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I think the right wing is also fragmented, but the the right wing echo chambers work because they choose a small set of points and hammer them.<BR>
Somebody could do the same thing for the left as well, but they have to choose their own topics and titles rather than look through the rights talking points and choosing which to be against.<BR>
We on the left have let the right lead the conversation for far too long, and it has led to a codependent left, who like a beaten wife say "listen to your father, dear. He loves you."<BR>
Let's choose some small set of topics and hire a talking head to echo those over and over.<BR>
<BR>
-----Original Message-----<BR>
<B>From</B>: Larry Johnson <<A HREF="mailto:Larry%20Johnson%20%3clarryfeltonjohnson@gmail.com%3e">larryfeltonjohnson@gmail.com</A>><BR>
<B>Reply-to</B>: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts - Yes! We run Linux! <ale@ale.org><BR>
<B>To</B>: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts - Yes! We run Linux! <<A HREF="mailto:Atlanta%20Linux%20Enthusiasts%20-%20Yes!%20We%20run%20Linux!%20%3cale@ale.org%3e">ale@ale.org</A>><BR>
<B>Subject</B>: Re: [ale] Off topic - And now, Arizona (and now, BEYOND)<BR>
<B>Date</B>: Sat, 10 Jul 2010 05:34:46 -0500<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 5:03 AM, Paul Cartwright <<A HREF="mailto:ale@pcartwright.com">ale@pcartwright.com</A>> wrote: <BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
On Fri July 9 2010, Greg Freemyer wrote:<BR>
> If your right wing friends spend all their time watching Hannity you<BR>
> need a different selection of freinds.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
what do your friends listen to, Air America?<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
There isn't really any equivalent mass media noise machine on the Left. One thing to realize is that the core of the Right in this country is relatively homogenous (mostly consisting of whites in the South, West, and Midwest -- supplemented by a small contingent of Libertarians) , while the Left is a fragmented set of small interest groups. You do get crossovers (I'm a good example of that, an older white southerner from a working class background) but region, background, race, and income are pretty decent predictors of political beliefs.<BR>
<BR>
Limbaugh has a built-in mass audience. It's like a huge echo chamber in that most of what he's saying are just repetitions of what they already believe. This sort of thing isn't just a right wing foible. The Left listens to self-reinforcing stuff too, but it's really scattered all over the map. So I can't tell you what the Left as a whole listens too, but I can point to my own habits, modest fellow that I am.<BR>
<BR>
I get most of my information by reading, not by listening to the radio or watching TV, but I enjoy NPR. I also listen to the right wing entertainers (Boortz, Hannity, Medved, et al) when I'm forced to drive. As for reading, aside from professional development stuff and manuals I read the New Yorker, and online I read FiveThirtyEight.com, Wonkette (because it's funny), <BR>
<BR>
and the Huffington Post (in that order).<BR>
<BR>
Things like Air America are doomed, because they make the mistake of assuming that success in the media consists of a series of techniques, rather than an evaluation of exactly what medium is suited for one's audience.<BR>
<BR>
Hence Limbaugh, Beck, and Drudge work for the right.<BR>
FiveThirtyEight.com and Jon Stewart are more appropriate for the Left.<BR>
<BR>
Larry<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
-- <BR>
"I see design standards that don't tell you how to come up with a good design (only how to write it down), employee evaluation standards that don't help you build meaningful long-term relationships with staff, testing standards that don't tell you how to invent a test that is worth running."<BR>
<BR>
Tom DeMarco<BR>
Slack
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