The most successful podcasts and YouTube channels in existence are right wing outlets. Regardless of how you feel about this, you must give them credit. You must. It was Fox that first broke away from reporting the news during the first Gulf War. Fox “came out” if you will. “We are in total support of this war.” That was it. That was all it took. Game over for the news industry. The left followed suit in their own bumbling way as both sides of the news industry realized they could make more money pandering to their base than broadcasting real news. There was less money in truth, reality, or factual delivery of unbiased reporting.
The same shift happened over the airwaves with right wing radio.
Limbaugh, Beck, etc. They created massive followings that reached 97% of America, including all the poor folk the left claims to love but mostly neglects right after receiving their vote. Same as the right. Endemic poverty doesn’t play well on social media, and doesn’t offer up inexpensive, long-term solutions. Both sides pander for votes then go back to the usual ignore and deflect post-election. My father fell prey to Limbaugh. Pre-Limbaugh, my father was a centrist Republican basing his position on things like regulation, economy and government overreach into every day life. But by the end of Limbaugh my father was saying things like “The jackbooted Democrats are coming to get my guns.” (Nazi reference the right loves to build in.) He was suffering from cognitive issues, so in some ways he was the perfect audience for folks like Limbaugh.
And my father didn’t understand that Limbaugh was an entertainer, a good one actually, and not a journalist. My father didn’t know that these right wing shows were about propaganda not news. Limbaugh was a master of the bait and switch segment. He would talk about one subject for nearly an entire piece, and then right before going to a two-minute commercial break, he would drop some completely off the wall dose of speculation and then go straight to break. For two minutes that audience pondered and fumed at what Limbaugh had said. Planting seeds. Doubt, hate, racism, discrimination, or all the above. With anyone linked to the Dems as the perpetual villain.
The same thing is happening now on right wing podcasts and YouTube channels. The left attempts the same but hasn’t seen nearly the success of the right. The right has the propaganda down to an art form. Again, gotta give them credit no matter how you feel about what they are doing. It works. Half the country no longer believes in math, science, truth or fact. And it didn’t take that long to get here. Four years to create doubt, four more to build on the phony narrative. And lots, and lots, and lots of dumb Americans eager to play along.
But there’s one question that never gets asked that would bring this entire phenomenom to an end if we really wanted to. When you listen to a famous podcaster ask a famous tech person a question, and he or she responds with an insane, fabricated answer, what happens most often is the host says “No way, that’s incredible,” and the conversation continues. Or when a famous YouTube interviewer asks someone about some current event and the subject responds, “Well, what I’m hearing, “ or “What my people are telling me,” and this conversation continues on. This is total bullshit. And if you don’t know it’s bullshit you just aren’t very intelligent. And, my friends, you are being conned. Wish I had a nicer way of saying this, but perhaps we all need a bit of tough love.
The question that never gets asked is “WHO IS YOUR SOURCE?”
For the love of God, this is journalism 101. Have something crazy to say? Great. Who is your source? Oh, you don’t have one? Oh, it’s your cousin Lonny?” “Oh, it’s someone with liked minded political views who you really want to believe? Facebook? Good grief, we are the most gullible, radicalized generation in human history. I can’t tell you how many friends I have who take what these business people, yes business people, have to say at face value. And there isn’t a conspiracy invented they don’t embrace.
But why is this the case? Disinformation is incredibly profitable. Agitated people buy more. Agitated people extend your AVD, average view duration, and that means more ad revenue for the host. It’s pretty darn simple. Spread your own ideological beliefs, things like “conservatism,” “Christianity,” and hate and distrust of the other side because it means more money in your pocket.
And did you ever notice how they love conspiracy, but the conspiracies only run in one direction? When it comes to their side it’s all fake news, but when it comes to the other side everything really happened. Again, who is your source? Nobody is asking because the answer destroys any credibility they were hoping to have. And frankly, I don’t think the audience wants anyone to ruin the party. The host gets the ball rolling by delivering the red meat of propaganda, and by this point the audience is off to the races. They have already made their mind up. Asking about a source probably wouldn’t even matter. Heck, even questioning a source is enough to put you in the “enemy camp.”
