What would it cost to buy the support of just about every nationally syndicated neocon talk show host in America? About $19.5 billion, which is what Mitt Romney’s private equity firm, Bain Capital, and Thomas H. Lee Partners have agreed to pay in a leveraged buyout agreement with Clear Channel Communications, the largest radio station owner in the country. This is part of a negotiation that has been pending for over a year. Clear Channel owns more than 1,100 full-power AM, FM, and shortwave radio stations, twelve radio channels on XM Satellite Radio, and more than 30 television stations in the United States. Premiere Radio Networks, which is the largest syndication company in the United States, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Clear Channel and is home to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and many others. Sean Hannity recently signed a large multi-market contract with Clear Channel, as well.
From an anonymous email:“I’ll bet those hosts won’t reveal that conflict of interest, but it’s worth noting when you hear them begin hyping Romney, which has already begun. A lot of GOP supporters will support whomever they are told to support, so be prepared for a big push for Romney. On the bright side, Romney has more vulnerabilities than Rudy, based on his record. Look at this as the GOP establishment doing us a favor. Rich men can bankroll their own campaigns (a la John Kerry), but it takes a special breed to use investors’ money to buy entire networks that can operate as passive wings of a presidential campaign.”
It should be noted that Mitt Romney, while no longer the CEO, remains a silent partner of Bain Capital.
What do you think?
They print some really nutty stuff at LewRockwell.com. Whats really silly is this notion of monolithic “neocon” group that all vote the same way. In general, be very skeptical of anyone that uses the word “neocon”, too.
Well, I think “neocon” can reasonably be thought of as any conservative nut job willing to spew talking points as if they were the 11th Commandment, and that certainly describes the nut jobs mentioned.
They’re preparing their microphone guns just in case the Democrats win the election.
Orwell was an optimist.
Get out a dictionary and look up the word “fascism”.
CNN got ripped off. How much free advertising did they give Clinton?
Hey, Bobbo, I didn’t get my copy of the neocon talking points. Mind posting them here?
So glad the Rock station here in Colorado springs (94.3 KILO) isn’t owned by those dicks at clearchannel. Then again, they also play much more awesome music, such as Mandatory Metallica, but only the stuff from back when they were good.
This creature has called himself a neocon on several occasions. In fact you can find youtube video of the father of this hatchling bragging about being a neo trotskyite. He is an Iraq war monger and is also pushing very hard so your sons and daughters will go to war with Iran. According to this evil being enough American lives or American dollars will ever be spent serving isreal. http://youtube.com/watch?v=_8NfnfVzMIs
William Kristol (born December 23, 1952 in New York City) is a Jewish American conservative pundit, analyst and strategist. He is the son of Irving Kristol, one of the founders of the neoconservative movement, and Gertrude Himmelfarb, a scholar of Victorian era literature, both of whom are secular Jewish Americans.
In 1997, Kristol and Robert Kagan cofounded the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). Kristol is a member of the board of trustees for the think tank Manhattan Institute. Kristol is also a member of the Policy Advisory Board for the neoconservative think tank Ethics and Public Policy Center. Additionally, Kristol has been an attendee at Bilderberg Group conferences.
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I think one of Clinton’s buddies Ron Burkle is in the process of buying the Enquirer and other tabloids.
Why is the controlled media so scared of RON PAUL? http://tinyurl.com/2tm5kv
Sam(#7): As an Iraq vet who’s going again fairly soon, I’ll say this: Blow it out your ass.
You mean like the Christian Science Monitor?
http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/neocon101.html
Wake up! Your head is buried way too deep in the sand.
steelcobra said:
As an Iraq vet who’s going again fairly soon, I’ll say this: Blow it out your ass.
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Have fun fighting for the security of Israel. I’m sure that they appreciate it very, very much.
