How Conservative Talk Radio Came to Dominate the Airwaves

On the Media

How did the right get their vice grip of the airwaves, all the while arguing that they were being censored? On this week’s On the Media, a look at the early history of American radio, and why, in the post-war era, the U.S. government encouraged more diverse viewpoints on the airwaves — until it didn’t. Plus, the technological and legal changes that led to the popularity of conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh.

[00:10] Reporter Katie Thornton explains how radio programming shifted from the 1930s to the 1960s, and how the FCC attempted to prevent propaganda on the airwaves. Plus, what legal challenges conservative radio faced during the Civil Rights Era.

[10:07] Reporter Katie Thornton takes a deeper look at The 700 Club, a Christian television news show that helped give rise to a network of conservative Christian radio stations.

[22:51] Reporter Katie Thornton describes how the introduction of high-quality FM radio led AM radio to focus on talk radio, and the factors that made way for Rush Limbaugh to become the breakout star of conservative talk shows.

Further reading/listening/watching:

• Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics by Nicole Hemmer
• News For All The People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media, by Joseph Torres and Juan González
• Shadow Network Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right, by Anne Nelson
• Talk Radio’s America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States, by Brian Rosenwald

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