Conservative talk hosts, or at least those who anchor Fox News Channel's lineup, are enjoying a solid post-election bump.What bittersweet news this must be to Roger Ailes! He finally gets a conservative in the White House and the resulting epic fail drags down the ratings of his network. Then a liberal gets in, and he starts making money again. You just can't fearmonger unless your opponent is more powerful, I guess.Bill O'Reilly -- not a self-professed conservative, but clearly more antagonistic toward what he calls "secular-progressives" than any other political constituency -- was up 33% in February compared to the previous year, averaging 3.6 million viewers in just-issued Nielsen data. Sean Hannity -- an unapologetic pit bull for the right -- rose 38% (to nearly 2.8 million) now that he's shed former co-host Alan Colmes and, along with Rush Limbaugh, picked up the mantle for the GOP cause while proclaiming his radio show "conservatism in exile." And Fox has further burnished its openly conservative credentials with the addition of Glenn Beck -- one of the least sophisticated voices in the cable space, who started in January and has doubled his timeslot.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Secular Progressives Are Good News For Fox
Hannity wins! Hannity, in this case, representing ALL FoxTV Show hosts.
The last conservative in the White House was Ronald Reagan.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention that... Regan was behind a handful of treaties (an anti-torture one, and a few arms-limitation treaties) that Bush so gleefully tore up when he took office.
ReplyDeleteOK. And...
ReplyDeleteOh sure, NOW you throw Bush under the bus.
ReplyDeleteI NEVER thought Bush was a conservative. NOR did I ever agree with the largest part of his domestic policy.
ReplyDeleteI was completely against the drug program, disappointed he didn't put much effort into soc. sec. reform, against "no child left behind," etc.