A Conservative Voice in the Media – Then and Now

Reflections on being an outsider:

OK, a bit of a personal piece here. I often tell some of the conservative movers and shakers of today that they have it easy – at least when it comes to getting the word out, and in having a supportive media to deal with. I let them know that they are on easy street today, unlike when I was so heavily involved in being a conservative voice with the legacy media.

You see, there was no alternative media back then, or it was just starting out. Both Fox News and Sky News Australia did not even start until 1996, and they did not really get on a roll until some time later. So none of that was available to me back then. The overwhelming majority of the media that interviewed me or featured me in debates, etc., was the mainstream media – almost all of which was well to the left.

And I did many hundreds of media engagements back then. I kept track of them in fact. For example, I did well over 500 radio interviews and debates over a period of a few decades, with most Australian stations, including the ABC and SBS, and even overseas outfits such as the BBC.

I did around 125 television interviews and debates, on all the Australian stations (2, 7, 9, 10, SBS). And so many of those interviews were for stories featured on the 6 o’clock news. Many were debates on the contentious issues of the day.

With no internet back then, I had some 250 letters to the editor published, and around a thousand comments and articles printed in newspapers and magazines. These were found in all the major newspapers and news magazines in the country, and some from overseas.

And of course I did hundreds of speaking engagements back then as well. So I kept quite busy doing all this, trying to share truth in the public arena. It began to wind back however, after I left some of the organisations that I was with, and started my own website ministry, CultureWatch.

My beef

As mentioned, things were much harder for conservative spokesmen back then. First of all, there were far fewer of us around back then. And there was no internet and social media and podcasts either. And there were no major alternative media outlets around. So I almost always faced hostile media outlets back then.

Consider some of the difficulties I faced during those years. I of course am a Christian and I believe in the power of prayer. I have always known that behind the hardcore political and culture war debates, there is a spiritual war going on. So prayer is always important when you face an antagonistic and hostile media.

Today a conservative doing media and the like can post about an upcoming debate with some lefties on things like Facebook, or X, or their own website, and instantly they can have many thousands of people aware of it, and hopefully praying for it. Back then I had none of this.

A typical day would go like this: I would get a call from some newspaper or radio or television station in the early afternoon. If it was for an evening news broadcast, I would be told that in a short period of time the TV crew would be there to interview me.

I would have enough time to look in the mirror and see if I was presentable, find a suitable room or location to do the interview in, and maybe try to quickly bone up on whatever the topic of the day was to be. Given that almost all of these were hot-potato topics, of which I was the sole contrarian voice, I knew that prayer would be good.

But all I could do then was perhaps give my wife a quick call and ask her to pray. Maybe she could call a few others to do the same. That was it. I had no access to tens of thousands of folks online to instantaneously get the word out and get some much-needed prayer cover!

And it was the same with, say, a radio debate. Often it would start the moment they called me! It was the norm back then to have me on as the token conservative – the lone voice against a number of others. Almost always the host was opposed to what I had to say, and it was not unusual for there to be 2, 3 or more other ‘guests’ on who were all fully antagonistic to my views as well. It was never easy, and it was never a fair fight.

With only a secular left media available, I routinely had to walk into the lion’s den and hope that I would make it out alive. These were not pleasant experiences, and so many of these hosts and guests were very hostile and belligerent indeed. But we needed to have conservative voices out there, no matter how difficult it was, so I did my best.

But as I say, today things are so much different. We now have Fox News with a heap of conservative commentators. And in Australia we now have Sky News as well. So in most cases today a conservative culture warrior or political figure can simply go on to something like Sky and get a good hearing and a quite favourable run.

And often it might be a conservative host like Andrew Bolt or Peta Credlin, and any other guests on would often be conservative as well. Sure, sometimes a lefty is invited on, but they end up being in the minority. Wow, I sure wish things were so easy back when I was doing all this full time.

Indeed, a conservative host might have on one conservative and Christian like a James Macpherson, and the second guest will also be a conservative and a Christian, such as a Liz Storer or an Evelyn Rae. Like I say, easy street! They don’t know how good they have it today!

Speaking of such new voices on the conservative scene, I have often said that I was out of place back then. What you often want to have to really make an impact in the media here is a young, attractive Australian female. I of course was none of that. I was never photogenic or telegenic. I was male. I was older. And I was an American! How did I ever manage to get so much media time?

Well, as I say, there were far fewer such conservative spokesmen on the scene back then. But I guess the media came to see that I was articulate, I knew what I was talking about, I was up on the issues, I could think quickly on my feet, and I could make the conservative case on whatever issue was being discussed or debated at the time.

And of course I would add that God certainly helped me in all this. For an introvert and a misanthrope to be thrown in front of the cameras and microphones on almost a daily basis and survive was a God thing. I would rather sit at home and read a book. I don’t even like controversy! So God gave me real grace to do that job, and it seems to have done a bit of good.

A whole new set of voices

As I say, today there are plenty of individuals and a bunch of new groups and organisations doing the sorts of things I was doing. Many – perhaps most – simply were not on the scene 30 years ago. So I am thankful that a new crop of groups and people are now out and about, standing up for truth in the public arena.

In Australia, the ACL, Family First, Binary, the Daily Declaration, the Good Sauce, Caldron Pool and so many more outfits were simply not around when I first started out. Four years ago I posted a piece discussing the top 50 conservative and Christian websites: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2021/02/23/50-top-conservative-and-christian-websites/

And consider all the conservative voices that are now so ubiquitous. So many names come to mind, that if I tried to list even just some of the better ones, this piece would grow too long. So let me limit my lists to some female conservative commentators, presenters, broadcasters and political operatives – 46 in all. Since there is often much interaction between the American and Australian ones, let me list some champs from both countries.

In America, here are just some of the young, articulate conservative female voices who are making a real difference. Many of them are either part of the Fox News team or are regular guests on it. Many more names could be added to this list of 31:

Charly Arnolt
Julie Banderas
Lisa Boothe
Tiffany Marie Brannon
Emily Campagno
Cheryl Casone
Alina Habba
Aishah Hasnie
Jacqui Heinrich
Megyn Kelly
Tomi Lahren
Karoline Leavitt
Dana Loesch
Anna Paulina Luna
Brianna Lyman
Kayleigh McEnany
Candace Owens
Katie Pavlich
Dana Perino
Elizabeth Pipko
Lila Rose
Nicole Saphier
Carley Shimkus
Lauren Southern
Ashley Strohmier
Kristin Tate
Lara Trump
Batya Ungar-Sargon
Allie Beth Stuckey
Liz Wheeler
Natalie Winters

In Australia we find more of the same. As with the above list, these are just some of the young and articulate females who have been making a real splash as they hold their own and challenge the legacy media and woke agenda. Many are Sky News regulars or guests. My top 15 (of many) would be these:

Stephanie Bastiaan
Daisy Cousens
Peta Credlin
Danica Di Giorgio
Laura Jayes
Caroline Marcus
Sharri Markson
Erin Molen
Rita Panahi
Gabriella Power
Evelyn Rae
Caroline Di Russo
Liz Storer
Sydney Watson
Rachael Wong

So things have come a really long way since my rather lonely days some decades ago. Of course the internet and all that goes with it – the social media, YouTube, X, podcasts, blogsites, etc – have really revolutionised things and made all this possible. It has certainly helped the alternative media to take off massively, and to give so many people a voice that they would not have otherwise had.

Thus I repeat: you conservatives today have got it easy! So enjoy your newfound success and influence. And keep up the good work.

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