{"product_id":"talk-radios-america-how-an-industry-took-over-a-political-party-that-took-over-the-united-states-9780674185012","title":"Talk Radios America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe cocreator of the Washington Posts Made by History blog reveals how the rise of conservative talk radio gave us a Republican Party incapable of governing and paved the way for Donald Trump.  Americas long road to the Trump presidency began on August 1  1988  when  desperate for content to save AM radio  top media executives stumbled on a new format that would turn the political world upside down. They little imagined that in the coming years their brainchild would polarize the country and make it nearly impossible to govern. Rush Limbaugh  an enormously talented former disc jockeyopinionated  brash  and unapologetically conservativepioneered a pathbreaking infotainment program that captured the hearts of an audience no media executive knew existed. Limbaughs listeners yearned for a champion to punch back against those maligning their values. Within a decade  this format would grow from fifty-nine stations to over one thousand  keeping millions of Americans company as they commuted  worked  and shouted back at their radios. The concept pioneered by Limbaugh was quickly copied by cable news and digital media.  Radio hosts form a deep bond with their audience  which gives them enormous political power. Unlike elected representatives  however  they must entertain their audience or watch their ratings fall. Talk radio boosted the Republican agenda in the 1990s  but two decades later  escalation in the battle for the airwaves pushed hosts toward ever more conservative  outrageous  and hyperbolic content.  Donald Trump borrowed conservative radio hosts playbook and gave Republican base voters the kind of pugnacious candidate they had been demanding for decades. By 2016  a political force no one intended to create had completely transformed American politics.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67598886010933,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674185013","price":21.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674185012.jpg?v=1790937161","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/talk-radios-america-how-an-industry-took-over-a-political-party-that-took-over-the-united-states-9780674185012","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}