Another successful technique being deployed by these outlets is the guest share. The same guest goes from podcast to podcast, YouTube interview to YouTube interview spreading the same exact bits of disinformation. You listen to that crap long enough and suddenly it starts to seem real. Right wing radio mastered this technique. The left tried with Air America, a truly horrendous offering that never had any original programming and consequently didn’t last long. When I split time between California and New Mexico, I would leave at 3AM to make the drive. I would put on right wing radio and listen all the way to Santa Fe. The ONLY channels you could pick up across huge stretches of the drive was Navajo Radio and the right wing channels which came in like a crystal clear blowtorch.
Am I right wing person? No, but I like to hear messaging from all sides. From Costa Mesa to Santa Fe, over fourteen hours and five different hosts, they were ON MESSAGE. “The Dems are going to take your SUV away, they will come to your house and turn off your electricity, they will come and tell you how many children you can have, and yes of course, they are after your religion and your guns.” (Most of these people are phony Christians to begin win.) The right was and is all about fear. World War III, immigrant invasion, economy crash. They preach fear and worst case scenario. And, agitated, fearful people tune in and increase ad revenue. And pandering means more fundraising from grass roots supporters. Non-fearful people are out doing stuff. (The people most prone are those with no knowledge of foreign or domestic policy.)
And forget about logic. All these hosts know that you no longer need any kind of logic to sell your product. One example: “The Biden administration is the most inept in history.” Or, “All four criminal cases against former president Trump are fake and only for political reasons.” So, which is it? Is this the most inept admin ever, or is this the most advanced criminal enterprise in history, capable of fabricating legal cases in four different jurisdictions and keeping all of them a secret until the very last minute while securing dozens of guilty verdicts in a court system layered up with judges appointed by the former president. HUH? (Another favorite is “COVID is a Democratic hoax designed to make Donny look bad.” Followed by “Biden botched the COVID response.”)
The lack of logic also applies when the hosts ignore the obvious, knowing their audience will lap up anything they say regardless of the hypocrisy. They claim to love the constitution but praise the guy who wants to tear it up. They claim to support the military but praise the guy who dodged the draft while calling veterans “suckers and losers.” They claim to love Christianity while praising the guy who lies, cheats, steals, attacks women and minorities, and pays off porn stars. None of this makes any sense unless you are working on your ad revenue. NONE of these hosts believe in this candidate. They all know what he really is. But he makes them A LOT of money.
These hosts have beliefs, and they come up theories that financially benefit their beliefs. And you pay them to do so by listening and watching and liking and subscribing. It’s that simple. If you are using these people as your news sources you are being played like a cheap fiddle. The best of the best hosts are pocketing millions of dollars a year based on a system of ZERO accountability. Ever heard one of them run a retraction? “Oh, I need to let you know I got something wrong.” NEVER. There is no money in that. And if the audience is willing to drink the Kool-Aid, why bother?
PS: I read this post to a Republican friend. His response was what I expected. Ignore what I referenced and deflect with “The Dems are worse.” When I pressed him he responded with “You don’t get it.” He also tried to label me as a leftie radical, and when I said I didn’t identify with the left either he said “No, you have to pick a side.” Again, this is classic indoctrination. I’m a rare 50+ who tests as an independent, thinks our political system needs an overhaul, and would love to see more than two parties. The existing parties don’t want a third party let alone more than three. The networks and media don’t want third parties, and most older Americans don’t want to change the system at all. It’s the 18-25 that will have to make change. They are the Holy Grail for advertisers, so at some point, they might realize this power and take advantage. (Not holding my breath.) I also asked my friend about the Taliban and the Afghan War, a hot topic at the moment, especially for those who don’t know their history or anything about the Taliban. He blamed the entire Afghan War on Obama and didn’t know anything about Donny’s deal with the Taliban. He was fixated on Bursima and Hunter’s laptop even though he claimed to know nothing about the details. I asked how many of Donny’s inner circle had been indicted and he said “All that crap is made up.” He said he keeps Fox News on in the background while he’s working but doesn’t listen to it. Oh, and I’m still friends with the person. Different opinions doesn’t mean we are no longer friends.
