Why is Art Bell only heard on mostly white conservative radio stations (US)?

[Robert]

This somewhat fascinates me, that most of the US radio market Art Bell/C2C syndicate their programs through mainly conservative radio stations (the same stations that play Rush Limbaugh, Mike Savage, Levin and others..).
One would think, that some of the topics Art Bell/C2C engages in, are somewhat universal topis that transcends politics. I've never heard of any so-called liberal stations carrying their programs, so why is that? 

Could it just be that for decades, radio talk in the USA (& I've a hunch Canada too) has been predominantly of the "right"?  I remember from before that was so, but it's been this way for a good while, so much so that "conservative" is nearly automatically understood to be part & parcel of radio talk, esp. of phone-in programs, in most places.  There seems to be a positive feedback loop keeping it this way.

I'll throw it back as a question: When you eliminate "conservative" (largely neocon), libertarian, Xtian, & financial-oriented programs, all of which can be identified somewhat as on the "right", then besides local programs heard on only 1 or 2 stns., what else is there?  Some medical advice (some of it thinly veiled infomercial), some other advice (much of which is traditionalist-conservative if you analyze it), sports talk, and what you're talking about.  "Liberal" commenters & orient'n seem not to be too popular on radio these days, at least when it comes to English-language programming.  (The only other language I could partly follow would be French, so that's all I know.  Maybe it's different with Spanish, Hindi, etc. programming.)  The only major exception I can think of are the Pacifica stns.

So it's like if a for-profit station wants to make a go of it in network talk programming (or local in a big market) these days, that station by default is going to sound right-wing.  So the stations likely to pick up something like Art Bell are likely to sound "conservative" the rest of the time.

[Robert]

Not sure what constitutes a "black" or "conservative" station.  I think black folks might have their own ideas without us attempting to define what it is to them.

In most cases it's hard.  However, some music formats are considered "Urban Contemporary" (euphemism for black-oriented), and when it comes to talk, WLIB here in NYC stands out.  For a while WLIB tried branching out into that "liberal" commercial talk network of a decade or more back -- I forgot its name -- but that failed & they went back to black.

"Conservative" is pretty easy to identify in most cases.  It's usually a market decision, nothing to do w the views of the owners.  Not necessarily the audience, either; some tune in what they love to hate.

[Marc.Knight]

I am amazed at how everything is now viewed through racial eyes.  I thought voting for Obama was to bring on a post-racial age. I recently saw a TV series on Hitler in which I was informed that the man's entire motivation was racism.

The media has construed racial "identity" to a socially insane level.  Underlying the current race issue is the plain old motivation for power and influence over any type of social justice concerns.

[Marc.Knight]

This somewhat fascinates me, that most of the US radio market Art Bell/C2C syndicate their programs through mainly conservative radio stations (the same stations that play Rush Limbaugh, Mike Savage, Levin and others..).
One would think, that some of the topics Art Bell/C2C engages in, are somewhat universal topis that transcends politics. I've never heard of any so-called liberal stations carrying their programs, so why is that? 

Maybe because 75% of the US population is white.  I don't think radio waves discriminate between different skin hues.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

I don't think Spanish stations would do well with Art... or they may do incredibly? I don't know.

I have long advocated that Art have a Spanish-speaking regular.

The guest would speak in Spanish to Art, and Art would reply in English to sound like he understood perfect Spanish.

[Ultra_Infinite7]

NPR and Pacifica need not sneer at anything Art Bell does with their lopsided analysis on issues and topics.

   NPR and Pacifica sneer openly at Art Bell and his audience. Always have, always will.

[Ultra_Infinite7]

Thanks everyone..responses are great!


This is a very good, intelligent productive conversation with well-thought out responses. I'm still on this journey called life, so please excuse me for my ignorance on some issues. In the original post, I used the term "white conservative" not in demeaning or condescending usage, just  simply describing an observation on why I've only heard Art Bell/C2C on "white conservative" radio. I was neither inciting, nor looking to cause any contention on race and racial matters. These are highly sensitive and combustible topics of discourse that most folks have difficulty in engaging in - I leave it alone!!!  Art speaks on intriguing topics, like I stated before; that transcends race, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic groups, and etc. So, why not have his program diversified throughout the industry??!!

As far as African Americans listening to Art Bell, well, I am one of those African American listeners. And, there are many, many more Black Americans, and Blacks from all over the globe who've been drawn to Art's work for various reasons. In addition, as someone  who has worked in radio; I listen to it ALL! Conservative, neo-conservative, liberal, neo-liberal, ultra-conservative, the paranormal, occult, Ufology, history, and many sciences - you never know what you might learn.

