Since President Obama was elected with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, the right wing noise machine has fitted rocket propulsion to its flying monkeys. This has resulted in all sorts of apocalyptic predictions from the Democrats that the Right is trying to [choose your way to destroy American democracy].

Obama has been called a racist and the Administration called Nazis, and other uncomplimentary terms. Is the American rule of law breaking down?

Actually, no.

Journalist and blogger Tim Mak has the story:

Talk Radio Gets Angrier as its Revenues Drop

August 6th, 2009 at 3:42 pm

Conservative talk radio has never been more angry and extreme than today. You might think that’s a response to the Obama presidency. But even more, conservative talkers are responding to a collapse in advertising revenues.

According to Scott Fybush, the proprietor of North East Radio Watch, talk radio has lost 30-40% of its ad revenues over the past two years.

Further, in an interview with a talk radio trade publication, Talkers Magazine, late last year, Talk Radio Networks CEO Mark Masters said: “2008 will be known as the year that weak syndicated programs began dying off in droves,” adding that “it has only just begun.”

In this environment, radio hosts believe that anger is their only path to survival. “If you’re not the most extreme person on the radio or making the most outrageous headlines,” says Fybush, “there is going to be some portion of the base that is going to ignore you and move onto someone who is more extreme.”

One of the most civil voices in talk radio, Michael Medved, explains the economic pressure upon the industry. He told NewMajority: “In this [economic] environment, you have something of a push to be outrageous, to be on the fringe, because what you’re desperately competing for is… P-1 listeners [those who tune in most frequently]. The percentage of people on the fringe who are P-1s is quite high,” he explained. As a result, talk radio hosts are feeling more pressure than usual to yell harder, scream louder, and insult further. Talk shows “are fighting for an ever- smaller pie, [which means that] you’ve got to be even louder about it because you’re trying to get the attention of an ever-smaller niche,” said Medved.

All these factors exacerbate the existing negative tendencies of conservative news talk radio. Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers Magazine, notes that “news talk radio has traditionally been a street medium… [that employs] the language and emotions and attitudes that one would hear on the street, by the fence, in the schoolyard.” Of course, schoolyard emotions evoke schoolyard results: a downwards descent into name-calling and fringe politics. Talk radio’s fascination with the “birther” movement is the logical end point.

As conservative politics attempts to reach out and rebuild, the incentives for conservative radio hosts point in exactly the opposite direction. The fact of the matter is that the survival of news talk radio “depends on ratings and revenue, not on getting people elected, or even on bring right,” says Harrison. If the economy worsens, expect more venom on your AM dial.

So relax, Democrats. It's not about you. It's about the growing hole in right wing media owners' pockets.

Confirmation came today with release of News Corporation's annual results. Full year operating profit fell 32 percent and writeoffs took the company to a $US3.4 billion loss, down from a profit of $US5.4 billion last year.

The one bright spot in the revenue picture was the Fox cable television unit, which posted an operating profit of $US434 million, up 39 percent and home of Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. They are apparently getting so angry that they are gaining the lion's share of advertising and driving other angry people out of business.

So forget conspiracy, folks. Their job is to attract advertisers. Although you may have unsettling thoughts about what those advertisers are actually selling to the going postal crowd.

But it's not about conspiracy. It's about Rupert Murdoch's money. Whew! What a relief.

According to The Australian Financial Review's Rear Window column, in the conference call with analysts announcing News Corp results, Murdoch stated that all his newspaper publications would soon start charging for online access:

"Quality journalism is not cheap," he said.

Asked by the Wall Street correspondent for his main British broadsheet newspaper rival, London's The Daily Telegraph, whether he though readers would pay for "quality" content such as The Sun's and The News of The World's celebrity-heavy exclusives, Murdoch retorted:

When we have a celebrity scoop, the number of hits we get are now astronomical."

Yes. Quite. See Samantha's left titty for 25p, 50p for the pair.

