Best conservative talk radio hosts

September 30, 12:49 PMConservative Politics ExaminerKathy Shaidle

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Since the 1990s, conservative talk radio has been America’s alternative media universe, providing listeners with a much-needed counterpoint to the liberal establishment mainstream media.

AM radio was dying when the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine during the Reagan administration. The well intentioned Fairness Doctrine was unworkable in practice; rather than abide by FCC requirements that any liberal commentator’s opinions be matched by “equal time” for conservatives, and vice versa, radio stations found it easier to simply cancel their talk shows altogether.

With the death of the Fairness Doctrine, one man saw his opportunity and took it…

Rush Limbaugh has held the #1 spot in radio ratings for years. In fact, at over 20-million daily listeners, his show is more popular than the traditional network evening news shows.

Those who dismiss Limbaugh’s show without having heard it – and they are legion – are often pleasantly surprised by Limbaugh’s humor and self-deprecation, and his undisguised disdain for his party’s presidential nominee, John McCain.  Impressionist Paul Shanklin’s pitch perfect, laugh out loud parodies satirize pompous politicos on both sides.

Recently, Pew reported that, on a series of “news knowledge questions,” Limbaugh’s “Dittoheads” — the defiantly self-mocking term for his faithful, supposedly brainwashed, audience — scored higher than NPR listeners. The study found that “readers of newsmagazines, political magazines and business magazines, listeners of Rush Limbaugh and NPR and viewers of the Daily Show and C-SPAN are also much more likely than the average person to have a college degree.”

A recent New York Times Magazine profile of Rush Limbaugh was generally fair, and provides insights into the ambitious, hard working – and yes, profoundly deaf – “$400-million Man”

Sean Hannity and Michael Savage follow just behind Limbaugh in the ratings, but they are not universally loved by conservatives, who’ve at times bemoaned both men’s belligerent on-air personas and unorthodox opinions.

Glenn Beck is a rising star in right wing radio, but while his listenership is large (and his latest contract reflects that) he suffered a frankly bizarre health crisis last year that turned off many audience members. Beck seems to be back to his normal self -- "a Mormon recovering alcoholic ex-rodeo clown" -- but will his career bounce back, too?

Unfortunately, too many conservative talk radio hosts live up to the stereotype of the madman blowhard. My favorites are the ones who defy that stereotype:

Hugh Hewitt is an attorney and it shows; on the rare occasions that he sics himself on a troublesome guest, his barrage of questions are designed to beat them down. At times he's been far too deep in the tank about certain issues -- his credibility really suffered due to his stalwart support for the Harriet Myers' SCOTUS nomination, and he was roundly mocked for his over the top fandom for GOP candidate Mitt Romney. However, Hewitt is enthusiastic, a generous supporter of bloggers, knowledgeable, an excellent interviewer, lots of (goofy) fun, and features incredible must-hear guests.

Dennis Prager, on the other hand, is a soft spoken, low key radio veteran with a big heart who inspires great affection and loyalty in his listeners and callers. A religious Jew, Prager brings a thought provoking spiritual point of view to the news of the day. It's not all politics -- Prager devotes weekly segments to tackling relationship problems and even the meaning of life. I get a little edgy if I miss his show a few days in a row!

I subscribe to plenty of free and premium conservative talk radio podcasts. The best indication of who my favorite happens to be is: whose show I click on first and look forward to most. That makes my favorite "right wing" talk show host...

Dennis Miller.

Who could have imagined, when he started out on Saturday Night Live as a young, long haired, pseudo-hipster smart ass, that Dennis Miller would one day become the up and coming star of conservative talk radio?

He's still low-ish in the ratings, but the show just started up last year and he's gaining affiliates and podcast subscribers all the time. Why?

Because Dennis Miller really is a fresh, different voice.

When he doesn't know or understand something, he says so -- and asks callers to help him out. He's changed his mind about issues -- like gun control -- practically right on the air.

Miller is still socially liberal on issues like gay marriage, and conflicted about abortion. But he's an incredible patriot, whose affection for the troops sometimes chokes him up on air. When he talks about his wife and children, you can feel his love through the radio speakers, and not in a phony or weird way.

Rather than yell at contrarian callers, Dennis Miller often gets very Zen and disarms them with kindness. It's something other hosts could learn from. He rarely goes ballistic, and when he does, you usually can't blame him.

In an original touch, Miller has a sidekick: his long time comedy writing partner "Sal". Sal is more or less your typical Hollywood liberal, and you can practically hear him fuming every time Miller praises President Bush. However, Sal provides Miller with a terrific foil, and can be wickedly funny.

Dennis Miller's guest list in incredible. Even in his first week, Miller had big time guests from the worlds of show biz and politics. He also loves giving air time to lesser known authors, performers, charities and even budding entrepreneurs he thinks deserve a helping hand.

Miller's unabashed, "fan boy" enthusiasm for great guests and callers is contagious. (Loyal listeners will fondly recall Miller's delightful interviews with two people he'd always admired from afar:  Ted "Jesus Christ, Superstar" Neely, and Andy Robinson, whose indelible performance as the Dirty Harry villain destroyed his career before it began.)

And to top it all off: Miller takes the day's musical "themes" very seriously, serving up sensational tunes.

If I could only listen to one show, I'd have to choose Dennis Miller's.

As he's said himself, he wishes he'd had his own radio show years ago, and fans have told him the same thing. Dennis Miller is a complete talk radio natural who has finally found his niche in life, at age 53. And his gratitude is palpable.

It sounds corny, but if you want to be truly entertained and informed, the Dennis Miller Show is the one to check out first.