April 15, 2004

Newsfeed: Joseph Angotti

Joseph Angotti discusses liberal talk radio

A new talk radio network for liberals called Air America Radio has debuted featuring Al Franken and Janeane Garofolo. Joseph Angotti, professor of journalism and chair of the broadcast department, thinks liberal radio may have an advantage over conservative radio in the current political climate.

They have a Republican as president and a conservative Republican as president and that gives them a lot more leeway in terms of being critical. It’s always easier to be critical of somebody who’s in power than somebody who’s out of power. And if you look back at when Rush Limbaugh became successful and when he had his largest audiences, it was during the presidencies of Clinton and Carter.

However, Angotti thinks it might be difficult for liberal talk radio to capture an audience.

There was a feeling on the part of a lot of conservatives who live in this country that mainstream radio and television had become too liberal. And there was a core element of conservatives who would faithfully listen to the conservative point of view because they felt they weren’t getting it anywhere else. I’m not so sure there are that many liberals who feel as strongly about liberal radio as conservatives did about conservative radio.

Angotti says Air America will have to work to build its network in order to be successful.

They’re going to have to establish a network of stations that carry them. It took conservatives a while to establish the size networks they have right now. So that’s going to be one problem.

Angotti thinks the best thing liberal radio hosts may have going for them is their sense of humor.

I think conservative radio and television tends to be angry. There’s a lot of discourse, arguing and shouting. I think if liberals were a little more laid back, which they are anyway, and focused on being lighter and more humorous, they’d have an advantage. It would be an advantage, I think, that could build an audience over time.

— Ginny Gelms