Let’s see if we can follow this. First, the LA Times publishes anarticle saying local talk radio is on the wane in California due inlarge part to the tanking economy. Here’s what the article said, as quoted by Brian Maloney himself:
But for all the anti-tax swagger and the occasionalstunts by personalities like KFI’s John and Ken, the reality is thatconservative talk radio in California is on the wane. The economy’sdownturn has depressed ad revenue at stations across the state,thinning the ranks of conservative broadcasters.
For that and other reasons, stations have dropped the shows of atleast half a dozen radio personalities and scaled back others, in somecases replacing them with cheaper nationally syndicated programs.
Next, Brian Maloney calls the article “sheer dishonesty” on the partof the LA Times. Then he proceeds to tell us how they’re beingdishonest. And how does he do that? By admitting that they’re exactlyright! He writes about the impact of the economy – “Yes, that hasthinned talk radio’s local ranks, particularly in hard-hit California.”
Uh, Brian, didn’t you just call the LA Times a liar for saying the exact same thing?
Amazing.
Like I said, he appears regularly on FOX News. You can see why.
But never mind his complete stupidity. Let’s look at his underlyingarguments about the long term prospects of local talk radio inCalifornia.
Yes, he is seriously claiming that local conservative talk radio isnot in deep trouble in California. It’s just going through a roughpatch because of a down economy is all. It’s not really on the wane,and will be back to normal just as soon as the economy picks up.
Yes, local talk radio is on the decline, becausenearly-bankrupt broadcast operators can no longer afford them. But thepaper never explains what those reasons might be, even though they areunrelated to talk’s own performance.
As we’ve been chronicling for several years here at the RadioEqualizer, talk radio is performing as well as ever, if not better, butis suffering from deteriorating overall industry conditions. Stationowners are struggling under huge debt loads caused by overpaying forpurchases at the peak of the market several years ago.
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Yes, that has thinned talk radio’s local ranks, particularly in hard-hit California. But is it really on the wane? Not exactly.
People who paid big bucks for conservative talk radio station aregoing broke for reasons unrelated to talk radio’s own performance?
Really, Maloney?
You don’t think demographics might possibly have just a teensy bit to do with the perilous state of talk radio in California?
You don’t think the fact that 43% OF CALIFORNIANS SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AT HOME just might be having a bit of an impact on talk radio’s performance?
Are you freakin’ serious with this crap, Maloney? Oh yeah, I forgot- you’re a FOX News commentator, so race doesn’t matter, and everythingis hunky dory there in your little conservative La La Land.
And you really believe that the decline in the ratings for localconservative talk radio shows in California is only temporary, and willeventually turn around?
When should we expect to see that, exactly? When the percentage ofpeople in California who speak a foreign language at home hits 60%? Ohyeah, I forgot – immigrants bring a lot of energy to this country andare going to reinvigorate the GOP. Just ask Rush! He’ll tell ya! Plus, this bozo found a Nigerian cab driver who loves Rush Limbaugh, so it’s all good!
And just how much of a future does conservative talk radio have in a state where Hispanic births outnumber white births 2-1?Oh yeah, I forgot – Hispanics are big on family values and are going toreinvigorate the GOP! Just ask Hannity! He’ll tell ya!
Great work, Maloney! Hang in there. You keep turning out work ofthis quality, and you’ll soon have your own “conservative” talk radioshow. Just like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, O’Reilly and the rest of the“conservative” liars who keep telling us that race doesn’t matter.