Progressive talk radio is a
talk radio format devoted to expressing
liberal or
progressive viewpoints of issues, as opposed to
conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format includes
syndicated personalities such as
Thom Hartmann,
Randi Rhodes,
Bill Press,
Alan Colmes, and
Stephanie Miller.
History
Liberal talk radio programs have existed for many decades. In the 1960s,
freeform rock stations featured outspoken air personalities who mixed
progressive rock with controversial commentary and news reports on current events such as the
Vietnam War and the
Civil Rights Movement. A few talk stations, such as
WMCA in
New York and
WERE in
Cleveland carried controversial
counterculture talk programming. Politically oriented talk radio stations often featured liberal hosts such as
Alan Berg and
Alex Bennett sharing the schedule with more conservative personalities. One of the most notable liberal talk-show hosts was
Michael Jackson, who had a show for 35 years at
KABC in Los Angeles, often commenting on both political and national issues.
Revival
Two developments in the late 1980s – the struggle of
AM radio music formats against
FM, and the repeal of the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "
fairness doctrine" – set the stage for the growth of more political talk programming.
Conservative commentator
Rush Limbaugh became one of the early success stories of this new radio environment, helped by a syndication...
Read More