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Not a rosy picture for conservative talk, right?  Let’s check the facts.  For decades my job was to produce ratings as a National Talk Radio programmer.  We check those ratings constantly.  Apparently, the authors of this Boston Globe commentary don’t keep the same scorecard radio keeps.  While it is true there are many sources of information today, talk radio listening has increased dramatically during the past year.  The 2008 election provided us with daily drama that translated into ratings.  In keeping my scorecard which included ratings for over 40 radio stations nationwide, we registered one of the highest fall ratings reports ever.  KKOH in Reno, which has always been the market leader, registered the highest ratings in 14 years.  KKOB in Albuquerque, which has been the market leader for over eight years, increased its ratings stranglehold on that market.  In almost every market, conservative talk radio increased its ratings.  And, it hasn’t slowed down. 

Talk radio is at its best when it has opposition – and we have the most opposition we’ve ever faced in Washington DC.  When the new President declared war on Rush Limbaugh by telling Republicans to quit listening to him in January, we knew we had been handed a silver platter.  We were right.  Winter ratings at talk stations across the board are increasing yet again.  As Rush pointed out the other day, they are soaring in the nation’s largest markets.  In New York, Chicago, Houston, Detroit, and Los Angeles, the show has leapt to the top position for all radio listeners.  He was second in San Francisco where conservatives are an endangered species.  Third in Washington, fourth in Dallas, and fifth in Atlanta.  Limbaugh summed it up, “These ratings are good news for all of us.  It shows there’s a healthy hunger for some opposition to what is happening.  Don’t feel alone.  You’re not.”

For those who suggest conservative talk radio is irrelevant – remember the only report card we keep in radio is ratings.  Ratings drive advertising revenue.  While radio has suffered in this economic storm, talk radio has suffered much less because ratings have remained strong, and in most cases, grown for the past year.  Millions of Americans concerned with the far-left agenda only have conservative talk as a balance to the new administration.  All the more reason to brace ourselves for impending media regulation by the FCC which would result in less conservative talk in America.  Stay strong and speak up.  ”New” Fairness Doctrine-like regulations are lurking at the FCC.  We must not lose this battle.

Brian Jennings is the author of “CENSORSHIP:  The Threat to Silence Talk Radio,” due out from Simon & Schuster May 5th.

There is growing alarm among talk radio personalities and executives nationwide as the Obama administration embeds socialistic values into the American mainstream.  Thanks to President Reagan, broadcasters have been free from the Orwellian Fairness Doctrine for over twenty years.  The number of talk stations has grown from 125 to now over 2000 thanks to his great wisdom of repealing this doctrine which muzzled free speech.  Radio and Television owners simply didn’t want to risk being turned into the FCC and potentially lose their broadcast license if they said something controversial.  I worked for twenty years under this doctrine and we never broached major controversy – free thought and expression was tightly controlled over the airwaves.  When Reagan dropped the restrictions, Rush Limbaugh and a multitude of other conservative hosts emerged and succeeded because there was so much pent up demand by those who felt their views negated by restrictions and by the overwhelming liberal media bias.  Now, Democrats want to restore speech restrictions and it is simply covert censorship.

The FCC will soon have a 3-2 Democrat majority.  It’s no secret that two of the Democrats serving on the FCC favor restoring balance to talk radio – in other words, they would move conservatives out and balance them with liberals.  They call it balance and diversity, but whenever government regulates free speech, it is censorship.  Whenever government proscribes a certain amount of speech, it is speech control.  John Madison who helped craft the First Amendment would roll over in his grave. 

This debate is one of the hottest topics on radio today and with the White House declaration of war on Rush Limbaugh there is almost a fever pitch in Washington by Democrats to take back the airwaves because they think conservatives dominate talk radio and Fox News.  That’s true.  But, we don’t dominate the rest of the media which includes hundreds of NPR stations, the liberal network Air America, dozens of cable news and public affairs channels, dozens of magazines, 1400 newspapers, and tens of thousands of Internet sites. 

On any given day, Americans can get any point of view anywhere which makes the argument for control of American airwaves moot, at best.  Yet, the debate is moving ahead and Democrats are carefully writing language for regulation of our broadcast media.  It is personal for them.  They want to control it all and they want to eliminate conservative views from the media. 

I’ll be writing more about this in the days and weeks ahead and through my contacts in the media will soon be publishing a book entitled Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio from Simon & Schuster on May 5th.  I hope to share key content with you and keep you posted on the fight for free speech under the new administration.  In the meantime, look out for the speech terrorists.  Check this out from the liberal censors on the left.  It states bluntly what they want to do – muzzle the right.  At least they get a gold star for their honesty.

The ongoing “War on Words” by the left in America is intensifying on many fronts.  Stay tuned.