Real radio war is between big and small, not right and left

Talk radio is blamed — or credited, if you wish — for killing President George W. Bush's immigration legislation. The beast has turned on its friend, and bitten him in the (right) rear.

Don't look for retribution, however. The right will not turn on its mouthpiece and refuse to appear on its programs or halt conservative talkers' access to influential leaders.

Talk radio and the right need each other, and it didn't happen overnight.

Radio is a medium particularly well-suited to heated rhetoric. In the Depression era, the Rev. Charles Coughlin and Louisiana Gov. Huey Long were early radio demagogues. Many of the great talkers, then and now, would never survive on television; their appeal is in their voice and willingness to say outrageous things that people say when they are semi-anonymous.

Most listeners wouldn't know their favorite talker if they saw him in a restaurant. That's not the case with even marginal television figures. In similar manner, people say things in e-mail messages they would never say in a meeting or conversation. Anonymity encourages bad manners.

Hard-core conservatives are essentially against things, from immigration to feminism and gay rights, environmentalism and social welfare. They yearn for simpler times when America was strong, masculine and white, and didn't coddle criminals and misfits. They dislike — even hate — government beyond its role in providing security and infrastructure.

This audience wants its world black and white, with targets to blame when things go wrong. The radio host who angrily denounces these targets will acquire listeners. Anger seems to go with strong conservatism — even when Republicans controlled all three branches of government, they were angry!

By contrast, the essence of a liberal is acceptance of gray areas; in the liberal world, there is respect for debate and due process. Liberals see government as part of the solution — conservatives see it as part of the problem. Liberals are not as prone to savage their enemies — they are less certain who those enemies are.

Liberals are the U.N.; conservatives are NATO.

Frightening times, such as 9/11, empower those willing to appeal to the worst fears of their audience. During the McCarthy era, when fear of communism swept the country, right-wing commentators dominated radio.

A 1950 study found an audience of 55 million for WestbrookPegler and Fulton Lewis Jr., both of whom had fascist tendencies. Liberal commentator Drew Pearson had an audience of 15 million, and 25 million listened to Walter Winchell, whose views were unpredictable but who was close to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

Before talk radio, these commentators had great influence. The term "talk" is actually somewhat of a misnomer, because on many shows the only talk is by the host and those who agree with his opinion — critics are quickly dismissed, often rudely and abruptly.

Television scrambled the media world in the '50s, particularly national radio networks programmed for families. Niche radio emerged, focusing on rock and roll, religion, country western or news. In 1988, Rush Limbaugh created a talk niche, a strange and angry blend of humor with sexism and racism.

Talk and the angry right are a slice of America, not about to change — but probably not about to grow, either. The more extreme they become, the less they are a factor in American life. Even Limbaugh has lost some of his influence as he is outshouted by imitators.

The left cannot and should not copy or regulate them; the real need for broadcast reform is elsewhere.

Concentrated ownerships dominate radio, forcing national programming into markets where local voices once prevailed. One company — Clear Channel — owns more than 1,200 radio stations; other chains monopolize small markets. Programming is fed from central locations; most stations offer little local content. Syndicated talkers get massive audiences from chains, which set the agenda for local audiences who might like another choice.

The Republican majority on the Federal Communications Commission has worked for six years to increase chain ownership, but public pressure got Congress to intervene and delay FCC rules favoring chain owners. A Democratic victory in 2008 would tip the FCC to Democratic control, giving the two anti-chain Democrats on the panel a third (controlling) vote. Like the Supreme Court, a one-vote swing can be a very big deal.

Furor over bigoted talkers or potty-mouth shock jocks obscures the real problem of precious airwaves controlled by a handful of corporations whose only interest is making money and who have no stake in the local city council or school system. The joy of radio was its individual quirkiness and hometown boosterism, joy that cannot be syndicated and force-fed by corporations.