Local talk show host Craig Silverman made national headlines this weekend after his Saturday show on the Denver station 710 KNUS was pulled off the air mid-show during a segment critical of President Donald Trump. The manager of the station, which is owned by Salem Media Group, says Silverman’s show was interrupted because he appeared on a competing network and that Salem “hosts have the freedom to express their opinions on current events based on their own personal conviction.”
These competing narratives contain both truth and deception. Salem hosts are not free to voice opinions that contradict the network’s pro-Trump stance. Silverman knows this. Did he orchestrate and deftly publicize Saturday’s dramatic morning showdown to further his own ambitions? If so, he brilliantly used the national press’ hunger for anti-Trump stories and Salem network’s Trump sycophancy to his advantage. Hats off.
Regardless, support for Trump or fear of retaliation by his supporters has muffled criticism of the administration on the right, including several of its media organs. Since Trump took office, Salem stations have been pressuring hosts to back him and have retired those who refused to fall in line according to investigations by The Washington Post. I know this to be true from personal experience.
Although respectful to callers and my Trump-fan mic partner, I was critical of Trump’s candidacy throughout the election and did not vote for him. Post-election, I resolved to criticize or praise the president based on his actions in office. While most listeners appreciated the balanced approach, some did not. The tenor of some of those calls and emails taught me to drive home at night with one eye fixed on the rearview mirror.
In early spring 2017, a friend warned me that Salem Media Group had started purging Trump critics from its stations. Not long after, the head of the Salem network dropped by to excoriate me in front of local management for my lack of enthusiasm for the president. During my time at the station, local management had seemed mostly supportive; I got good reviews, subbed on a national show, and spoke at station events. Only twice had I been reprimanded for voicing an opinion at odds with the station’s viewpoint. I gave a probing but friendly interview with a local Muslim-American leader. I also suggested America support the human rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and oppose West Bank settlements. On these subjects, I was told to zip it.
Fast forward to summer 2017. My mic partner retired and the station terminated our show. They let me go with little warning. The management told a mutual friend that my criticism of the president had been the reason. Enthusiastic Trump followers assumed our place at the mic. As it turns out, I was not alone.
The Salem network has a legal right to determine its content and control the viewpoints expressed. Nevertheless, Salem management is not doing listeners a favor by feeding them a diet of White House talking points. At its best, journalistic commentary equips audiences to challenge power not to be co-opted by it. Several Denver hosts on other stations do this quite well without alienating Trump supporters.
Sadly, radio commentary is not the only media institution corrupted by passions. News coverage has become more partisan, as well. The once middle-of-the-road CNN is as anti-Trump as its competitor Fox News is pro-Trump. In previous administrations, the network would not have interviewed a Denver talk show host about his disagreement with the station over content as CNN did this weekend. It wouldn’t have been worthy of their time. As another anti-Trump click-bait story, it’s suddenly worthwhile.
What’s good for Salem, CNN, and Silverman isn’t necessarily good for the media-consuming public. Fawning adoration and blinding animosity toward the president, like a poisonous gas, has seeped imperceptibly into journalism and that’s not good for democracy.
Krista Kafer is a weekly Denver Post columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @kristakafer.
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