My theory that right-wing media is far more powerful and influential than liberal media is not easy to prove.  There is, however, some good evidence that it is valid. 

We tend to think that Fox News Corp’s ultra-conservative TV personalities like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin are highly influential with Republican viewers.  There are 227 Fox affiliated television stations located across the United States.  And FNC prime time anchors consistently garner larger audiences than those of CNN and MSNBC.  Typically, however, the number of Fox’s nightly viewers is less than four million per program. 

Ah, but 15 million tune to Hannity’s radio program, 11 million listen to Levin and former Fox personality Glenn Beck’s radio program attracts 10.5 million, according to radiofidelity.com.  Yet, these radio hosts are only a few among dozens of conservative commentators on the radio every day, in every state.

I rarely listened to a radio program, much less a talk radio presentation.  Turns out, I am in a very small minority in that regard.  AM/FM Radio is the biggest mass-reach medium in the U.S., with over 90% of consumers listening weekly, according to radiofidelity.com.  And I would guess that the percentage could be higher in the nation’s heartland and among blue collar workers, like those who repair vehicles, build homes, till the land and even those who keep our factories humming.

Some conservative talk show hosts blatantly spread misinformation, according to articles I’ve read about their content, while others accomplish their goals with slanted programming.  They don’t have to lie in order to deceive; they just constantly present everything negative about Democrats and liberals and everything positive about Republicans and conservatives, leaving their audiences woefully misinformed. 

Both sides do that, you say.

Maybe so, but the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, is reported to be iHeartMedia, Inc., with more than 850 full-power AM and FM radio stations.  Programs by Hannity, Beck and Levin, among numerous other conservative talk show hosts, are regularly broadcast on their stations.  I have read that a few of iHeartMedia’s stations also carry liberal talk shows but that the company has tended to drop these affiliations due to lack of ratings or advertiser support.

Think of it, most radio broadcasts are free and widely available.  A listener can do many types of work while enjoying a radio program, whether it’s music or political commentary.  They can even receive programs privately with ear phones.  And statistics – like the aforementioned – indicate that tens of millions of Republicans tune to right-wing talk shows where they are constantly told that Democrats and liberal elites hate them and look down on them.

There are numerous examples of how hardcore GOP voters are misinformed by Fox News and ultra-conservatives like Hannity, Levin and Ingraham but I don’t think they care.  You could give these zealots indisputable evidence about how former president Trump is threatening democracy, and how his policies will weaken America and they would still adamantly express their intent to vote for him in 2024.  

But what concerns me is how right-wing media could influence the perception of undecided voters and independents who will likely decide if Trump wins or loses in 2024.

So, I wonder how many of these folks know that Trump branded Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley as a traitor who should be executed?  Fox News didn’t mention this gross, unhinged statement and it garnered very little TV news coverage, according to Media Matters.  In fact, I believe that those voters who mostly watch or listen to conservative slanted programs, have no idea how strong the evidence is that Trump committed numerous crimes.

More likely, they’ve heard constant Republican attack messages about President Biden’s mental infirmities.  If he makes a “gaff,” which he does occasionally, right-wing media will highlight it over and over, taking it out of context and presenting it as evidence that the president has “lost it,” and is not up to the job.  In fact, conservative friends have told me that they are convinced that Biden is “not all there.”

I firmly believe that Trump and many Republican politicians are confident that they can flat out lie about anything, the Department of Justice, the FBI or election fraud and that it will be spread as gospel across the vast conservative media sphere within hours.  That is how the MAGA crowd creates a perception that Trump is innocent of all 91 criminal charges against him and that Biden committed crimes as vice president for which he must now be impeached.  And many in their audience will readily believe this nonsense.

The impeachment hearing that House Republicans held last Thursday was a complete fiasco according to most objective accounts.  Their first witness, conservative legal expert Johnathan Turley, admitted that he did not believe current evidence would support impeaching the president, and other witnesses presented only unsupported allegations.  Still, on Hannity’s show that night, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Comer (R-Ky.) talked as if this hearing had proven that Biden had committed impeachable offenses.  No doubt, most viewers believed them. 

I wish I had better advice to give.  But those of us who fear the MAGA movement must financially support and vote for candidates who strongly defend democracy and the rule of law. And we must never give up fighting against right-wing attacks on our precious democratic institutions.