Political Communications Corporations: Sources of Deceit

It is a lie -- not every voice matters

The Washington Post reports that on Jan. 6 (the day of the insurrection), Cumulus Media, which employs some popular conservative talk-radio hosts, told its show hosts to stop spreading the president's lies about the 2020 election. Cumulus owns 416 radio stations in 84 markets. Many of its stations broadcast in a talk format, which has been dominated by conservatives for decades. WaPo writes:

“We need to help induce national calm NOW,” Brian Philips, executive vice president of content for Cumulus, wrote in an internal memo, which was first reported by Inside Music Media. Cumulus and its program syndication arm, Westwood One, “will not tolerate any suggestion that the election has not ended. The election has been resolved and there are no alternate acceptable ‘paths.’ ”

The memo adds: “If you transgress this policy, you can expect to separate from the company immediately.”

The new policy is a stunning corporate clampdown on the kind of provocative and even inflammatory talk that has long driven the business model for Cumulus and other talk show broadcasters.

On his program on Tuesday, the day before the march on the Capitol, for example, [show host Mark] Levin fulminated about Congress’s certification of electoral votes for Biden, describing the normally routine vote as an act of “tyranny.”

“You think the framers of the Constitution … sat there and said, ‘Congress has no choice [to accept the votes], even if there’s fraud, even if there’s some court order, even if some legislature has violated the Constitution?’ ” Levin said, his voice rising to a shout.

[The Cumulus memo] reveals some of the hidden corporate hand behind what is said and discussed on talk-radio programs. Rather than a medium of freethinking individuals expressing passionately held beliefs, the memo reminds that hosts are subject to corporate mandates and control.

“It’s naive not to recognize that a corporate imperative goes into all media,” said Michael Harrison, the publisher of Talkers magazine, which covers talk radio. “Corporations have always called the tune ultimately. Everyone pays attention to the guys at the top and always has.”

Asked how hosts who have repeatedly promoted Trump’s claims of fraud can now credibly flip to acceptance, Harrison said: “I would hope they put their personal feelings aside and come clean with their listeners. I encourage them to pursue the truth and to tell their audience something that Trump may not like.”

However, there’s some question as to whether stars such as Levin will comply with the recent edict and whether Cumulus will discipline them if they don’t.

On his syndicated radio program on Thursday, a day after Cumulus sent its memo and Trump supporters breached the Capitol, Levin didn’t seem to be backing off. “It appears nothing has changed in 24 hours,” he said on the air. “Not a damn thing. The never-Trumpers, the RINOs, the media — same damn thing.”

He went on to add: “I’m not stirring up a damn thing. Everything I say is based on principle and mission. Everything is based on liberty, family, faith, the Constitution. … My enemies and my critics can’t say the same.” (emphasis added)

What does Cumulus actually believe?

Apparently, Mark Levin actually believes the president's lies about the election and his innocent motives in what he does. If Cumulus does not fire Levin, then that will show how powerful individuals can be. Whether the company memo stops the flow of lies about the election remains to be seen.

It is worth noting the the Cumulus memo does not say the election was free and fair. It only said the election is ended, not that it is valid. That makes clear what the bosses at Cumulus actually believe about it. If they believed the election was valid, the memo would have said that. Since it didn't, the belief of the people in power can reasonably be inferred. 

So even in this case, powerful radical right conservative elites cannot see or accept that the election was free, fair and untainted by widespread fraud or manipulation.