Monday, November 17, 2008

How Right Wing Radio Works

Interesting article on how hate radio works titled, "Former News Radio Staffer Spills the Beans on How Shock Jocks Inspire Hatred and Anger".
"To succeed, a talk show host must perpetuate the notion that his or her listeners are victims, and the host is the vehicle by which they can become empowered. The host frames virtually every issue in us-versus-them terms. There has to be a bad guy against whom the host will emphatically defend those loyal listeners".
Summarising:
"But the key reason talk radio succeeds is because its hosts can exploit the fears and perceived victimization of a large swath of conservative-leaning listeners. And they feel victimized because many liberals and moderates have ignored or trivialized their concerns and have stereotyped these Americans as uncaring curmudgeons."
His experience was with Charlie Sykes and Jeff Wagner but you can see how all of Right Wing radio works.

Source: AlterNet

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