Conservative talk radio

Rush Limbaugh, nationally syndicated radio host

Conservative talk radio (or right talk) is a talk radio format in the United States and Canada devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The format has become the dominant form of talk radio in the United States since the 1987 abolition of the Fairness Doctrine.^[1]

Conservative talk radio includes personalities, both local and nationally-syndicated, such as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and many others. As of 2011, Conservative talk shows own the top 10 of 11 spots in Talk Radio shows, the exception being the paranormal-themed Coast to Coast AM.^[2]

History

The AM revival

AM radio was struggling to gain ratings and was competing with FM radio when in 1987, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) abolished the Fairness Doctrine, and AM radio began to make changes. The changes paved the way for syndicated personality Rush Limbaugh and others like him to rise to prominence by "offering a voice for the 'silent majority'" that he believed had gone unheard by the mainstream media (Which he nicknamed the 'Drive Bys'). Helped by a syndication arrangement that was financially appealing to local stations, conservatives like Limbaugh began to take over the airwaves.^{[citation needed]}

The rise of conservative talk radio

Within the next decade, conservative talk radio schedules had developed the most listener loyalty (highest ratings) and performed particularly well when compared with most mixed or liberal/progressive talk radio. By 1991, Limbaugh had become the number one most syndicated radio host and AM radio had been revived.

Notes

1. ^ http://faculty.washington.edu/baldasty/radio.htm
2. ^ Top 100 Radio Host List, Dominated By Conservatives