Popular liberal talk radio host claims libs can't get fair shot on radio

Ed Schultz, one of the only successful liberal talk radio hosts (and in cherry red North Daokta, no less), laments that his leftist brethren can't get a fair shake on talk radio. From NewsMax:

A popular left-wing talk show host claims liberal radio listeners are being denied the "fair market opportunity" their conservative counterparts receive, but a national media expert countered that the only standards any radio personality must meet are "ratings and revenue."

"The numbers are undeniable - this industry is owned, operated and programmed by conservatives," Ed Schultz said during a broadcast late last week. As a result, he told listeners that "progressive talkers are being held to a totally different standard than conservatives."

"What you hear on this program you do not hear from 450 right-wing talkers in America who permeate the ears of those who don't follow the news and [who] influence elections," said Schultz, who is carried on more than 100 stations nationwide.


"This is about market opportunities. This is also about ownership. This is also about being given an opportunity to be on an equal signal with equal promotion," he said.

Ed, you guys had (and still have) plenty of opportunities, especially with Air "we pilfer from the poor" America. AA was broadcast in liberal enclaves like NYC and LA, and it still failed. Conversely, Ed, your show broadcasts in a conservative city and state (Fargo, ND). Obviously, there's more to it that you're letting on to, you know. Continuing:

... "In Miami, Denver, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, San Diego and Albuquerque, we [liberal radio shows] are making tremendous gains, and these radio stations are viable, salable products," he said. Why don't companies that own several stations "go after some progressive talk?" he wondered.

If those gains are as tremendous as you claim, then what are you b#tching about? Maybe this?

Highlighting what he said were the problems hosts like himself face, Schultz said he had been put on the air in Salt Lake City, but after two weeks, the program was taken down after "some soccer moms" gave the station "a little smoke and a little pushback."

You mean...the market in Salt Lake wasn't receptive to your message? Well, it MUST be the market's fault, right?

OK, enough of his pap. Time for the debunking:

But Michael Harrison, publisher of the Talkers trade magazine, said Monday he did not believe that liberal and conservative talk show hosts are judged by different standards.

"The only standards anyone is held to are ratings and revenue," he told Cybercast News Service. "Liberal or progressive hosts face the same challenges that conservatives do."

While acknowledging the success of conservative Rush Limbaugh, Harrison said he "does not represent across-the-board radio. At his biggest and his best, he is only a small player in the broader picture of radio."

Harrison was also critical of the report and those who support its conclusions, saying it merely proves that "conservative talk radio is dominated by conservatives, just as sports talk stations are dominated by football."
The writers of the report "picked more than 200 stations owned by certain companies and created the impression that's all of talk radio, and that all of talk radio is dominated by conservatives," he said.

"Where's National Public Radio [in the report]?" Harrison asked. "Millions and millions of people - some of the biggest radio audiences in the country - are listening to NPR. It certainly is not conservative, but it certainly is talk."
...
"Stations that play rock don't like to play opera. What if you did a survey of the top 200 rock stations and found they're 95 percent rock and only five percent classical music? Would that mean opera is held to a different standard than rock?"

The finishing touches:

Even if what the report said is true, he said, "it's still very dangerous" for politicians to determine such issues for the media. "I think that terrestrial radio is regulated enough as it is while it competes against all the other media available today."

Harrison stressed that both he and his magazine are nonpartisan. "The only reason I'm critical of this [liberal report] is because it's wrong. I would be critical of anything that the conservatives came out with that was wrong as well.

"What I'm in favor of is what should be on everyone's agenda - free speech, the free marketplace of ideas and the First Amendment," he added.

Yes, but "free speech, the free marketplace of ideas and the First Amendment" have never been the left's area of expertise, now has it? That, in addition to their shameful desire to silence their ideological opponents in a manner used by Hugo Chavez, is why they want Big Daddy Gubmint to come to their rescue.