Radio Sickness: It's not Just Limbaugh
By John Amato Wednesday Dec 03, 2008 6:01pmThe Fairness Doctrine seems to strike fear into the hearts of the sicko radio jocks that pollute our airwaves. The right wing talkie-kabobs made that a major talking point during the general election. Here's a piece from Murdoch's rag:
SHOULD Barack Obama win the presidency and Democrats take full control of Congress, next year will see a real legislative attempt to bring back the Fairness Doctrine - and to diminish conservatives' influence on broadcast radio, the one medium they dominate
I often post the disgusting rants of people like Limbaugh and Hannity because it is truly offensive and destructive stuff, but there's a whole cabal of minor league right wing talking heads that spew the same garbage on a much smaller scale that still penetrates into many regional pockets of our nation.
Like their better-known counterparts, these syndicated and regional radio hosts have played active roles this election season in promoting falsehoods and smears in an all-out effort to foment hate and distrust among their listeners for President-elect Barack Obama.
While the hosts vary in the degree of vitriol they spew and in their ratio of rebuttable falsehoods to unbridled smears, Media Matters for America and Colorado Media Matters have identified common themes that many, if not all, have promoted over the past year.
Here are a few examples from Country Fair, but go and check out their list.
Radio hosts echo Drudge's distortion of Obama's 2001 WBEZ interview
Cunningham alleged that "Obama wants to gas the Jews"
In the days before the election, media figures have repeatedly compared Obama to Hitler
Newman: "[T]here will be an invasion of Muslim terrorists" if Obama becomes president
It isn't something Santa would approve of. And I'm sure they will all be good soldiers, fighting the scary "War on Christmas."
You can also look through our tag system under "smears" and find a host of others. When you look at them all together, it really is like a mutating virus...
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That I'm going to wake up tomorrow and all this news I read every day will be just one huge nightmare.
This guy, Philip Giraldi, pretty much sums up the bad dream I keep having:
http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/9368
Is he kidding? O'reilly, limpballs, the savage weiner are the angriest personalities on the air.
Why isn't hatred prosecuted? Fuck free speech! I really don't understand why hate mongers like limpball, hannity, Oriely can spout all that hatred. In other countries they would be fucked and brought to justice for being racist and spreading hatred. That's why filthy white supremacist exist in America. Fuck em! :(
Step one: bang paddle against head 16 times
Step two: Read an interesting article called the Bill of Rights.
Over the last few months I have heard several broadcasts by Mike Malloy, a minor league left wing radio host on Sirisu Left. While many of his rants are right on the money, I have heard a few shows that can be called incendiary at best. The night before the election he was expecting the vote to be stolen and was fomenting actual violence in the streets. Oh, sure, he cloaked it in comments like, "God forbid..." and "I'd hate to see it..." but he repeated his predictions (translated as "wishes") of wholesale murder and mayhem on a nationwide scale through the night. Malloy also allows the most insane 9/11 conspiracy theorists free reign on his show as well. While there is much more right wing radio than left wing, one side is not much better than the other when you get down to it. Hate is hate, no matter who you are hating. Jus' sayin'.
And your point is? That there are nutters in both camps? I'm sure we know about that. kthanksbai next
I am tired of pointing the finger in one direction when I know damned well that the exact same problem exists on "my side." Many of the people on "my side" refuse to acknowledge this, and instead prefer to ignore infractions on "our" side, and whinge on and on about the loudmouths on the "other" side. Simply because you know there are "nutters in both camps" doesn't make you complain about both camps, does it? Remember, the "Fairness Doctrine" will work BOTH ways. Personally, I prefer to listen to Howard Stern (he KNOWS he's an idiot) and music.
kthanksbai...jeez
That's weird, i know i'm an idiot but you are not listening to me :( He disliked NOFX, i like it, does that make me an idiot? Sure it does.
Are you a fan of my little pony?
-- or else grievously misinformed -- if you really think that the talkers on the left are just as bad on those on the right. It's another of those "false equivalency" arguments that just don't stand up to examination.
Malloy is full of righteous indignation over what the Bush Crime Family and their enablers, boosters and apologists on reich-wing radio have done to this country these last eight years. He deals in facts. He does get mightily pissed -- but then so do I and millions of other truth-seekers.
Name me exact counterparts on the left to Michael Savage, Michael Reagan, Bill Cunningham, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, John Ziegler, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, etc. etc.
You can't.
On edit: I listened to the same pre-election Malloy broadcast you did, and he wasn't advocating violence in the streets. You'll recall that it was Limbaugh who was salivating at the thought of rioting in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. Malloy was merely saying that he'd understand it if the whole country went up in flames if the Repugs managed to steal yet another election.
