Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Talk Radio...who is really allowed to "talk"

roachboy · 09-26-2006, 08:39 AM

1. as someone who has spent WAY too much time at ivy league schools, let me disabuse you of any illusion that the students in these schools are particularly radical politically. they aren't.
the assumption that they are seems nothing more than a function of the extreme right's penchant for presenting itself as the populist victims of some elist "conspiracy"--which is just another variant of the populist right's obsession with its own victimization.

2. there is a anecdote floating about beneath ratbastids claim concerning 'liberal" vs rightwingers and the types of information preferred--i dont remember where i saw this--but in the context of the selection of talkingheads for television opinion management segments, conservatives tend to be significantly over-represented--but this because they have managed a tactical victory over their opponents and recognized the importance of reducing complex matters to sound bytes---"liberals" tend to try to explain their positions--conservatives tend to simply state them--so conservatives tend to be preferred for television opinion-management shows simply because their preferred mode of presentation fits better with the short-attention span, cut to commercial format of television infotainment.

on this, you have to hand it to the right--they understood the television opinion management game better than others did.

anyway, that is the specific story that i remember, and was reminded of by ratbastid's post above.

i haven't seen anything in the way of broader surveys that reproduce this kind of result. but then again, i haven't looked. maybe i will now.

3. seaver:

the tendency to stream information cuts in all directions. your claim concerning "liberals" is simply a reversal of what could be said about conservatives. it gets nowhere because it is simply projection.

had you routed this through the ostensible topic of the thread--right talk radio--there woudl be an interesting conversation to be had because the GENERATING (not reflecting) of the illusion of unanimity of opinion seems to be a significant therpeutic function of such radio programming.

that said, i do not listen to air america so for all i know they do the same kind of thing.

but outside specific contexts, your remark about "liberals" means almost nothing. loop it through contexts so we can get somewhere please.

09-26-2006, 08:39 AM	#21 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	1. as someone who has spent WAY too much time at ivy league schools, let me disabuse you of any illusion that the students in these schools are particularly radical politically. they aren't. the assumption that they are seems nothing more than a function of the extreme right's penchant for presenting itself as the populist victims of some elist "conspiracy"--which is just another variant of the populist right's obsession with its own victimization. 2. there is a anecdote floating about beneath ratbastids claim concerning 'liberal" vs rightwingers and the types of information preferred--i dont remember where i saw this--but in the context of the selection of talkingheads for television opinion management segments, conservatives tend to be significantly over-represented--but this because they have managed a tactical victory over their opponents and recognized the importance of reducing complex matters to sound bytes---"liberals" tend to try to explain their positions--conservatives tend to simply state them--so conservatives tend to be preferred for television opinion-management shows simply because their preferred mode of presentation fits better with the short-attention span, cut to commercial format of television infotainment. on this, you have to hand it to the right--they understood the television opinion management game better than others did. anyway, that is the specific story that i remember, and was reminded of by ratbastid's post above. i haven't seen anything in the way of broader surveys that reproduce this kind of result. but then again, i haven't looked. maybe i will now. 3. seaver: the tendency to stream information cuts in all directions. your claim concerning "liberals" is simply a reversal of what could be said about conservatives. it gets nowhere because it is simply projection. had you routed this through the ostensible topic of the thread--right talk radio--there woudl be an interesting conversation to be had because the GENERATING (not reflecting) of the illusion of unanimity of opinion seems to be a significant therpeutic function of such radio programming. that said, i do not listen to air america so for all i know they do the same kind of thing. but outside specific contexts, your remark about "liberals" means almost nothing. loop it through contexts so we can get somewhere please. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite Last edited by roachboy; 09-26-2006 at 08:42 AM..