http://www.rightwisconsin.com/opinion/perspectives/is-trumps-candidacy-ending-conservative-radio-as-we-know-itIs Trump's Candidacy Ending Conservative Radio as We Know It?Party vs. Principle
Jerry Bader
5:27 AM, Sep 20, 2016
When I got into radio as a newsperson thirty two years ago my first job was at a music station, as my next four jobs would be. That’s because in those days even AM stations were still mostly music stations. It wasn’t until 2000 that I would work for the first time in the news/talk format. What I learned in those formative years of my career is that the music and talk formats aren’t as different as you might imagine.
First, you play the hits in both formats. In music, of course, that means the songs you play. In talk, it’s the topics you cover. A host good at his or her craft doesn’t take long to learn that there are certain general topic areas that are guaranteed phone burners. You don’t rely solely upon them, but you don’t neglect them either. Children left to broil in cars is a topic I cover every summer, sadly, because each year some negligent parent finds a new and interesting excuse for forgetting a human being in a broiling hot car.
Consistency is equally important. A music station isn’t going to play rock music in morning drive, jazz in middays and country music in the afternoon. If a listener hears Lynyrd Skynyrd in the morning, they expect to hear some other classic rock artist in the afternoon. Talk stations are no different in this regard. If a listener hears a conservative host in the morning, they expect to hear conservative commentary the rest of the day and would be shocked to hear a liberal host. Yes, there are a handful of exceptions to this rule. But most talk stations have had a homogenous sound for nearly 30 years. I think it is not only possible but likely that the format is in its end times, thanks to the candidacy of Donald Trump.
My friend and fellow talk show host Charlie Sykes has written and spoken much lately about the phenomenon that I believe will lead to the format’s demise:
Conservative radio host Charlie Sykes criticized Fox News and talk radio for creating a "safe space" for conservative audiences that don't want to have their views challenged and faulted conservative media for failing to push back against birtherism in a new interview posted Saturday.
In an interview with David Gregory on Gregory's podcast, Sykes warned that the conservative media is unable to respond to untruths that he says Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is peddling.
"Donald Trump is the perfect storm of a candidate who will say things that are absolutely untrue," Sykes said. "He has an alternative media that will cover for him, that will defend him, that will rationalize for him. And then an audience that, quite frankly, doesn't want to hear that their guy is a liar. They want to be in a safe space. They want the safe space. Talk radio is a 'safe space.' Fox News is a 'safe space.'"
Like Charlie, I’m a Never Trumper. We have traded war stories about the blowback we’ve received for this position. It includes a nearly constant onslaught of listener email and concerns about falling ratings. What Trump has done is reveal a pre-existing condition in talk radio. There have always been conservative hosts who put a premium on intellectual honesty and those who consider themselves cheerleaders for the conservative costs. This has led to minor rifts in the past. I’ve called out national hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity in previous election cycles for denying the impending reality of Republican blowouts. But the format has never seen anything like Donald J. Trump.
Trump is every bit the liar Hillary Clinton is but there is an expectation from a large swath of the conservative talk audience that hosts should ignore that reality and support Trump because he is the Republican nominee. Trump lies about his “birther” track record. Lies, really, is an understatement. He weaves a completely fictional account of how he “ended” birtherism by demanding President Obama’s birth certificate, ignoring the fact that he questioned the document’s authenticity after its release. He then wildly claims Hillary Clinton started the birther movement.
There are those of us with a microphone who understand that being a conservative means calling anybody out for such lies, whether they have an (R) or a (D) behind their names. Other hosts, most notably Sean Hannity, obviously feel it’s their duty to defend Trump no matter how outrageous the lie. And when Trump promotes a government paid maternity leave program, Limbaugh proclaims it doesn’t matter because conservatism and the fight against small government are dead. This, of course, is the same Rush Limbaugh who a year and a half ago proclaimed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker the conservative savior because “he gets it” on smaller government. But Trump is now the nominee and isn’t for smaller government, so what the hell.
Here’s why I believe this divide will be the death of the format. There are still conservative talk listeners who want to hear the truth. I hear from them often. The stations I’m on air Hannity’s shows and I’ve received as much negative email about him as I have my own Never Trump position. The maternity leave issue was a preview of what a Trump presidency will be like. Limbaugh, in essence, will be proven right. Many Republicans will go along with whatever Trump proposes, because he is “their” president. But many won’t. And I predict this will leave programmers of conservative talk stations in limbo. Most have been extremely reluctant to put on the air any host that doesn’t, for the most part, tote the party line. But if they stick to that philosophy, there will be a significant percentage of conservative listeners who want to hear the truth that tune out.
Likewise, there are many current talk listeners who will expect host such as Charlie and me to either get in line or go away if Trump wins. And they’ll foolishly blame us if he loses. Bottom line: a fragmented talk audience means the business model of the current conservative talk format is irretrievably broken. So what will the format look like going forward? That really is an excellent question, isn’t it?
Speaking for myself; my show, for as long as I’m blessed to have one, will be a show about everything from a conservative worldview where I always strive to be as honest with the audience as I possibly can. And I will continue to provide an eclectic array of topics that I believe will inform and entertain an audience. I truly believe there will always be a market for a show like that. Time and listeners will determine if I’m right.
