matters but only if you hear it. but with millions of americans hearing every day comes from sources that are misleading or even deliberately spreading disinformation. wnyc s divided dial podcast takes a deep dive into one such source, radio giant sailor media. for all of salem s varied medium strategies, broadcast radio is still central to their operations. according to nielsen, broadcast radio has a higher reach than television. pew research says it s nearly neck and neck with social media for how americans get their news. surveys repeatedly show that americans trust radio over any other medium. so why is it such a big force? and what is salem media. the new york times
characterizes the content like this, quote, nationally syndicated radio shows the discuss baseless claims of rigged voting machines, accuse election officials of corruption, and espouse ballot fraud conspiracy theories. sounds pretty, good how? now. so let s discuss with katie thornton, host of the divided island podcast series from w and y is he s on the media, and my dear friend charlie sykes, editor at large of the bulwark in the msnbc political analyst and former conservative radio host. katie, let s start with you. how widely does salem s brand spanned this really harmful information? in the podcast series we call salem media possibly the most influential media group you ve never heard of. salem is not the biggest radio station in our country, by any means. they own just over 100 stations. but they syndicate to about 3000 other stations. so while most of their station holdings are in the major markets, covering a lot of the
juniors out there? yes. there s a bit of room in the space. and salem is a juggernaut. but it s also interesting to watch the transformation. it used to have hosts were reasonable thoughtful hosts like michael medvedev, now they have people like charlie kirk. they still feature hugh hewitt who continues to pedal misinformation, denis praeger has become more a mcgrath. one of the things about radio is it s great intimate media. it actually has a different relationship between the host and a listener then you will find on television or social media, because your in peoples ears. you are in their lives. and therefore they do have that sort of credibility. so it is based on trust. if that trust is abused aggressively, you get the kind of results we are talking about tonight. katie, talk about how availabilities in some markets. in some markets it is those salem is the only thing out
radio has a higher reach than television. pew research says it s nearly neck and neck with social media for how americans get their news. surveys repeatedly show that americans trust radio over any other medium. so why is it such a big force? and what is salem media. the new york times characterizes contour like this, quote, nationally syndicated radio shows the discuss baseless claims of rigged voting machines, accuse election officials of corruption, and espouse ballot fraud conspiracy theories. sounds pretty, good how? now. so let s discuss with katie thornton, host of the divided island podcast series from w and y is he s on the media, and my dear friend charlie sykes, editor at large of the bulwark in the msnbc political analyst and former conservative radio host. katie, let s start with you. how widely does salem s brand spanned this really harmful information? in the podcast series we
the greatest hits of the culture war. that s what mike mike pompeo mike pompeo is doing even though it s clownish to say the worst person in the world is ahead of the teachers union. did i just hear you say that mike pompeo was one of the more normal republicans? did i hear that correctly? it s a low bar. yes. when you look, when you look at the freak show the republican party has got. when you have a continuum that includes marjorie taylor greene and matt gates mike pompeo would be one of the more normal republicans but as a normal republican he has got to show that he is willing to play this game, willing to be the long time with listener, first-time caller to all the shows on salem radio and say, hey i m one of you. i hate the same people you hate. i am willing to attack the same people you dislike. that s what this is all about.