Open your ears and eyes.
the RW talk monopoly is the main reason we're in this mess. the coordinated UNCONTESTED repetition allowed them to take lee atwater national and 24/7/365 and the best part was progressives, strategists, media analysts never listened to it and never had access to transcripts so they missed it. it has been an invisible 2x4 for rove and the RW 'think' tanks and the GOP. they were framing with a nail gun and the dems had rocks and didn't know they were playing without a front line because it gave them headaches to hear it. so they turned the dial and blamed shifting american values instead of a bunch of chickenhawk blowhards lying, turning molehills into mountains, and visa versa from the biggest soapbox in the country with an often captive audience of a crowd the size of the one that voted for obama. the talk radio monopoly was the difference the last 20 years, the reason democracy stopped working and bipartisanship became impossible.
That's EXACTLY how I see it - they fucking broke our democracy by having a free pass to lie to too many gullible, easily-influenced dopes across America. It's TREASONOUS, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
AT A MINIMUM the playing field ought to be leveled on the AM dial.
Oh, I know that they cry that all of television and all of print media is liberal but that's JUST BULL SHIT.
AT LEAST MAKE AN EFFORT to be TRUTHFUL.
Seriously, can you compare Bill Press to Michael Savage?
Thom Hartmann to Mark Levin?
Ed Schultz to Rush Limbaugh?
Alan Colmes to Sean Hannity?
The right wing radio jocks MAKE A FORTUNE out of DELIBERATELY misleading and lying to Americans. It's treasonous and there IS a case for the Fairness Doctrine in a just, civilized society.
the right argues the market demands limbaugh but he, nor anyone will ever make 1/2BIL$ for truth or wisdom or selling hot water heaters, hardwood flooring, and penile enhancement formula, although i'm not so sure about the last one.
One of the best radio hosts out there.
What a contrast to all of the reich-wing screechers.
It's that dangerous word "fairness" that scares the crap out of them. Because if they have to submit to a real discussion of actual fairness, where they don't get to define the term and put their spin on it, they know they don't have a chance of conning anyone.
They can only survive by cheating.
CONSERVATIVES FEAR FAIRNESS!
good god shut him up
Imus is booted for saying "nappy....." yet Limp gets to say "big ears" and "terrorist"
Get rid of him already!
Too late rush. Nice theory for a madman, but you're too late. Nobody cares.
Bring back the Fairness Doctrine. I'd love to see some hateful, fear-mongering heads explode.
Yes, i agree that's the key, bring back the fairness doctrine, but if they can't, America will have to learn to tune these people out on their own. Based on what i've seen so far, it could happen with the help of the internet used as a force for fairness, unless the corporations get hold of the net.
That the gist of the Fairness Doctrine is media ownership and the limit of what one company can own in regards to multiple media formats (paper, radio, television) within one market.
The Bobble Heads on the Right understand this and it's at the core of what fails the most about Supply-side and Conservative economics. If the companies are limited to what they can own, then they can't put the same shit on 5 different stations within the same market.
the gist of the Fairness Doctrine is media ownership
No, it's not. Media cross-ownership caps are a completely separate issue.
One company could have a complete monopoly of both print and electronic media in a given market and still be in compliance with the classic Fairness Doctrine if each of its broadcast outlets, as I noted in my comment further down, addressed controversial issues of public concern in a way that, overall, was fair and allowed reasonable opportunity for varying sides to be heard.
It's not the ownership issue that scares them here, it's - as others have said - the idea of fairness.
have created their own broadcasting AXIS OF EVIL. They are FREE SPEACH TERRORISTS, in that they perpetrate character assissination upon anyone who contradicts their rants or tries to "reason" them away from their extreme positions. They lie about or fabricate any and every detail of information in order to SPIN it to their own purposes. They mis-represent the words and actions of others in order to justify their own twisted and tortured ideals.
They have marginalized themselves into a political black hole where America's conservatives have gone into exile... waiting and praying for Ronald Reagan to rise from his grave and lead them, again, to that "city on a hill."
Hannity has been referring to his show as a place for "conservatives in exile" ever since getting blown out Nov. 4
I could COME if they reinstated the Fairness Doctrine. Nobody will have the political balls to do it though. Funny thing is, if they DID find the balls to do it, the outrage from the Right would require an immediate and fair counterargument from the Left... because that would then be the law of the land. It seems like such a Win-Win situation. The public would be required to face the excesses of the Right with balanced arguments. The Left couldn't possibly lose because Reality has a Liberal bias and the public would immediately respond to the counterarguments.
