Why do conservatives do better on the radio than liberals, and what can be done about it? That’s the question addressed in a study released today on talk radio by two left-leaning policy groups, the Center for American Progress and Free Press. The conclusion: conservative success in radio is due to the ownership structure of radio, and Washington can fix the problem through greater controls on radio ownership.
The conclusion is no doubt a comforting one to left-of-center radio programmers. No one, after all, likes to be told they are unpopular. Yet, it is as wrong as it is dangerous. None of the number-crunching in the CAP/Free Press study contradicts the essential fact that conservative talk radio is more successful because it is more popular. More people listen to it, so radio stations provide more of it. And that’s not a problem that Washington can – or should – “fix.”
The CAP/Free Press study is based first on one unsurprising finding: there’s a lot more conservative radio on the air than liberal radio. Of the political talk radio programming in the top ten markets, for instance, the study found 76 percent is conservative, and 24 percent is liberal. That percentage varies quite a bit by market – some markets were overwhelmingly conservative, while others – such as Chicago and New York – were split almost evenly between left and right.
The $64,000 question is why conservatives are doing better. To their credit, the authors dismiss the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine as the root cause, saying correctly that the “Fairness Doctrine was never, by itself, an effective tool to ensure the fair discussion of important issues.” (What they don’t mention, however, is that the doctrine was very successful at discouraging such discussion.)
Instead, CAP and Free Press point to the ownership structure of radio. Radio stations owned by women or minorities, and those owned locally, they conclude, have less conservative programming than those that are not. Twenty-eight percent of minority-owned stations, for instance, air conservative talk shows, compared to just over 50 percent of non-minority owned stations. Their conclusion: Washington should strictly enforce broadcast ownership rules, combined with strict “public interest” requirements, to solve the “problem” of conservative radio predominance.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.