Alternative media (U.S. political right)

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Alternative media rooted in the American conservative movement often emphasize the presumption (on the part of many conservatives) that the American mainstream media is biased toward American liberalism and that modern journalism's goal of "objectivity" is essentially moot. Frequently, the stated goal is to redress or outflank that perceived bias and disseminate news with a conservative point of view in order to achieve balance in the reporting of news and opinion.

This media is focused on the internet and in talk radio.

1 History
2 Primary Conservative Alternative Media Outlets
3 See also

[edit] History

The perception of a liberal-leaning bias in the mainstream media is not a new one; Richard M. Nixon decried it, and Ronald Reagan (as noted in Dinesh D'Souza's biography Reagan made it a running joke during his term in office).

However, despite Nixon's and Reagan's rhetoric, there were, for most of the 20th century, many instances of traditional media outlets that actually reflected conservative ideology, most notably the staunchly right-wing Los Angeles Times under Harry Chandler's stewardship, all newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, the isolationist, anti-New Deal Chicago Tribune under Colonel Robert R. McCormick, and Henry Luce's entire Time, Inc. publishing empire.

As chronicled in David Halberstam's The Powers That Be, the Los Angeles Times and the Chandlers, who had fiercely supported Nixon's first run for the U.S. House, declined to support as strongly his run for the U.S. Senate, his 1960 presidential campaign, or his 1962 California gubernatorial campaign. The paper's final break with Nixon came during Vietnam and Watergate, which was roughly the same time Henry Luce's Time began running articles critical of the Nixon Administration. Not long after this, Vice-President Spiro Agnew began attacking the media in a series of speeches--two of the most famous having been written by White House aides Patrick Buchanan and William Safire--as "elitist" and "liberal."

After Nixon's resignation until the the late 1980s, overtly "conservative" news outlets included the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Herald and the Washington Times. Additionally, after Rupert Murdoch purchased the New York Post, its editorial pages exhibited a clear rightward slant. National Review and the American Spectator were also leading conservative magazines during this time.

[edit] Fairness Doctrine

Main article: Fairness Doctrine

In broadcast media, the FCC policy of the Fairness Doctrine required broadcast licensees to present controversial issues of public importance, and to present such issues in an honest, equal and balanced manner. The Red Lion Case was a key legal precedent in defining the role of the FCC and the enforcement of the Doctrine.

A thorough account of the issues surrounding the Fairness Doctrine and the Red Lion case can be found in The Good Guys, The Bad Guys and The First Amendment: Free speech vs. fairness in broadcasting by Fred W. Friendly (Random House; 1976) (ISBN 0-394-49725-2).

[edit] Talk Radio

The repeal in 1987 of the Fairness Doctrine, combined with a huge oversupply of AM Radio stations, sparked a boom in conservative talk radio programming. AM radio stations had long been underutilized; there had, indeed, been talk in the 1970s and 1980s of abolishing the AM band; AM stations had long languished behind FM in popularity and ratings. ^{[citation needed]}

The combination of cheap, underutilized outlets, the absence of content restrictions or censorship, and a perceived underserved conservative audience led a number of radio programmers and syndicators to produce a wave of conservative talk shows. Rush Limbaugh was the most successful, with others (Micheal Medved, Hugh Hewitt, Sean Hannity and many more) drawing large audiences, reinvigorating the AM radio band, and (arguably) altering the political landscape. Talk radio became a key force in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. [1][2] While liberal talk radio has also emerged (e.g. Air America Radio), the medium is still dominated by conservatives.

[edit] Blogs

In the early 2000s, blogs of all political persuasions became increasingly influential. Conservative blogs such as Power Line, Captain's Quarters and Michelle Malkin covered and promoted a number of stories, for instance the Swift Boat Veterans' criticism of John Kerry's war record. Particularly notable was the uncovering of the "Memogate" scandal by Little Green Footballs and others. American blog Captain's Quarters played a role in the 2005 Canadian election, outflanking a Canadian judicial gag order on media coverage of hearings related to a Canadian Liberal Party corruption scandal. The fallout from the scandal helped lead to a Conservative victory in the following election. [3]