Over the last half-century, the Republican Party has won the hearts and minds of the rural midwest with its emphasis on social and cultural issues and working-class values. The movement known as the Great Backlash has been characterized by an emphasis on social issues, which it has tied to pro-business economic policies through elaborate association in mass media. My thesis takes an in-depth look at the process through which national ideology becomes hegemonic as it is disseminated to local communities, looking specifically at radio broadcasting in rural Missouri. Taking a Production of Culture perspective, my thesis shows how the industry structures of broadcast radio have tied conservative talk radio to local news and country music stations in rural communities, and how these formats work together to subtly disseminate conservative ideology into the common sense of rural Missourians. Using content analysis and audience interviews, I examine the messages in radio broadcasts and how they are received by people in rural communities to find common themes at play in both music and talk formats. Overall, this paper shows one of the ways that hegemony is created in local communities through the elaborate and consistent penetration of conservative ideology into the lives of everyday people.

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Read my thesis, "What's the Matter with Missouri: Talk Radio and Conservative Culture in Rural Missouri."