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On radio, the right wing is swamping progressives

Written on July 10, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Rush Limbaugh, part of the right wing’s talk radio dominance

Many people are aware of the generalization that there are many more right wing or conservative radio outlets than there are progressives or liberals on the radio. But what’s truly alarming is just how politically unbalanced the radio airwaves are.

For example, 10 out of the top 20 most popular radio shows by weekly listeners are conservative programs (listed below by popularity rank):

1. Rush Limbaugh
2. Sean Hannity
7. Mark Levin
8. Glenn Beck
9. Coast to Coast AM (George Noory, George Knapp)
10. Mike Gallagher
12. Hugh Hewitt
14. The Savage Nation (Michael Savage)
15. The Dana Show (Dana Loesch)
19. The Joe Pags Show (Joe Pagliarulo)

In contrast, only one of the top 20 radio programs, the Thom Hartmann Show, is a liberal political program. Others, such as NPR’s Fresh Air and All Things Considered, are more general interest, personal interest or news programs. Specialty programs such as Marketplace (financial) and Delilah (music) also round out the list, making the dominance of conservative talk shows even more striking.

The Boys Who Cried “Power Grab”

Written on May 1, 2011 by Messaging Matters in Messaging Maxims, Popular Political Phrases, Republican Messaging

Here’s an enlightening post from the Daily Kos published at the end of last year, entitled “If it’s Wednesday, it Must be an Unprecedented Power Grab”. The post highlights the Republicans’ use of the term “power grab” over the years to describe a wide variety of Democratic proposals, from Senate procedures to the auto company bailout to the Clean Water Restoration Act, with which the Republicans disagree. As the post indicates, “it’s a standard play, like so many of their Frank Luntz focus group-tested go-to phraseology.” (emphasis added).

Note also how this is a perfect example of Messaging Maxim #2: Rinse and Repeat. Sometimes the Republicans gussie up the phrase “power grab” with alarming adjectives like “unprecedented”, “major”, and “biggest”, but at the root is always the underlying phrase “power grab”. That phrase will now take its rightful place on the ever-expanding list of Political Phrases Used by Republicans.

You have to hand it to the Republicans: they know how to stay on message, and it can be extremely effective, especially until folks like us and the Daily Kos bring it to people’s attention.

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Tags: Daily Kos, Frank Luntz