Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Medved: Talk Radio Dead

Under the title "SOUTH CAROLINA'S BIG LOSER: TALK RADIO", talk radio's Michael Medved wrote a Townhall piece that relegates Talk Radio to the ash heap of political influence.

The big loser in South Carolina was, in fact, talk radio: a medium that has unmistakably collapsed in terms of impact, influence and credibility because of its hysterical and one-dimensional involvement in the GOP nomination fight.


For more than a month, the leading conservative talkers in the country have broadcast identical messages in an effort to demonize Mike Huckabee and John McCain. If you’ve tuned in at all to Rush, Sean, Savage, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, Hugh Hewitt, Dennis Prager, and two dozen others you’ve heard a consistent drum beat of hostility toward Mac and Huck.

Medved backs up his estimate of Talk Radio's demise with SC exit poll data.

Among “Very Conservative” voters, however, Huckabee won handily (with 41%). Again, the Huck-and-Mac duo, representing talk radio’s two designated villains, swept 60% of the “Very Conservative” voters in very conservative South Carolina while Mitt and Fred combined for only 38% (22% for Thompson, 16% for Romney).


And with those details, Medved reiterates his conclusion, Talk Radio is dead, dead, dead.

In other words, even among the most right wing segment of the South Carolina electorate, talk radio failed – and failed miserably – in efforts to destroy and discredit Huckabee and McCain.


Well, okay, at the very end, he ameliorates his prognosis a bit.

In other words, the talk radio jihad against Mac and Huck hasn’t destroyed or even visibly damaged those candidates. But it has damaged, and may help destroy, talk radio.

3 comments:

  1. I think it's probably much more accurate to say that Medved's radio show's ratings are tanking, or are about to. :) Talk radio is hardly dead. So one setback (if it can even be called that) heralds the death of the entire medium? Ludicrous on the face of it.

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  2. I'm too lazy right now to go find it, but I think John Hawkins addressed this already over at RightWingNews.com.

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  3. I'm really starting to get sick of Medved. He's a better movie reviewer than talk show host. He's on here from 2-5. I pick up my girls from school at 3. Glenn Beck is delay broadcast at the same time. Guess who I listen to?

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