I suspect that this is why they have been pushing the "America is a 'Center-Right' nation" meme. If they can cow the Democrats into being quiescent (not a terribly difficult thing to conceive of), the obvious swing to the left we made at the beginning of November will be muted.
and that's why the right is TERRIFIED of the Fariness Doctrine - they spin it and call it censorship - it's not - it's just allowing a rebuttal of their idiocy.
And like you said, and even THEY know, if 5% of their audience comes towards the light THEY'RE FUCKED FOREVER.
require an immediate and fair counterargument from the Left
Actually, no, the Fairness Doctrine never required any such thing. Quoting my own post on the matter, the doctrine
See the link for more.
Right wing radio is no longer a problem.
When wing nut radio started we had no "counter" to it. Now, with Keith, Rachel, Kos, Huff, Colbert, Stewart and others we have EXCELLENT and IMMEDIATE counter-points. I no longer have to tear my hair out over "talk radio." Let them talk; OUR TALK BACK teams are much better and over time the content of our side will wear them down.
I'm VERY confident!
I think you need an INSTANTANEOUS SMACK DOWN of the idiocy they spew to peel away some of their zombie listeners that are VERY faithful to those morons for whatever reason. It only takes hearing their favorite right wing radio idiot ridicule Olbermann, Stewart and Maher for those listeners to faithfully seal their ears off to those voices of reason.
The right wing talkie-kabobs? Do you mean the Nattering Nabobs of Negativism, the Cackling Cacophony of Conservative Commentary, or the Racist Radio Rabble Rousers? Send them all back to Rwanda, where they learned their trade from EXPERTS.
And end this sickness that is rightwing talk radio once and for all.
cunningham took the silver:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#28041597
I listen to Rush, Orally, Savage and that guy with a girly grating voice (forgot his name.. lol; I can not for the love of life stand hannity) because we only get con-talk radio in San Diego.As much as I would like to have the option of listening to a sane person (that doesnt mean left or right) I dont think Fairness doctrine is in the right spirit of a free media. I wish Olbermann had his own radio show and was as big an influence on media as Orally is today.
The rant John has posted was truly revolting, I remember listening to it and immediately calling a friend and telling her how disgusted I was and how racist and sickening the rant was. But, the reason why it works is because there is a whole underclass of people who really have been left behind in economic terms and feel they dont have a voice of their own in the liberal side (not saying that the feeling is justified). I remember after this rant, a guy called from some podunk town and asked Rush "Why should we bail out the banks with 700 Billion when I cant make ends meet with my 50K salary and 2 kids. Why should all this money go to Obama's friends?" And Rush capitalized on that platform and said "but you dont understand, these people (blacks) have been kept down by rich people like you; so they need this money to buy bigger homes".. As repugnant as that was, we can not force the station to carry the counterpoint to this argument.
We should really consider communicating to the people who feel disaffected and feel no one on the liberal side speaks up for them.
"we can not force the station to carry the counterpoint to this argument"
WHY can't we? Don't We The People own the airwaves? How has that scum gotten control of it?
Paranoia!!! They pay a fee to the FCC to use the airwaves.... nobody is stopping you (or anyone else) to setup your own station. The reason they appear to be 'in control' of the airwaves is because they are good at what they do.... When someone from our side will become as good (Olbermann is a good example of this) they will also achieve similar success... You can not advocate punishing someone for their success...
do we own the airwaves. Radio stations and companies are given a license to broadcast mainly to make sure that the signals don't overlap. Sure there's more but they are run by private or public companies and corporations. They run the business and keep it on the air. We don't pay them to run the station, only give them permission to do so. They stay on the air if they make money. Instead of boycotting limbaugh or somebody actively support progressive radio sponsors. Watch how fast the tide turns.
can also be found here. And they have the gaul to say Obama is like bush, or some other similar b.s. It would seem to me that they are just like those disgusting right-wing propagators but more difficult to discern. In a way, at least you know what the wingnuts are all about.
There has never been a community organizer who has reached the Presidency. If you've never been involved in working with the communities that are disenfranchised, shut the fuck up! On the other hand, you knew exactly what was coming when bush the oilman was elected and we almost got to where he wanted to take the common citizenry, all that was needed was a palin/mccain victory.
...but it's time to put this sick bastard dog out of his misery. He is responsible for so much hate and propaganda in this country, that burning in hell would be the easy way out for him.
It's time for someone to step up and put this sick son-of-a-bitch out of his misery. He is poisoning the lame minded American to believe his bull shit and continue his rage of frustration with the people once again taking control of their country.
