CAP/FP Report Drives Right-Wingers into a Frenzy

Since the release of the release of a report entitled "Structural Imbalance of Political Talk" by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress and Free Press, a media reform group, the right wing noise machine has been operating in high gear.

From the halls of the Senate to top radio executives to Fox News to a slew of right wing bloggers to every conservative talk radio host, the noise has been loud, angry, and more often than not, filled with lies and half truths.

For example, Senator Jim Inhofe, told KFI/640 in Los Angeles', right-wing talker, John Ziegler on Thursday night, that he had overheard Senators Hillary Clinton and Barbara Boxer say (in an elevator ride) that a "legislative fix" was needed to control talk radio. This was extensively reported on Fox News and picked up by virtually every right-wing talk host.

However, a few days later when it was revealed that Clinton was hundreds of miles away when her conversation with Boxer was alleged to occur, Inhofe, who has called congressional moves to curtail global warming a ploy to increase the ratings for the Weather Channel, back-tracked. He said the conversation did not happen "the other day" but rather "three years ago!"

Of course Fox never really cleared up this matter. Rich Lowry, substituting for Sean Hannity, failed to make a correction on Friday. As he spoke, the screen showed Boxer above a chyron that read, "Left-wing group tries to silence conservative talk radio."

Inside Radio published comments from several radio industry executives that kept the misinformation flowing.

Former New York Post radio writer and journeyman programming director John Mainelli warned "it's clear that these people want to bring the Fairness Doctrine back as soon as possible in order to force their viewpoints down people's throats."

Mainelli clearly has not read the 40-page CAP/FP report, which does not call for the re-introduction of Fairness Doctrine. In fact, the report calls the Fairness Doctrine "irrelevant" and instead calls for a revision of the station ownership caps and license renewal procedures.

Tom Traddup is VP News/Talk Programming for Salem Communications, one of the five companies that were evaluated in the CAP/FP report, which offers zero hours of liberal talk on their 43 talk radio stations.

Traddup also thought the report was about the Fairness Doctrine.

"Those… in need of the Fairness Doctrine or more restrictions on media ownership do so to make up for their lack of appeal to the American radio audiences," he said.

He then showed why he does such lousy of programming for Salem, which is the lowest rated talk radio network.

"Failed radio personalities—including Mario Cuomo, Alan Dershowitz, Al Franken, former Texas agriculture commissioner Jim Hightower and others—have attempted to force-feed liberal ideology and dour, unentertaining doctrine to American radio audiences."

Does Traddup realize that it has been over ten years since Cuomo, Deshowitz, and Hightower attempted to do talk radio. Is this clown even aware of Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann and Randi Rhodes?

Clear Channel is by far the number one owner of talk radio stations. According to CAP/FP 86% of the talk radio hosts on CC stations are conservatives.

So it is not surprising that Matt Scafaldi, programming coordinator for CC’s Brevard County, FL stations doesn’t think much of lib talk.

"When you really break it down, the vast majority of liberal positions cannot be defended against the fact, logic and common sense brought forth by listeners. The host then looks like an idiot, and the audience moves on," Scafaldi said.

But the last words go the yahoos who listen to right wing talk radio.

Several of them weighed in on the Breitbart.tv message board which posted the link to the lie Senator Inhofe blurted out on the John Ziegler Show about the elevator conversation that never happened between Senators Boxer and Clinton.

Here are a few that we found

Rodham: your ass is grass.

I will take to the streets, for the first time, if Clinton, Boxer, or any others try to stifle reasoned voices from their right or left…TYRANTS!!…Wanna play rough?

I have heard it said that attempts to stifle radio talk shows (which means conservatives and free speech generally) may result in assassinations on behalf of freedom. Could there be such a thing provoked by these tyrants?

Evil traitorous wenches. Let the revolution begin…rats like these two need to be exterminated.