Originally Posted by roadkill

Since President Obama was elected with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, the right wing noise machine has fitted rocket propulsion to its flying monkeys. This has resulted in all sorts of apocalyptic predictions from the Democrats that the Right is trying to [choose your way to destroy American democracy]. Obama has been called a racist and the Administration called Nazis, and other uncomplimentary terms. Is the American rule of law breaking down? Actually, no. Journalist and blogger Tim Mak has the story: Talk Radio Gets Angrier as its Revenues Drop August 6th, 2009 at 3:42 pm Conservative talk radio has never been more angry and extreme than today. You might think that’s a response to the Obama presidency. But even more, conservative talkers are responding to a collapse in advertising revenues. According to Scott Fybush, the proprietor of North East Radio Watch, talk radio has lost 30-40% of its ad revenues over the past two years. Further, in an interview with a talk radio trade publication, Talkers Magazine, late last year, Talk Radio Networks CEO Mark Masters said: “2008 will be known as the year that weak syndicated programs began dying off in droves,” adding that “it has only just begun.” In this environment, radio hosts believe that anger is their only path to survival. “If you’re not the most extreme person on the radio or making the most outrageous headlines,” says Fybush, “there is going to be some portion of the base that is going to ignore you and move onto someone who is more extreme.” One of the most civil voices in talk radio, Michael Medved, explains the economic pressure upon the industry. He told NewMajority: “In this [economic] environment, you have something of a push to be outrageous, to be on the fringe, because what you’re desperately competing for is… P-1 listeners [those who tune in most frequently]. The percentage of people on the fringe who are P-1s is quite high,” he explained. As a result, talk radio hosts are feeling more pressure than usual to yell harder, scream louder, and insult further. Talk shows “are fighting for an ever- smaller pie, [which means that] you’ve got to be even louder about it because you’re trying to get the attention of an ever-smaller niche,” said Medved. All these factors exacerbate the existing negative tendencies of conservative news talk radio. Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers Magazine, notes that “news talk radio has traditionally been a street medium… [that employs] the language and emotions and attitudes that one would hear on the street, by the fence, in the schoolyard.” Of course, schoolyard emotions evoke schoolyard results: a downwards descent into name-calling and fringe politics. Talk radio’s fascination with the “birther” movement is the logical end point. As conservative politics attempts to reach out and rebuild, the incentives for conservative radio hosts point in exactly the opposite direction. The fact of the matter is that the survival of news talk radio “depends on ratings and revenue, not on getting people elected, or even on bring right,” says Harrison. If the economy worsens, expect more venom on your AM dial. So relax, Democrats. It's not about you. It's about the growing hole in right wing media owners' pockets. Confirmation came today with release of News Corporation's annual results. Full year operating profit fell 32 percent and writeoffs took the company to a $US3.4 billion loss, down from a profit of $US5.4 billion last year. The one bright spot in the revenue picture was the Fox cable television unit, which posted an operating profit of $US434 million, up 39 percent and home of Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. They are apparently getting so angry that they are gaining the lion's share of advertising and driving other angry people out of business. So forget conspiracy, folks. Their job is to attract advertisers. Although you may have unsettling thoughts about what those advertisers are actually selling to the going postal crowd. But it's not about conspiracy. It's about Rupert Murdoch's money. Whew! What a relief.

so the conservative media is angry because they are losing money, but Fox News, which isn't losing money is angry because they are gaining listeners from the conservative media which is angry about losing listeners........okay....

__________________
....attached to sanity by a bungee cord.....

Look, they aren't really angry. The 'anger' is just a calculated feature of the product. What they are is scared that they will get squeezed-out by a shrinking advertising base.

The story doesn't even say that listenership is down (unfortunately). It just says they are fighting harder for the most dedicated core of listneners.

If the stimulis measures and everything else bring the economy around, advertising will pick up again. So Obama may save them.

Quote:

Look, they aren't really angry. The 'anger' is just a calculated feature of the product. What they are is scared that they will get squeezed-out by a shrinking advertising base.

Exactly. And though Fox cable is doing well, News Corp's print media are suffering badly, along with most other print media. Even Contracycle's vital organ is feeling the pinch with rumours that its Sunday appendage, The Observer, is up for sale.

I heard that the Murdoch press only started those rumours because the Guardian made a big deal out of the NOTW's phone tapping.

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TBH, the fact that nobody has moved and reacted to this phone tapping by the NOTW is another worrying factor in the UK - What will it fucking take for people to be pissed off enough to get some changes enacted?

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Originally Posted by PostmodernProphet

so the conservative media is angry because they are losing money, but Fox News, which isn't losing money is angry because they are gaining listeners from the conservative media which is angry about losing listeners........okay....

Nice wordplay but Fox News isn't losing money because it is the angrier of the bunch... (and also it has the big names, it seems to me)

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Unless otherwise specified, I am posting as a regular poster. When I will act as a mod, I'll make sure you're in no doubt.