Conservative Talk Radio On Wane In California

Michael Finnegan in Sunday’s LA Times writes about changes in Los Angeles radio, specifically, how some conservative voices who once ruled the airwaves are no longer prominent.  Governor Schwarzenegger, once the darling of these talkers, is now their target, given that he is governing from the center, not the right.  And the aging white male population of Southern California isn’t where you’re going to find audience growth.

The economy’s downturn has depressed ad revenue at stations across the state, thinning the ranks of conservative broadcasters.

For that and other reasons, stations have dropped the shows of at least half a dozen radio personalities and scaled back others, in some cases replacing them with cheaper nationally syndicated programs.

Casualties include Mark Larson in San Diego, Larry Elder and John Ziegler in Los Angeles, Melanie Morgan in San Francisco, and Phil Cowen and Mark Williams in Sacramento.

Let’s face it: conservatives, and particularly conservative talk radio hosts who are still singing from the Reagan songbook, are increasingly out of touch with the direction and, just as significantly, the mood of the country.  Talk show hosts think they need an enemy, a target, to beat up upon, to drive the passions and the emotions of its audience.  That worked very will during the Clinton years.  And during the Bush years, they had going after anyone who didn’t support BushCo’s GWOT (Global War on Terror) gave them lots of material.  But with the ability to now see the Bush years for what they were, that take on things has lost its luster, and its credibility. 

With conservative talk radio in decline in California, one has to wonder how long before the rest of the country catches up.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.