Put the dog to sleep. He is sick and incurable.
He needs to contract something terminal.
That being said, forget the Fairness Doctrine. Wanna wipe em out? Go back to some real ownership diversity. That'll kill em off.
scytherius- you say it! I am opposed to any strict fairness doctrine. I think your solution is far preferable and would work.
If you use conservative logic, here are some truths based on that:
1. John McCain stayed with communists. They fed him and gave him a place to stay. That means that John McCain is now, and always has been a communist.
2. Ronald Reagan knew Breshnev. That makes him a communist.
3. Mark Foley is a homosexual who hit on pages. That makes every republican in congress who ever associated with him a gay man who is also a pedophile.
4. Timothy McVeigh was a conservative who was also a domestic terrorist. That means that every US conservative is also a domestic terrorist.
Hey, I'm just sayin. . .
That's the logic of the right! If they want to apply it universally, then the above statements are true! I'm only using their rules!
Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine would not only improve the discourse on our public airwaves, it would save the satellite radio business. All of the Gasbags, right and left would have to move to XM / Sirius. This would save that medium while giving the wing nuts a home, ironically, in space.
We need to inform the public on the Fairness Doctrine. The RW Radio is telling lies, (again, surprised) that it is a tit for tat one to one liberal to conservative ratio.
It isn't.
You can't say tit on the radio either.
when billy cunningham,the tool of old cincy money,accuses ANYONE of anti-semitism,and nazi tactics,he is dealing in chilling irony-many of the folks who transformed him from promising young lawyer,to right-wing propagandist on public airwaves,supported the REAL NAZIS,or at least their parents did.margie schott comes to mind as one who was suspended from her ownership of the reds for publicly blurting out that hitler was basically good,he just went too far.you can hear that sort of verbiage at the cincinnati club all the time.
large swaths of the repub old guard supported the nazis from the beginning,when they might have been stopped politically,and even after the usa entered the war-because hitler did not threaten the bourg. class structure-he stood against godless communism,ya understand.the list is long -the bushes,kennedys,fords,brundages,luces,dulles'-and many others supported the real nazis in tangible,substantive ways -which can be documented-now the public airwaves are dominated by folks who accuse the president elect of harboring those views because he knows an arab professor who supports fairness for his people-and may have made a toast to that effect at a party obama attended,and - the damned liberal press is covering it all up with journalistic protocols.
i'm sure that willie cunningham,who was once a snot nosed punk in ragtag covington ky just can't wait for the press in cincy to reveal his responses to all the toasts at all the private parties and fundraisers he has attended up in indian hills.i'm sure he corrects his benefactors at least half the time when they get drunk and cross the line from acceptable midwest bigotry to something really ugly.just like he does on the public airwaves behind the mike at wlw,huh? i can't fully get my mind around the reality,that FAIRNESS has become a pejorative in the usa,while willie is the protector of the folks he calls "common schlepps" -on the air.
Cunningham alleged that "Obama wants to gas the Jews"
It's the Middle-Eastern cooking.
I have the same problem when I eat my favorite Persian food.
"The Fairness Doctrine seems to strike fear into the hearts of the sicko radio jocks that pollute our airwaves."
When you're a bigot the last thing you want is those filthy people being equal to you. You feel you are superior so you don't want the Unwashed Masses to forget their place!
Fuck all these right wing radio assholes! Their only gear is to be in stupid or reverse. and I'm not sure which is really worse
Right wing radio is an arm of the Bush/Cheney propaganda machine. This is why, more than once, Bush brought them into the oval office for a sit-down to receive marching orders. Then, after the Becks, Medveds and Ingrahams left, Bush had a private one-on-one with his pet, Sean.
This will stop. The wheels are already turning to stop it. Some sort of balance on the public airwaves will return.
They'll fight it. They'll lie about it - like when they compare our public airwaves with the privately owned newspapers. Or when they say that our public airwaves are the ONLY venue for conservatives to be heard. The airwaves are licensed by the government. Let them put their hate on private channels because the public frequencies are about to be regulated once again. I can't wait.
In the early nineties, Limbaugh used to support bringing back the fairness doctrine, because of the 'domination of the liberal media'.
He sure has changed his tune. Scumbag.
As a black man, I hate to admit it, I was actually listening to what Rush was saying in this broadcast. I want to know why blacks are "behind" too. I thought he had an answer but to my disappointment, Rush starts talking about a "movement", Ayers, Acorn, Obama, Wright. I almost thought he was about to say something helpful. Instead the usual hate mongering. Oh well
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