I have plenty of friends who are on the other side of this story. People so far left their right blinker fell off. There are plenty of left channels and podcasts and stations preaching to their base because that’s where the money is. Keep you online, keep you watching, keep you unsettled. That’s what keeps the revenue coming. This isn’t helping either.
I guess I’m one of those rare people who thinks about policy more than what jersey someone is wearing. I’d vote Republican if their policies were sound. I’d vote for any candidate who has solid, realistic, attainable policy ideas. I’m tired of the hate, discrimination, sexism, anger, fear and the rest of the nonsense wasting so much time and money. Congress is embarrassing. How about short term limits, no lifetime healthcare, no special interest money, no dark money, no junkets, no summer vacation stays, no looking the other way on insider trading, no voting on policy that impacts their stock holdings. I could go on and on about these jackals. How about politicians who serve us instead of themselves.
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It always cracks me up when Trump himself does this…. he says “people are coming up me and asking……” like random people have any kind of access to him at all. He’s surrounded by a phalanx of SS and private security people. Random folks on the street have ZERO chance of getting anywhere near this guy. The only folks that have any chance of talking to him are hand-picked sycophants that have passed though multiple layers of security. Man of the people. Uh-huh.
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He has a lot of tells. “Believe me.” When he says this, whatever he said right before is a lie. We have allowed these people to act with impunity and now we are paying the price.
Cousin Lonny FTW. MFer graduated summa cum blah blah from University of Columbia or Columbia U or Columus Tech…something like that. Dude did two tours in the Gulf (or was it golfs at le Tours?). Either way, dude is a stone cold crackerjack.
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Lonny is fun but dangerous.
Daniel-San: thanks for spitting truth. The media has a vested interest ($) in a divided populace. As Bill Maher once said (and I paraphrase): “I refuse to hate half the country.”
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Yes, it’s just so dumb. Our team is right. Your team is wrong. What a waste of time and money.
How many times in that god awful debate did Donny T say that he basically didn’t want to run again, but Biden was going to ruin the country, so he had to? Biden is out, D.T. should bow out as well. He can then go to a “nice” place and play golf or whatever. I know it’s wishful thinking on my part, but he did say multiple times that he didn’t want to run.
I’m still amused by some of my extended family who lean heavily right and think that half of Seattle was destroyed in the “CHOP” zone.
I’m finishing up a project right now for some clients that have Fox news on in the background a lot. I don’t think the terms communist and communism have been used so frequently since the post WWII “Red scare.”
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It’s pretty clear he wants out. Post assassination attempt, he’s a very different guy, and understandably. Especially since the shooter was from the same team. (Unless you listen to these same YT channels who without naming sources have determined it was an “Inside job.” From the most inept admin in history. Geez, so, so, so stupid. Donny keeps saying and doing horrible things because it feels like he wants out. He might pull out of the debates. He might claim it’s all rigged against him. These people are babies and quitters always pointing the finger at someone else.
A very thorough and insightful analysis of how fucked our political system is, and subsequently all else downstream. The problem The Dems have is they serve the same masters as the Republicans.
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That’s why they left Biden in place for so long. when you are taking kickbacks, how bad do you want to rock the boat.
Outstanding post!
