Conservative talk radio is based in anger, it really taps into the Conservative movement. Basically, rich old white guys who remember a time when they owned the world and could do whatever the fuck they wanted are seeing society level out and try to put all of humanity on an even footing. Problem with that is, it means that some of their power, which they’ve come to see as a birthright as an American, gets taken away in the interest of creating more equality and equity in our society. People don’t like to lose things they’ve already obtained, and that pisses them off. So, they listen to talking heads who provide them with a steady dose of scapegoats for all that ails them in the world today. It taps into this anger, this sense of disaffectedness that is a driving force behind much of the modern Conservative mindset. And since it’s based entirely on opinion, it doesn’t have to be legitimate, truthful or make any sense to connect with the listeners, it just has to be persuasive, and when one is angry, one is more willing to accept an answer, ANY answer.
Liberal talk radio was nothing like that. Liberals tend to make arguments that they feel are fair, they constrain themselves with rules that a Conservative talking head would scoff at. So, even though the talk on Liberal talk radio may have been more substantive and more fact based, it wasn’t as effective at tapping into Liberal anger. The only way to really make Liberal talk radio work would be to throw out the playbook and play on the same terms as the Conservative talk radio hosts…throw logic and fact out the window and just have people throwing out any number of whack job conspiracy theories, anything to stoke the fires of Liberal hatred towards Conservatives. But Liberals don’t play that game as well, and what they opted to do instead was to take the concept of NPR and augment it with Liberal opinion. But people looking for news and information like they’re likely to find on NPR are really more in the market for the facts, they don’t really want someone’s opinion being forced down their throat, what they like about NPR was it’s neutrality, and fact based reporting.
So, what have you got? You’ve got a radio station which doesn’t tap into the audience seeking substantive facts, because they already have a well established and highly superior source for that type of talk radio which does NOT embellish with opinion. And you’ve got a radio station which conversely does not offer enough opinion to stoke the flames of the hard core, pissed off Liberals the way Conservative talk radio fans the flames of the hard core, pissed off Conservatives.
Plus, it didn’t help that at least in my market it was on AM radio. Who the fuck listens to AM anymore?