[Ultra_Infinite7]

Agreed, but, you know the media is nothing but a tool of dissension and misinformation right?! Lol!

The media has construed racial "identity" to a socially insane level.  Underlying the current race issue is the plain old motivation for power and influence over any type of social justice concerns.

[Ultra_Infinite7]

How is my posting considered BS trolling??!!  I'm just making an observation and wanted clarification on the matter. Radio has created demarcation lines when it comes to it's listener-ships. 

It's very prejudiced to think that minorities don't, won't, or cannot listen to Art's show despite the other programming on the station.

It's kind of funny that somone who is stereotyping radio stations and their listenerbase is on some social justice warrior witchhunt where the only suitable answer is uncovered racism that everyone not black or on the Witchhunt will share in guilt by association.  Think about it.  Radio is a medium where you don't know the color. Creed, gender identity of the person you head unless they say it, or you apply your own prejudices.   Which one are you applying to determine what is black or white radio?


This is bullshit trolling.  Why don't you stop worrying about how many former slaver owners are listening to the show while wrapped up in the confederate flag while sitting on crates of ammo (protip:  it's 0) and enjoy the fucking show???



Why are there few black people playing fantasy video games?    Why are there so few black male feminists? 


#blacktimetravwleramatter.  (Coincidentally, Dr Ronald Mallet, who leads the field in time travel theory and is black, was on coast the other night).  Fucking crybabies. Go apply your outrage in somethinf that needs it instead of trying to assume you know what's best for blacks.

[Ultra_Infinite7]

Huh?! I'm using white in context of a description. This is not antagonizing or meant demeaning to any white person on these boards. Personal problem because I'm inquiring why I only hear Art Bell on mainly conservative white stations. I don't hear him on NPR, Spanish, or any other media outlets (other than independent internet radio).

Does it really matter where the show's coming from, Im sure the liberal based stations would be welcome to carry Mitd, whats the white thing have to do with anything, it sounds like the op has a bit of a personal problem, let me give the op a bit of a heads up, "nobody cares".

[Ultra_Infinite7]

Excellent points Rob! 

Could it just be that for decades, radio talk in the USA (& I've a hunch Canada too) has been predominantly of the "right"?  I remember from before that was so, but it's been this way for a good while, so much so that "conservative" is nearly automatically understood to be part & parcel of radio talk, esp. of phone-in programs, in most places.  There seems to be a positive feedback loop keeping it this way.

I'll throw it back as a question: When you eliminate "conservative" (largely neocon), libertarian, Xtian, & financial-oriented programs, all of which can be identified somewhat as on the "right", then besides local programs heard on only 1 or 2 stns., what else is there?  Some medical advice (some of it thinly veiled infomercial), some other advice (much of which is traditionalist-conservative if you analyze it), sports talk, and what you're talking about.  "Liberal" commenters & orient'n seem not to be too popular on radio these days, at least when it comes to English-language programming.  (The only other language I could partly follow would be French, so that's all I know.  Maybe it's different with Spanish, Hindi, etc. programming.)  The only major exception I can think of are the Pacifica stns.

So it's like if a for-profit station wants to make a go of it in network talk programming (or local in a big market) these days, that station by default is going to sound right-wing.  So the stations likely to pick up something like Art Bell are likely to sound "conservative" the rest of the time.

[Ultra_Infinite7]

It's been viewed through racialized eyes due to the misinformation we've received in school about each other. 

I am amazed at how everything is now viewed through racial eyes.  I thought voting for Obama was to bring on a post-racial age. I recently saw a TV series on Hitler in which I was informed that the man's entire motivation was racism.

[Robert]

As far as African Americans listening to Art Bell, well, I am one of those African American listeners. And, there are many, many more Black Americans, and Blacks from all over the globe who've been drawn to Art's work for various reasons. In addition, as someone  who has worked in radio; I listen to it ALL! Conservative, neo-conservative, liberal, neo-liberal, ultra-conservative, the paranormal, occult, Ufology, history, and many sciences - you never know what you might learn.

Who can figure these things.  I'd been a Jean P. Shepherd listener & reader, then got to see him at Carnegie Hall.  As the audience filed out at the end (but I also took some note of this as they came in), I noticed a marked paucity of non-Caucasians.  Hardly any blacks or orientals.  I had no idea why.  Still don't, really.  Was there something particularly "white" about his style or topics?

Years later I became friends with a David Lindelof, who told me that in his experience Jean Shepherd fans were anti-semitic.  But David was dealing w a small sample & had a tendency to pigeonhole folks.

The only "anti-" I could discern a reason for in terms of opinion about Shep was that apparently he earned the undying enmity of fans of Lenny Bruce (such as my 2nd cousin Rory) from one critical remark Shep made.

