As right-wing propagandists reach ever more bizarre extremes, longtime talk radio favorites are falling by the wayside.
As a result, an outfit coyly named iHeart Media, which distributes Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity (illustration), is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
The company’s revenue is drying up as the trio’s audiences dwindle and advertisers head for greener pastures.
In a desperate effort to remain solvent, iHeart has forced them to take pay cuts .
One reason for the audience decline is the disinterest of younger Americans in political radio. And older, diehard listeners are being lured away by even crazier commentators.
Alt-right personalities like Michael Savage and Aex Jones are proving more adroit at making up bizarre conspiracy theories. And they are more vulgar and obscene in their presentation.
In trying to compete with them, longtime mainstays like Hannity, Limbaugh and Beck are obliged to sink to even darker depths, driving advertisers away.
Meanwhile, progressive activists have been discouraging iHeart’s advertisers by mobilizing social media campaigns against them.
And left-leaning podcasts are proliferating. And becoming more popular. Pod Save America, for example, draws as many as 1.4 million listeners.
Talk radio’s decline is not limited to iHeart. The broadcaster’s rival, Cumulus Media recently declared bankruptcy.
The industry’s future seems even less promising as listeners turn to the web for their political fodder.
Could this be the beginning of the end for one of the most powerful right-wing propaganda outlets? I hope so.
The rise of left-leaning podcasts
