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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Interesting

From a Vanity Fair anti-Limbaugh piece.
The dirty little secret of conservative talk radio is that the average age of listeners is 67 and rising, according to Sinton—the Fox News audience, likewise, is in its mid-60s...
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10 Comments:

  • 67-years-old as the average!? Holy crap. Really reaching deep into the get-off-my-lawn! demographic.

    By Blogger -epm, at 11:56 AM  

  • Well, let's see, they're home, Goldwater is their hero and Joe McCarthy wasn't a drunken demagogue but a true blue American!

    My dad's 68 and he thinks Limbaugh has all the answers.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:36 PM  

  • This would also explain why these outlets use "socialism" and "European" as epithets. And why their morality sees to be a dark perversion of America c. 1953.

    I've often thought to myself that a lot of their allusions seem anachronistic -- flying over the heads of today's 40-somethings and younger.

    By Blogger -epm, at 12:56 PM  

  • If it matters, I think I remember Lou Dobbs audience is even older.

    I also think this is part of a broader move among older "conservatives." A good part of one segment of that movement was bulit around Reagan as a counter reaction to the "radical 60's." That's the audience Limbaugh taps, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that they're that old.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 1:24 PM  

  • "...I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that they're that old."

    Yes and no. It's not a surprise that this demographic is part of Rush's audience (and that of the broader conservative talk radio audience). What's surprising is that this seems to be nearly exclusively his audience. I mean, 67 is pretty high for an average. Consider that the average life expectancy of an American male is, what, 77?

    By Blogger -epm, at 1:55 PM  

  • Somebody should find a way to tap into all that anger. You could probably heat a small city.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:02 PM  

  • "Somebody should find a way to tap into all that anger. You could probably heat a small city."

    Yes, a small, very angry, very ignorant, white city.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:06 PM  

  • EPM, yeah.

    And, Anon, the angry whites don't live in that city anymore. They white flighted years ago.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 3:14 PM  

  • "A good part of one segment of that movement was built around Reagan as a counter reaction to the "radical 60's."

    That's a very good point.
    It helps to explain why we kept seeing references to Huey Newton, Stokely Carmichael, and Black Panther-style militancy during the Presidential campaign. Most people under 40 will just give you a blank look if you mention any of those names.

    By Blogger Todd Dugdale , at 8:55 AM  

  • Right. It's still a powerful wedge among one Repub segment.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:43 AM  

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