Conservative Radio Is Rekindled

Conservative radio spent eight years as the cheering section for the Bush administration. With the inauguration of Barack Obama imminent, those voices have become a voice of dissension.

Having spent years defending often unpopular political choices, the voices of conservative radio now have the opportunity to finger point an administration they do not endorse. And the number of voices is growing.

Former senator, presidential candidate and TV star Fred Thompson is joining the radio ranks, taking the time slot Bill O'Reilly has held for six years. Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and semi-celebrity was in the running for the slot, and may end up on the airwaves still. Even Mike Huckabee is in the mix, doing short segments for ABC radio starting in January. This augments his current weekend TV show on Fox News Channel. Lou Dobbs and Monica Crowley have programs starting up, too.

Most of the growth is in the middle tier radio hosts, whose syndicated programming is cheaper than the major guns like Limbaugh, who is the king of radio talk. With a constant need for 24 hours of programming, syndicated talk radio is an easy way for stations to fill their schedule. Over 2,000 stations air programming in the format.

While the new rush for conservative radio commentary may be strong, it doesn't change the market outlook for the medium. Slumping ad revenue and digital radio have put a question mark on the future viability of talk radio. Live talk shows add an element to radio that cannot be reproduced with MP3 players.

For now, talk radio is the most popular programming on the airwaves.