[Lamont Cranston]

Maybe because there are only 2.5 kinds of radio stations in the USA.

Right-Wing Radio Stations

Sports / Talk Radio Stations

Oh and those annoying traffic and weather stations, that call themselves News, but don't really have any news.

[Lamont Cranston]

NPR and Pacifica need not sneer at anything Art Bell does with their lopsided analysis on issues and topics.

Truth is inconvenient, and seems to provoke those who find facts frightening. Just an observation, really.

[Lamont Cranston]

How is my posting considered BS trolling??!!  I'm just making an observation and wanted clarification on the matter. Radio has created demarcation lines when it comes to it's listener-ships.

Maybe because the nowadays the only thing that is worse than racism is pointing it out, or even worse than that ..."playing the race card" by objecting to racist speech and actions. Talk about Orwellian talking points....

[Ultra_Infinite7]

Good point!

Maybe because the nowadays the only thing that is worse than racism is pointing it out, or even worse than that ..."playing the race card" by objecting to racist speech and actions. Talk about Orwellian talking points....

[Ultra_Infinite7]

Excellent point! It's very inconvenient for some

Truth is inconvenient, and seems to provoke those who find facts frightening. Just an observation, really.

[Zetaspeak]

Could it just be that for decades, radio talk in the USA (& I've a hunch Canada too) has been predominantly of the "right"?  I remember from before that was so, but it's been this way for a good while, so much so that "conservative" is nearly automatically understood to be part & parcel of radio talk, esp. of phone-in programs, in most places.  There seems to be a positive feedback loop keeping it this way.

I'll throw it back as a question: When you eliminate "conservative" (largely neocon), libertarian, Xtian, & financial-oriented programs, all of which can be identified somewhat as on the "right", then besides local programs heard on only 1 or 2 stns., what else is there?  Some medical advice (some of it thinly veiled infomercial), some other advice (much of which is traditionalist-conservative if you analyze it), sports talk, and what you're talking about.  "Liberal" commenters & orient'n seem not to be too popular on radio these days, at least when it comes to English-language programming.  (The only other language I could partly follow would be French, so that's all I know.  Maybe it's different with Spanish, Hindi, etc. programming.)  The only major exception I can think of are the Pacifica stns.

So it's like if a for-profit station wants to make a go of it in network talk programming (or local in a big market) these days, that station by default is going to sound right-wing.  So the stations likely to pick up something like Art Bell are likely to sound "conservative" the rest of the time.

Great write-up. I think Art leans Conservative but I don't think he seeks out Conservative radio. I just think by default a large percentage of talk stations on radio are Conservative hosts.

There's a funny quote I heard a long time ago. A Conservative will spends hours upon hours of the days in front of a radio, listening, being on hold for hours, so he talk for 3-minutes about how society doesn't work enough or spend enough time with their family. While the Liberal spends his day working and off time with his/her family 

[Ultra_Infinite7]

Another good point!!!

[Auslandia]

Most talk radio is conservative right leaning. Art is on talk radio.  There's a good chance he'll be on right leaning conservative radio.

[NorCalSolstice]

Because left wing talk radio never got enough listeners or advertisers to sustain their programming. It's not about being conservative or white it's about being the TALK RADIO genre and Art Bell is TALK RADIO. Easy answer to a racist question meant to demean part of the population. ITS ECONOMICS AND TALK RADIO just happens to be that the population you have identified ACTUALLY LISTENS AND TALK ABOUT IMPORTANT SUBJECTS AND APPEARS TO BE MEMBERS OF THE SUCCESSFUL CLASS IN A ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY :-)

[Sandra Kristen]

I am very left wing and I am put off by the awful right wing slanted commercials. I put up with it because I find the topics interesting, but I can see how a casual left of center listener would be turned off by crap like Alongside Night and "Alan Greenspan shocks the Liberal Media" or whatever. Those ads, among other things, really give the idea that MITD is slanted to the right. Especially with Art narrating the idiotic Greenspan commercial.

So, those ads, really push the idea that Art Bell appeals to the white conservative (male) market. Is the paranormal only limited to right of center people? No but the ads certainly make it seem so.

Art does a good job of keeping politics off the air (Hoagland should be following Art's lead) but the commercials are a huge problem. It's an internet show, so the ads aren't really based on the actual stations carrying the show but the perception of Art Bell appealing to a certain demographic.

[chefist]

Art does a good job of keeping politics off the air (Hoagland should be following Art's lead) but the commercials are a huge problem. It's an internet show, so the ads aren't really based on the actual stations carrying the show but the perception of Art Bell appealing to a certain demographic.

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