Schultz in town
Pittsburgh:Ed Schultz doesn't have an affiliate station in Pittsburgh (Sirius-XM subscribers can get it on the progressive talk channel), but that didn't stop him from making a stop here on his "Voices of America Tour" yesterday. Schultz is considered the leading progressive/liberal voice on talk radio and was ranked as the eighth most influential talk host in America in 2008 by Talkers Magazine. The town hall program will air today from Noon-3pm.
Schultz advocates that liberal Democrats need to offset the conservative viewpoints on the airwaves with a stronger, clearer message. Meanwhile, many conservatives fear that a Democratic win this election could bring back the Fairness Doctrine - a law overturned in 1987 which required radio stations to offer equal time to present both sides of an issue. Schultz feels conservatives rallying against the doctrine are just trying to manipulate the listeners. "Every time the conservatives get in trouble, they start pounding on this ridiculous idea that liberals want to t take their microphones," he said. Meanwhile he doesn't see that law coming back into place and also doesn't think it should. "I don't know how you start deciding 'OK this talk host over here is liberal, this one's centrist, this one's conservative, this one's libertarian, this one's far right," he told the Post-Gazette. "I'm conservative on some issues, I'm progressive on most." Callers with opposing views are actually encouraged to call Schultz's program and are often moved to the front of the line.
Schultz says that for Democrats the battleground shouldn't be reinstating the Fairness Doctrine but rather addressing the issues created after relaxing media ownership rules. Not only do the conglomerates (think Clear Channel and CBS Radio) control so much of the advertising dollar, but also much of the message. "...and there's no guarantee that the ideology of the owner won't bleed off into the multiple properties that are owned," he said.
Readers’ Forum
Schultz is considered the leading progressive/liberal voice on talk radio and was ranked as the eighth most influential talk host in America in 2008 by Talkers Magazine.
NEVER HEARD OF HIM.....HOW COULD HE BE 8th MOST INFLUENTIAL......COME ON….?
BOB - October 29, 2008 at 12:00 pm
You never heard of him because Pittsburgh is so completely one-sided in its talk radio offerings.
Matt - October 29, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Why do talk show gasbags have to be either far left or far right? How about some moderate talk show hosts? Oh, that’s right, they aren’t polarized (or is it bi-polar) that generates those great ratings? Ugh. Wake me up after the damn election.
Dave - October 29, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Talk show hosts have to be right-wing because advertisers won’t support progressive radio and station owners don’t have the spine to give people what they want.
rick - October 30, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Schultz would be a natural fit for a union town like Pittsburgh. He is a go-getter that works well with his advertisers. He should be given a shot in Pgh. With promotion, I think he would generate some interest and advertising dollars.
Matt - October 31, 2008 at 08:57 am
Funny how no one talks about the Fairness Doctrine when it comes to newspapers (NY Times, Washington Post and the list goes on) when these papers have probably never endosed a Republican in their history.
Then we move to television (Rick Kaplan, Dan Rather, the entire NBC news network Couric) where there was never even a mask of impartialty.
Maybe they should be required to have full disclosure like stock pickers.
At least the conservative commentators never claim to be unbiased.
Roy - November 01, 2008 at 08:10 am
Of course conservative talk show hosts aren’t unbiased. They’re rude, dismissive, mean, paranoaic and borderline childish.
But they’re not unbiased.
Rick - November 11, 2008 at 9:41 pm