Talk radio is successful when it provides listeners with information they want to hear. Conservative talk radio is especially successful because the audience for political discussions on radio largely agree with the opinions of the hosts of these programs. The humiliating failure of Air America demonstrates there is no comparable demand for liberal views on talk radio, anywhere in the country, at any time of day. Conservative should thank Mr. Soros for flushing millions of his unearned dollars down the drain to help us prove that no one wants liberal voices on the radio.
There is tremendous synergy between Fox News, conservative blogs, and conservative talk radio, and they now act as a balancing force against the overbearing liberalism of the main stream media, like Dan Rather’s CBS and the NY Time’s MoveOn.org discount advertising. Since the rise of conservative alternative news, liberal lies no longer go unchallenged, and conservative truths are no longer spiked by venal editors.
But, it is far too simple, and typical of liberal thinking, to suggest that conservative talk show hosts will skew their commentaries toward Romney because he is an investor in the company that syndicates their shows. Popular hosts earn the right to be independent by virtue of the economic value their audiences bring to the stations that air their programs. What exactly are these investors going to do to a host if he or she says things that are unfavorable to Romney, or favorable about a primary opponent? And remember, this is a leveraged buyout; Romney’s buddies won’t really own Clear Channel, a bunch of banks will.
As we proceed through the primary season and the general election, the conservative media will be looking for the most conservative Republican candidate who can prevent the Democrats from taking over the executive branch of government. For many conservatives, the only candidates in the current field who fit that description are Romney or Thompson. And with Fred having difficulty in the early caucus and primary states, there doesn’t have to be anything fishy about a conservative radio host who likes Romney.
If I were the snide liberals who have turned DU into a MoveOn.org blog for geeks, I would be more worried about a political party that wants to give the country a choice between the most hated woman in American politics and Farrakhan’s favorite US Senator.
That the capital group bought ClearChannel should be an indication of its profitability, and the underlying support that it receives. Good business decision.
“If I were the snide liberals who have turned DU into a MoveOn.org blog for geeks, I would be more worried about a political party that wants to give the country a choice between the most hated woman in American politics and Farrakhan’s favorite US Senator.”
Great smears, Robocop.
I’m very much hoping Romney wins the nomination too. It’s probably the shortest way to get an actual shooting war going between different Xtian sects. Now THAT would be entertainment
#12: Have fun fighting for the security of Israel. I’m sure that they appreciate it very, very much.
Trust me on this, the Iraelis don’t really need us to protect them that much. A country that defeated all of its neighbors at once in a single war and invents better gear for the environment than we do doesn’t really need physical help.
#13–Robo==what you say is true. There is no mass audience sufficient to support liberal talk radio. You seem to think that is a bad thing? Funny.
#5–Phillep==you are too smart not to be pulling my leg, but I’ll give you the first one that comes to mind as I last heard on the news.
Lets see – - – -
Oh yea, “The Democrats want to raise your taxes.” Sounds bad doesn’t it until you ask the Repugs how to pay for all their deficit spending or what programs they will cut. Name the last President to balance the budget===and yes, Newt had alot to do with it. But the issue is talking points. That is only #1 on a list you already have.
This is all ado about nothing. For Pete’s sake, Clear Channel was losing money everywhere by stockpiling all these broadcast properties. If you read the trades, the “Clear Channel Hatchet Storm” traveled to nearly every market where CC had a station and cut personnel—from program directors to producers to marketing people. They thought they could run this huge empire and make a ton of money. Uh-uh. And Bonneville–which is OWNED by Mormons–owns a ton of radio stations across the country—and they only deal in CASH. But they’re not trying to press any agenda on anyone. They just know how to operate a broadcasting empire…unlike CC (formerly Jacor)’s suits.
#19–just adding a bit more to what you said. I think that Clear Channel, besides the slant of their talk show hosts and apparent mismanagement, also has lousy playlists on their music stations. With any luck, no one will be tuning into any of their stations and they’ll go out of business or sell them all to companies that know more about broadcasting.