Liberadio(!) Daily: Fighting for Air

• 

  Tman said,

  So what exactly are you fighting for here? I listened to the interview and it’s the same argument that Mary seemed to walk away from last time I was at this site.

  You want to give everyone who has an opinion the ability to broadcast through the TV/Radio airwaves.

  Great! Except they can already do that, it just isn’t free. What you seem to be arguing for is that you want the government to pay for broadcasting of these same individuals that reaches the levels of what large corporations pay to broadcast whatever they want to.

  So you want the government to do what exactly? Open a TV station? What’s wrong with PBS and NPR? You want more funds for NPR and PBS?

  I’m with you in arguing for keeping the reigns on monopoly ownership of the companies that broadcast the news, but I’m more worried that what you are proposing is to give the government MORE power to control the marketplace. And that I am definitely NOT for. We already have Antitrust laws and the Justice Department has an entire division devoted to enforcing Anti-trust laws.

  The companies that have paid for the routers and the servers that provide people with what we read and watch on the internet aren’t doing it for charity. They are doing it to turn a profit. Google doesn’t exist to provide things for free, they exist because they are profitable.

  I ask you again, like I did last time- WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT?

• 

  Freddie said,

  Tman, I kind of feel like you and Mary are talking around one another. I can’t speak for Mary, but what I hear her saying is that, since the public airwaves exist at the pleasure of the state (which, presumably, comprises the people), that use of those airwaves should make some reasonable attempt to serve the public interest.

  What I hear you saying is that who defines “reasonable attempt” potentially amounts to unreasonable government intervention in media, particularly in terms of defining content.

  I can tell you for a fact that both Mary and I see what appears to be a market failure, wherein advertiser-supported conservative talk radio completely dominates the commercial radio market in an overwhelmingly Democratic county. We’re actively working to create a larger supply for the demand we perceive.

  I personally think it would be great if the FCC granted municipalities of a certain size at least LPFM licenses for community radio stations, where programming was managed similarly to how it is with Radio Free Nashville. Whether such stations would be managed municipally is an open question. I think Radio Free Nashville attempts to keep the interests of the community in mind, but right-leaning community members who wanted access to the airwaves through a non-profit organized primarily by left-leaning community members might encounter unintentional resistance. How a balanced programming council, committee, what have you could be best organized, I don’t know.

• 

  Tman said,

  Freddie,

  Thanks for your response.

  “We’re actively working to create a larger supply for the demand we perceive.”

  But this demand isn’t based on any facts. Just because it’s a primarily democratic region doesn’t mean that there is automatically more of a demand for liberal radio programming. Maybe some democrats don’t like to listen to the radio. Maybe that’s why liberal programming doesn’t survive in the market-because there isn’t enough of a DEMAND for it. Obviously there is plenty of demand for it on television, the success of the Daily Show and other liberal leaning programming reflects this.

  What you are advocating is a very slippery slope. The government should never be used to “level the playing field” in the marketplace of ideas. You’re saying- “Government has enormous power; let’s use that power to make things good.” It’s the wrong tool for the job. It’s like you are trying to fix my wristwatch with a ball pein hammer.

  I think the reason that conservatives dominate talk radio is because there is a huge demand for conservative talk radio. This may be because conservatives are underrepresented in the rest of the media. The demand just isn’t there for liberal talk radio. NPR and PBS, two tax-payer funded stations that are arguably left leaning (ahem), get government funding in the millions of dollars every year, and they don’t even come close to conservative radio as far as demand is concerned.

• 

  Freddie said,

  Um, actually our perception is based entirely on facts:

  1. A steadily growing number of subscribers to our email newsletter
  2. Steadily increasing web traffic to our website
  3. Consistent anecdotal evidence that people beyond our personal circles of friends and acquaintances are listening
  4. Commitments from sponsors for adding a slot on a commercial station (a recent development)

  We started our show on a volunteer basis at WRVU, which includes as part of its mission counter-programming generally available content. This was our method of doing market research. The research has revealed that there is absolutely no supply and yet there is demand.

• 

  Tman said,

  “The research has revealed that there is absolutely no supply and yet there is demand. “

  NPR? Doesn’t that count? They have both an AM and FM station too.

  The fact is that if there was a demand for liberal radio programming, there would be more liberal programming. The people/companies who advertise on radio just want the best return on their ads, thus they pay the stations that give them the best return. If there were more advertisers who thought that they would get a better return through liberal radio programming, then they would be advertising on them. Your “facts” don’t really tell a whole lot. Anectdotal evidence, website visits (*chuckle*) and a “commitment from sponsors” does not necessarily equate in to a huge untapped market for liberal programming.

  For instance, one would conclude that New York City has a liberal leaning electorate, as that’s the way they vote. However, when Air America attempted to break in to the market, on the shoulders of massive investments from liberal benefactors no less, they have failed miserably. The numbers don’t lie.

  I would be interested in hearing your explanation for the failure of liberal radio programming in Nashville. Why do you think there aren’t more liberal radio stations in Nashville?

• 

  Freddie said,

  I think the reason there are no liberal radio stations is that no one has ever tried to create one. If you know of one that was started and failed, I’d love to hear the story.

  And please don’t try to sell me the opinion that NPR is liberal. Merely not adhering to a conservative viewpoint does not make something liberal.