As for when it all started there is a much longer timeline dating back to 1934 when the “Communications Act” opened the door for local stations via AM Radio. Far from perfect, there was leaning left and right but basic balance was required by the FCC “Fairness Doctrine” which dictated, among other things, that both sides of an issue be given fairly equal time. The penalty could be loss of license. Then Reagan watered down the FCC and eventually shot down the “Fairness Doctrine”. AM stations went from a public forum of ideas at best to preaching whatever the station owners wanted.
Who was my source? Well, I wasn’t around in 1934 but I was when Reagan vetoed the the Congress approved “Fairness Doctrine” (and remember thinking WTF?!?) and watched AM go downhill fast. But that’s just anecdotal evidence. There’s also articles like this:
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/21/why-do-right-wing-voices-dominate-the-am-dial-decades-of-change-cemented-shift/
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A nice erosion of the foundations of the coms business. For profit.
Jon is correct: the worst of this began during the 80’s under Reagan as media ownership rules (the “7-7-7” rule limiting a single owner to only 7 AM, 7 FM, and 7 TV stations, and prohibited a broadcast owner from also owning the local newspaper), the loss of the Fairness doctrine, and the removal of the 3 year ownership rule (if you bought a broadcast property, you had to operate it for a minimum of 3 years before selling it again), plus a host of smaller rule changes made our current media landscape possible.
Thanks, Ronnie. Way to ruin it for the entire country!
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These kind of things fly under the radar. Like Trump appointing so many appellate court judges. Nobody paid much attention until they were drawn into action. Or corporations given the same rights as people. Or delisting endangered species in the middle of the night, buried in hundreds of pages of legislations just to appease a handful for Wyoming ranchers. People are watching Netflix.
Both parties depress me today. No common sense, just rabid dogma and closed minds.
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Same. But one party, the Repubs, at the moment are far and away the worst of the worst. They had such an incredible chance in 2020 to ditch Donny and bring a younger, moderate to the forefront but instead chose to double down on the lunacy that is Trump.
Amen to more than two parties! I cannot tell you how hard it is to explain the situation here to my Canadian cousins. They’re aghast.
Also, the left is coming for your gas stove too!
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The rest of the world is baffled. most of it anyway.
You’re right that Limbaugh was a good entertainer. On my 1993 tour I got sucked into his radio show more often than not, him venting off against Bill Clinton and Janet Reno. I didn’t grok much of the general politics then (much less than the recent eight years), but I do recall the days leading up to the Waco raid. In fact, I rolled through Waco from Houston up to Dallas the very next day the compound burnt down.
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I was there the day it burned. Well, as close as you could get. Two miles away at the corner of two small roads. The media compound. I was shooting for Reuters with a 500mm mirrrow. PIece of crap. And they never paid me.
The third way didn’t work in the UK. Why would it work in the USA? We have 10 or more parties in Belgium. It doesn’t work either(anymore). Why? I think people in politics were used to make compromise the holy grail. It’s now kind of the opposite imho. That won’t work in any way ever. Ethical change or revolution. What’s it gonna be?
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We don’t know if it will work but the current system clearly isn’t working, so we need to try something new. Multi-party works in plenty of countries. No reason we can’t make it work here other than we have radicalized ourselves to the point we can’t see straight.
Such a good post. Will definitely read it again. A few years ago I started a Substack aimed at media literacy. An important topic, but I concluded our only hope was with public school teachers driving home the importance of critical thinking. Who is the source + who what where why when how + who wrote it, for what audience, etc.
I understand the importance of anonymous sources, but it has gotten completely out of hand. I’m definitely on the left and can’t stand Trump or the modern GOP. But the left’s constant chorus of “he’s on Putin’s payroll” was nuts. Every article in the past 8 years has “according to senior officials familiar with the information”. Rachel Maddow is as bad as Hannity.
The other day a friend of mine sent a text saying “PBS is reporting that Trump is asking Netanyahu to keep the war going so Biden doesn’t get a win.” I asked who the source was. My friend said PBS, so reliable. Problem was it wasn’t PBS. It was Woodruff saying “reporting says” and “it’s believed that”. She apologized and clarified the next day that it wasn’t anything based on any actual sourcing. Watch out for that passive voice, kids. It’s usually a sign of questionable journalism.
