Inga Barks: We're not the GOP's propaganda arm
Political talk radio has been on the rise for 20 years and has changed the way media behaves, and consumers respond, by giving a voice to millions of disenfranchised Americans. I would love to say talk radio is relevant, influential, and has leveled the playing field of public opinion. But then I'd have to explain why Barack Obama is president, the California Legislature is extremely liberal, and Nancy Pelosi is ... anything above greeter at a dollar store.
If you consider talk radio, which is mostly conservative in nature, a propaganda arm for the GOP, you're likely to think us all colossal failures, considering the current political climate.
But hosts like me at the local level, or Michael Savage and Mark Levin at the national level, do not work for politicians or parties. Politicians and parties work for the people and we give the people direct and immediate access to those who represent them.
Talk radio has a unique opportunity to flourish in this new era of Obama because we offer a platform to challenge government, regardless which party is in charge. Evidence of our effectiveness is clear if you hear how many references the current president himself makes about Sean Hannity.
Politicians listen to talk radio, which gives a voice to those who are too poor to register the car that they drive to their minimum wage jobs. Talk radio is a bullhorn for the middle class, which may lose it mortgage interest tax deduction. And even to the rich (who just found out they were rich because the president defines it at $250,000).
Talk radio also gives a voice to people who actually believe in God without harassing them like they are some kind of uneducated, back-water, snake-handling, NASCAR-watching, country music-listening, intermarrying, group of bumpkins / possible terrorists. We have a groundswell of populism every day on my show.
While liberalism is in the lead right now, serious talk radio hosts feel a sense of responsibility to dissent. That dissension is driven by thousands of voices in our community and millions in our country that share a different set of values. Every day, talk radio callers, and bloggers and Twitterers and Facebookers, give their opinions relevance.
Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's chief of staff, said we should never let a serious crisis go to waste. I believe he's right. Politicians exploit crises with a frenzy of big government and high taxes. But a crisis sends the people into survival mode. When pushed against a wall, Americans will push back, and talk radio will be more relevant than ever.
Right now, on stations across the country, the opposition is heard. I am proud to be part of it. This will be a great age for talk radio as we air the voices of our community.
I look forward to your call.
Inga Barks hosts a talk-radio program, weekdays 9 a.m. to noon, on Bakersfield's KERN-AM (1180). She has worked in local radio since 1993, including KERN since 1997, and is a regular fill-in host for the nationally syndicated "Mark Levin Show." The Californian reserves the right to reprint Community Voices commentaries in all formats, including on its web page.
