Targeting Talk Radio

Alex Jones is a Truther. He believes the U.S. government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.

When I visited Jones in his Austin studios and interviewed him (you can hear the full interview here), I asked him if he is ready for the mainstream, and if program directors and managers will embrace his conspiracy-theory content. Alex believes in his heart of hearts that he is telling the truth. Is he delusional? Does his evidence support his theories? Read the interview and make your own call.

I took a lot of heat for doing this interview, and I'm not taking a position about Alex Jones because it's not my job. It is my job to expose you to alternatives.

I mentioned to Jones that when Dr. Laura started, she had only a handful of affiliates. Following her Radio Ink cover interview, she landed over 400 within a few weeks. She made her career, we didn't. I remember talking to her syndicator at the time, and he was trying to overcome some misperceptions held by the market. The interview addressed her issues, and the market was satisfied.

Jones pointed out that one of the biggest problems he has is that people make up their minds based on what other people have said. Lately, we've heard slams on Limbaugh, Beck, and Hannity as promoting violence, when they insist they don't, and anyone who listens would know that.

Because talk radio tends to lean right, it is demonized by other media and by the government. Though direct regulation would be too bold, there seem to be a lot of attempts to position everyone in talk radio as right-wing extremists. If that is the case, then the audience figures are an indication that a high percentage of Americans are also right-wing extremists.

I don’t often take my political opinions to the pages of Radio Ink, because this magazine is about radio, not politics. But I would happily interview a left-wing extremist as well. Whether the right is demonizing a left-wing talk host or the left is demonizing a right-wing talk host, I believe we all need to stick together on a single principle: free speech.

Polarization is the game in politics today, and I despise it. What concerns me is chatter from White House czars about fines for media people who believe there is no such thing as man-made global warming (yes, the discussion of these fines is documented), or discussions about laws against "hate speech," defined as anything that goes against the current party line.

Whether you support Alex Jones or not, he reaches millions online and claims an audience larger than Anderson Cooper of CNN. And he does it from a small office complex in Austin, with a staff of 16. True democracy is occurring on the Internet, and no longer does a person need a giant media company to reach millions. In our interview, Jones makes a call for talk radio to "hang together" in the interest of preserving free speech. He's right about that, and everyone in radio need to support free speech at any cost.

Currently a write-in candidate for Congress is spewing vile references to blacks and Jews in his ads. I don't like it. But if he is a legitimate candidate, I stand up for his right to say what he wants on the radio, despite how ugly it is. If someone wants to spew hatred, it is his right to do so.

For those of you who think Alex Jones is over the line, that same right must be preserved -- as it should be for any talk host, promoting any party or any theory. It is the biggest thing that differentiates America among all other countries, and we must fight as an industry to preserve it.

Comments

[Steve]

I Googled a couple of Mr Jones assertions. I guess they must've been part of the five percent where he claims to be wrong.

[Jack Bair]

I agree with Eric, that is.

[Jack Bair]

I agree.