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Oh man, public school. That’s an issue right there. I had a conversation with a twelve year old who goes to school in Texas. We talked about “Texas history,” and to say the admin had rewritten Texas history to condemn Mexico and praise the poor souls of Texas who were randomly attacked by the ruthless Mexicans. They whitewashed the entire thing. Texas buys so many school books they can dictate what’s written. Pure crazy. Revisionist. Nonsensical. I know, let’s put the ten commandments on the wall, that will help.
I’m just over here, wishing we could have a functioning government without all the sensationalized bullshit. Public servants who simply run the country quietly and efficiently. People who are in it for the service not the celebrity. But the big money machine must keep on turning, so we have what we have. I think probably the most important thing you’ve shared here is “…they might realize this power and take advantage…” I wish everyone would realize how much power they have. Call me nuts but my observations suggest to me that we fund every ill that is going on in this country with our time, our attention and our money. If enough of us embodied the concept of “we the people” and decided, no, we’re not going to play this game anymore, things would change real quick. I say this without judgement because I’ve played my part too. The thing is, the money machine would keep on turning, to the benefit of a lot more people than the folks with four vacation homes, two yachts and a luxury jetliner on standby. There’s not a thing wrong with making money, even lots of it. But for fuck’s sake, do it by adding value not noise. And drop the idea that real money can only be made by treading on the backs of other humans. Ah but this concept only works if we have a society of thinkers, of people who are willing to feel whatever unease inherent in being human and do something about it other than try and stuff the hole with stuff. And round and round we go. That said, while I haven’t watched any of the DNC stuff, I have observed and felt the energy of it. I like it as it much more pleasant than the hate mongering. I don’t have any illusions that the Harris/Walz ticket will save us but the energy is a nice reprieve.
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Think of the other. Not something we are good at. We teach “get it before your neighbor gets it first.” “Take life seriously.” “Take yourself seriously.” Rich is not rich enough. Kushner makes $40 million a year consulting for ONE client. Not enough. Crushing people, countries and nature along the way. Greed and corruption is the norm. I did not watch any DNC either. No need. I have no choice in who to vote for. There is no Republican party anymore. Just Trump, and until they dump Donny and regain some semblance of dignity, they might as well not exist.
Great post, if depressing. We see similar things starting to happen more frequently in Canada. Media literacy NEEDS to be a core part of curriculum, social media needs to be regulated into near oblivion, politics needs an overhaul.
If you’re interested in yet another podcast, I’ll recommend The Flamethrowers, from CBC Radio. It’s a good look at AM radio, mostly around the right-wing talk hosts. Six episodes, on your platform of choice.
Time to go watch the Newsroom and cheer on McAvoy.
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OH, that sounds interesting. Watching my father decline via Limbaugh was sad and like a slow motion train wreck. I remember saying to him “You know he’s playing you?” “You know what he just said is completely fabricated?” He would smile and remain silent. He was utterly lost as a human being by this point. He’d retired too early, didn’t challenge himself, backed himself into a corner via his political views and was the perfect audience for Limbaugh who took my dad for every penny he could.
Wow, that sounds like a carbon copy of my father’s odyssey into the right wing echo chamber of Fox News. Retired, frail and vulnerable, just add Fox News for eight hours a day and voila, another sucker takes the hook. It was tough to be around, tough to watch. My father was an educated man, doctor of jurisprudence, but still he fell victim to the meat grinder of an alternative universe where being an angry, white victim who traded understanding for hate was the end result.
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It happened to a lot of parents. Sadly.
Danielsan, “Journalism is not a good business model. ” Source: Whoever makes you feel good about yourself.
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Yep, it’s bad. Freshman Econ students will verify.