Are Conservatives the True Media War Winners?

     It is a narrative that mainstream media has been floating for a long time. Conservatives are just a bunch of MAGA hat-wearing, inbred knuckle-draggers. They are a fringe group, no one takes them seriously, they are just a handful of the American population. Joe Biden got 81 million votes, that proves it…. right? They have done their best to convince average Americans, those that pay attention at election time, but for the most part, are really not political nerds, that this is in fact the case. Until roughly 1988, when a guy named Rush Limbaugh came along, and for the most part, proved that narrative patently false. Turns out there were plenty of conservative Americans. It took a guy like Rush to bring them all into the light, and when he did, there was no going back. Suddenly, there were a whole bunch of people just like Rush, not afraid to ask questions, and not buying what the mainstream media was selling.

   It might be safe to say that Rush had no idea just what he started that August day in 1988. But thankfully, he was around to see how it had blossomed, grown, and had become a powerhouse for truth and information. This of course made liberals crazy. The reason, Rush often said it himself. Prior to his arrival, the media had a monopoly on news and information. There were three networks, and a handful of AM radio stations. The media could tell the American people what it thought they should know. They literally had the power to shape American opinion and culture. Not anymore. Thanks not only to Rush for paving the way for many other conservative voices, not just on radio but TV as well, the advent of the Internet, with live streaming, internet radio, and podcasting, compounded what Rush had started thousands of times over. And liberals, suddenly, they had to explain and defend what they believe and why. They couldn’t do it. 

     There is still a pretty good grip on news and information by liberal media, and they are hanging on for dear life. Oh sure, places like CNN and MSNBC will always be around. There will always be just enough angry liberals just to keep them afloat. But one of the things the left hates most, is the free market. And the free market seems to have spoken loudly about the liberal media lately. Recently, the left-wing media company Vice, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing took place in order to facilitate a group of lenders, including Soros Fund Management, yes that Soros, so they could step in and take over the finances of Vice. The last gasp of the company began about a month ago. The company started out as a punk magazine and grew into a force that drew funding from Disney and Fox, and eventually its own film studio. In fact, in 2017, Vice Media had more market capitalization than the New York Times. The demise of Vice Media is just the latest in statements made by the media free market. In April, BuzzFeed announced it would be shutting down its news division. Chief Executive John Peretti announced in a memo that staff would be cut by 15%. He cited the pandemic, declining stock market, and tech sector recession. But in reality, Buzzfeed met the same fate as the late liberal radio network Air America. Other left-leaning media like Disney, Insider, ABC News, NPR, and Vox Media have also all laid off portions of their workforce. The left has been told once again, whether they wanted to hear it or not, that there is not a big enough market of people who want to hear America trashed daily.

     The one place that is consistent, is conservative media. Fox News recently took a hit when they unceremoniously showed Tucker Carlson the door, and they have not come to the realization that they have lost yet another large portion of their viewing audience, the first chunk coming after their dismal performance on election night 2020. But those viewers are certainly not leaving conservative media. The audience is merely shifting to places like Newsmax and One America News. That same audience is also what keeps conservative talk radio flourishing, something that the left fervently hoped that after Rush’s passing, would wither and die. Sorry lefties, no such luck. People like Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, Dan Bongino, and a slew of other talented conservatives are carrying on the radio torch for Rush. But radio is only part of the conservative media empire. The Internet is full of conservative talent, be it written or podcast.

     Yes, the mainstream media and cable news is decidedly left. But in the cases mentioned above, Disney is not primarily news, ABC News and NPR are giant corporate entities, that leaves smaller outlets like Insider and Vox Media. And those outlets are not attracting liberals who might still be angry with CNN over the Donald Trump town hall. Fox News may have conservatives scratching their heads, sometimes more often than not, but they are supporting a number of other outlets where they will get all sides of the story. Also, you can always tell when the left is feeling especially threatened by conservative media, you begin to hear much more talk about reviving the fairness doctrine.

     Conservatives are well aware of the monopoly liberals have on the media. But we should stop a minute and look around the conservative media landscape. It might not be the size we want, but it continues to be extremely strong and vital despite the constant swings the left takes at it. And the best part, it can only get bigger and stronger, and that, will drive liberals crazy.