Effectiveness In Journalism = Talk Radio

"Talk radio helped sink immigration reform" by Mike Allen of the Politico dissects the "Project for Excellence in Journalism" of the Pew Research Center in which analyzes trends in newpapers, mainstream media news, cable new and radio news.  He notes that the top topic for conservative talk radio for the months April through June was immigration.  The report suggests that the argument was framed in terms of amnesty and was intensely covered - with the political fallout of the comprehensive immigration reform bill tanking.  He also notes that Lou Dobbs covered the issue intensively as well and that there is a synergy between talk radio and cable news with some of the hosts having perches in both venues.  The issue was the third or fourth biggest issue in the mainstream media behind Iraq and the presidential campaigns. 

It would seem by recent national polls that the issue of immigration went far beyond talk radio, given that even the majority of Democrats favored strong border enforcement, employer verifications and were skeptical about the government's ability to do those things before considering tamper proof guest visas and any paths to citizenship.  Talk radio hasn't let up on the issue nor have the GOP presidential candidates as evidenced by the Iowa straw poll and the debates.

It is also telling that the debates haven't included questions on immigration in some instances - including Sunday's Democratic debate. 

The amnesty issue is one - but an equally important one is the national security angle as well as crime and drug abuse as a result of the chaotic border situation. 

It would seem that this report points to the power of conservative talk radio - and considering that talk radio hosts either have shows on cable or are being wooed for new jobs - it speaks volumes about how the bottom line is causing media bias to shift at least a bit.