• 

  Tman said,

  “Merely not adhering to a conservative viewpoint does not make something liberal.”

  Sooooo that makes NPR a Marxist station? Libertarian? Zoororaastrian?

  Let me ask you something, if someone takes a poll of the political affiliation of all of the employees at a radio station, and the results indicate a healthy majority vote for one particular party on a consistent basis, would it be accurate to say that there is a “political bias” at this radio station?

• 

  Freddie said,

  Nope. That would instead be great fodder for someone to write a book called How to Lie with Statistics, while sociologists researched the reasons for why that circumstance came to exist. Correlations are rarely as black and white as people creating soundbites admit.

• 

  Tman said,

  “Correlations are rarely as black and white as people creating soundbites admit. “

  Yeah, it’s almost like someone saying that there is a big market for liberal radio programming because a bunch of people signed up for a newsletter or something. Crazy huh?

  But seriously Freddie, are you really saying that you don’t think NPR has a liberal bias? Bill Moyers? Fresh Air? All Things Considered?
  C’mon man. That’s just ridiculous. You’re not making a good argument by pretending that there isn’t any liberal radio programming in Nashville. I’ll agree with you that there is far more conservative talk radio than liberal, but to say there isn’t ANY liberal programming and ignore NPR altogether -which ironically would qualify as the type of government sponsored radio show you are seeming to be asking for- is just silly.

• 

  Freddie said,

  I never said there was a “big market”. I said I had evidence of demand, which I do.

  I am really saying that I don’t think NPR has a liberal bias. They do not even come close to presenting news in the ways that Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, Phil Valentine, or Steve Gill do. Or even a Neil Cavuto or a Brit Hume. And for each Bill Moyers you present, NPR and PBS provide airtime to a Jonah Goldberg or a David Brooks. I’m confident that you’ll reply that there are more left-leaning hosts and commentators on NPR than I’m acknowledging, and you might even come up with a Heritage Foundation study revealing that NPR is communist, to which I would probably respond with a Media Matters for America study revealing that Fox News is fascist and NPR is neutral.

  When I want an alternative to Phil Valentine and Steve Gill, someone ranting and insulting people who hold alternative viewpoints, I’m not going to find it on WPLN. And, honestly, that’s not even the type of content Mary and I are setting out to create. We will be much more outright opinionated and editorializing than NPR will be. But when I want liberal talk in this area as an antidote to WLAC and WTN, I don’t turn to WPLN; I go the Internet and visit Air America.

  I’ll go ahead and state for posterity that we’re so far apart that neither of us are going to make any points that the other will concede, so my end of swatting gadflies is done for now. See you on another post soon, I’m sure.

• 

  Tman said,

  Well, it’s been fun anyways Freddie.

  I’m still at a lost to see why you think the government needs to get involved in “levelling the playing field” of talk radio, but I’m sure it makes perfect sense to you.

  I think you’re still trying to use a hammer to fix a wristwatch though. Be careful what you wish for, sometimes when the government is used to “level the playing field” there are unintended consequences.

• 

  Freddie said,

  Tman, I always enjoy a good discussion. Sometimes it’s just necessary to admit that it isn’t going anywhere.

  To clarify, Mary and I have discussed some of the things she’s advocating in terms of “balance” on the airwaves, and we don’t always agree. I don’t agree that some governmental oversight authority needs to step in and make WLAC or WTN alter their programming. I do think it would be nice if there were a broadcast opportunity based on community interest rather than profit in a number of communities, but it’s not an idea that I’m going to be able to defend fully until I’ve considered all the ramifications.

  Bottom line: I’m no supporter of governmental control of airwaves, just as I’m no supporter of warrantless governmental scrutiny of the private lives of its citizens. The latter’s another discussion for another time, though…

• 

  Tman said,

  Thanks for the further clarification Freddie. I may not agree with all of your political views, but for whatever it’s worth I wish you both luck in getting a decent liberal station (*cough*besides NPR*cough*) in Nashville off the ground and up and running.

  I fully support the rights of the individual to get their voice heard no matter what the message. The beauty of the radio is that I don’t have to listen to it if I don’t like it.

• 

  Liberal Biased Media. Period. - Page 13 - Political Hotwire said,

  [...] Originally Posted by rajlimosiba I live in the largest public radio market in the US. The station gets 2% of it’s funding from the government. Do some reasearch on how much cash goes from the feds to public stations…hardly any. NPR and PRI certainly do some in depth reports on people and places around the world, but the actual news segments, Morning Edition, etc, are called Nice Polite Republicans=NPR, amongst many people I know, and I listen to public radio exclusively. From the site with the header: "Liberate your radio from the right" Liberadio this is their link Liberadio(!) - Nashville’s Liberal Talk Radio Show "I think the reason that conservatives dominate talk radio is because there is a huge demand for conservative talk radio. This may be because conservatives are underrepresented in the rest of the media. The demand just isn’t there for liberal talk radio. NPR and PBS, two tax-payer funded stations that are arguably left leaning (ahem), get government funding in the millions of dollars every year, and they don’t even come close to conservative radio as far as demand is concerned." Remember this statement is from a liberal. __________________ Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause.–Victor Hugo [...]

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