Killing Conservative Talk Radio, One Market at a Time

"First they came for the local radio hosts...." If you want a glimpse into the real, practical mechanisms whereby unprincipled political power diminishes and silences opposing voices, look not to the nationally-publicized attacks on Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. Look to what happens at the local level, to people who do not have a national microphone and millions of defenders. Consider the example of Brainerd, Minnesota's (population 13,613) local conservative radio show.

For almost two years, Guy Green and his partner Tony Bauer have hosted The Speakeasy with Guy Green, a two-hour political talk show airing five nights a week on Brainerd's 3Wi Radio. Uncompromising conservatives, they tackle a variety of local, national, and international issues with equal parts well-researched detail, principled intelligence, and charm. Though a local program on a small station, their hard work has allowed them to attract the highest quality guests, and their seriousness has allowed them to bring those guests (Roger Kimball, Michael Ledeen, Andrew McCarthy, and Jack Cashill, for a very small sample) back for repeat appearances.

The show's hosts are not rich men, and they are not paid to appear on the air. On the contrary, Green paid handsomely for the air time the first year, including a hefty down payment to prove good faith for the air time, and seeks to cover his operating expenses with local sponsors and listener donations. (The station's former owner and now manager agreed to waive the air time fee for the second year, due to the show's success.) Green and Bauer, both grandfathers, are doing this because they could not sit by and watch their country being swallowed up by progressive politicians and an enabling media. This radio program is their attempt to contribute something to the fight.

I’d be careful about falling for the same conspiracy theories that the Libs start floating whenever a Progressive Talker bites the dust (Detroit, San Diego, etc.)

It’s a BIDNESS. If the ad sales and the revenue aren’t there the owners are going to try something else. Conservative Talk, Liberal Talk, Martian Talk, Gregorian Chant...whatever they think will sell ad slots.

On the other hand any owner who would flip an AM station from talk to music makes me VERY suspicious.

They can sustain losses for only so long before reality sets in and sanity reveals itself in the morning.

One of my beliefs is that much of the media money comes from three sources:

1) Arabs
2) China
3) Russia

These funding sources are not looking for profits, have virtually limitless resources, and will pour money into this country in order to shape our culture in ways that help them achieve their goals.

I see how the media refuses to portray Arabs as terrorists and bad guys -- TV and film always indicates that "white supremacists" are bombing the bejeezus out of our cities. The funding sources like it that way.

It’s well known that one reason so many movie characters smoke us that tobacco companies give studios money to show tobacco use in a positive light.

What do you think keeps them from taking money to show homosexuality in a positive light? Or socialism in a positive light? Or the most heinous enemies and acts against our constitutional values in a positive light, as long as there are enough numbers on the checks special interests write?

Nothing at all. Ever wonder how a movie industry that publishes financial losses year after year ($1.9B last year) continues to thrive and make more crappy movies and programs than ever before?

It’s because Programming the People Pays. If a movie is entertaining, that’s frosting on the cake. But it’s Programming the People that gives Hollywood its Paycheck.

Without talk radio you would lose Conservative allies in a war we have already been losing for decades in our culture and on policy. It would have a significant negative impact on Conservative causes whether you like it or not.

Most of those here obviously get a lot of their information online, but some not only get most of their news from radio, but stay politically motivated by rallying around a Conservative commentator.

I like the few in talk radio who aren't afraid to tell the depressing reality of our situation. Those like Mark Levin who admit the hellish nightmare we are in are very important. Many aren't passionate enough. They lie to themselves, and their audience that they can save themselves within a fraudulent broken system that keeps getting worse.

Those who are truthful in radio don't have the answers either, because good answers don't exist. I wish they would all get more realistic, and help prepare people to make some hard decisions soon.

There is no way to keep the entire union together much longer. There is no possible way to regain the massive amounts of liberty we have lost, or restore our Constitution working through the enormous tyrannical monstrosity of a government we built. We haven't even been able to stop radical leftism from advancing for decades, so there is no excuse to pretend we will now stop it now. It's even more ludicrous to believe it can ever be reversed

Our current government can never be close to being a Constitutional government, with any resemblance to what our founders envisioned. People can accept living as oppressed subjects under an unconstitutional tyrannical government, that soon collapses because of it's well known unsustainable, or they can support some type of succession and/or conflict with the federal government to rid ones self of it's tyranny. There aren't many choices out there. The more who accept this reality the better chance we have at regaining some of the good that our nation was built on. Our current federal government must fall, and then be rebuilt from ashes for any chance to ever have a government that doesn't walk all over our Constitution. It can't be reformed. Some will try to holdout long enough to shamelessly pass the huge problems on to their children and grandchildren, but I don't think that much time exist for most.

OATHKEEPERS.ORG

I fully agree. As badly as the right wants to pick up the pieces and reverse course the left wants to finish our nation off before it can be repaired and seems to stop at nothing including sacrificing revenue, profit, self respect and dignity to complete this radical end goal. It is an evil goal and plan that if not stopped will usher in a dark period of American history filled with pain, misery, death and destruction. We still have Conservative Talk Radio thank God as our main weapon to fight back these Joe Geobbels inspired liberal "reporters" in the so called "press"

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