Progressive Talk Radio Fights Back

Conservative talkers Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly make a big show of accusing the mainstream media of liberal bias. A study conducted by MediaMatters.org determined that media outlets with a conservative bias might actually own greater influence in the media marketplace. Part of this study focused on radio, of course. This is what they found: "According to a 2007 analysis by the Center for American Progress and the Free Press, right-wing radio dominates the airwaves. Their "analysis of all of the news/talk stations in the top 10 radio markets" found that "76 percent of the programming in these markets is conservative and 24 percent is progressive, although programming is more balanced in markets such as New York and Chicago." The study could not have been all that difficult to conduct. Most private or corporately owned talk format radio stations clearly state their political leanings in advertising along with their programming.

Organizations such as Fox News go to great lengths to deliver conservative opinion thinly disguised as news. Fox talker Bill O'Reilly goes so far as to label his faux news programming the "No-Spin Zone" even as he blames nearly every problem in America on liberalism and the liberal mainstream media that supposedly supports it. O'Reilly consistently gripes about the prevalence of liberal media bias, but when 3 out of 4 radio stations in America clearly favor conservative programming, his accusation of liberal media basis is obviously out of whack.

Until about 6 years ago, liberal talkers were confined primarily to backwater radio stations reaching Blue State markets. The battle for radio airtime was not even a fair fight until liberals recognized something had to be done to combat the conservative vitriol that had helped sweep George Bush into office in 2000 and got him re-elected in 2004.

One of the key efforts to balance the outsized number of conservative opinion outlets has been the evolution of the Progressive Talk radio format. Starting basically from scratch, media companies like Air America cobbled together lineups of liberal talk show hosts and the early efforts of Air America were rough and unpolished. Programming snafus led to dead air and commercials played over content. Yet listeners seeking alternatives to conservative talk radio were so eager for a counterbalance these flaws were usually forgiven.

As the fresh new faces of progressive radio caught on, liberal radio hosts wrestled for dominance through Air America and other liberal outlets. New stars reached the national stage overnight. Liberal talkers like Randi Rhodes could suddenly reach a whole new scale of audience. That meant invitations to appear on national forums with Larry King and other point/counterpoint programming. The atmosphere got heady and a few stars stumbled or got caught in the meat grinder. Rhodes made some rude comments about Hillary Clinton at a public function and wound up being tossed off the air in many markets. You can still hear her show online.

Like any politically focused media, liberal talkers run the gamut from mainstream to extreme. The extremists include radio personalities like Mike Malloy, a well informed but highly contentious radio show host who calls the Bush family "criminal." At the more rational end of the spectrum is Thom Hartmann, the encyclopedically knowledgeable political wonk and author who is fond of inviting conservative guests on the air to politely dice them up like pieces of political cheese.

In the early days of liberal talk, comedian Al Franken delighted in ripping into the likes of Rush Limbaugh on air and in print. Franken may be a comedian, but he takes his political opinions seriously enough to have resigned as a radio show host to run for a US Senate seat in his home state of Minnesota. As I write this, the votes are being recounted in an election too close to call. Franken's journey from media personality to potential Senator shows the growing success of progressive centrism in America.

Even with its ascendant growth from 2002 to 2004, the wave of liberal programming was not quite strong enough to counter the political chicanery of the Republican smear machine against John Kerry in 2004. Following the sting of losing the presidency in that election cycle, liberal talk radio realized in needed to evolve into something new, more credible and effective if it hoped to combat the conservative radio juggernaut nationwide.

That something new was Progressive Talk radio. The difference between Progressive Talk and liberal talk radio was semantic precisely at a point in history when semantics counted for everything. As left-leaning radio excised the word "liberal" from its lexicon, migrating to the term "progressive" to describe its content and goals, its contents felt more rational and politically acceptable. This evolution coincided with a meltdown in failed Republican policies that put America in a mood for heavy change. Suddenly the term "progressive" sounded inviting to a whole lot of people. Progressive programming matured along with this new image, becoming more polished and professional.

The strategy in this shift is that listeners heard a broad shift from liberal to Progressive radio. High profile talk show hosts like Bill Press and Ed Schultz adopted the Progressive mantle, jousting verbally on air with programmers who still preferred the "liberal" label. Progressive Talk emerged victorious just in time for the run-up to the 2008 election.

There can be little doubt the shift to Progressive Talk contributed to the successful presidential run of Barack Obama and the election of an increasing number of Democrats in the US Senate and House the past two election cycles.

Chicago is one market where Progressive Talk shows were sparse and difficult to find prior to 2002. Big stations like WLS AM 890 (50,000 watts) ran Limbaugh, Hannity and a host of local conservative talkers. Then along came a small player called Newsweb Radio, the regionally owned radio group that purchased a day-timer signal at 850 AM. WCPT AM 850 ran Air America programming that fizzled out when it got dark at night. Then the station migrated to a stronger signal at 820 AM. In 2008 WCPT took over three powerful FM signals formerly used to broadcast eclectic music under the banner "We Play Anything." The Progressive message grew stronger with the broadcast signal at WCPT. General Manager Harvey Wells oversaw the growth and transition from pipsqueak liberal voice on 850 AM to becoming a major player on the FM dial with three signals and coverage for most of northern Illinois and Chicago. It has not been an easy road. When Air America was suffering financially early on, Rush Limbaugh gleefully leapt on the story claiming "liberal talk" had no listeners. WCPT still nearly begs advertisers to join the station and often runs "complimentary" advertising thanking sponsors for becoming part of the WCPT cause. But WCPT may be turning a corner along with an America now concerned with pulling up its bootstraps and doing what it can and must do to survive.

Progressive Talk Radio has been joined in its efforts of balancing public opinion by the work of a number of fact-checking organizations such as Media Matters and factcheck.org. These media forces protect democracy and promote fairness in the marketplace of ideas we call America. The claims and accusations of freewheeling conservative talkers no longer go unchallenged. From Bill Press to Keith Olbermann, Stephanie Miller to Rachel Mattow, the Progressive movement has found its voice and is using it to fight the good fight. For Progressives in America it has not been an easy road to travel, but it has been a fun road to ride.