What liberal mainstream media?

[Commentary] Fox News is the No. 1 cable news channel in the country. The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, is the No. 1-selling newspaper in the country. Rush Limbaugh is the No. 1 most listened to talk radio host in the country and Drudge Report, the conservative online news aggregator, is the No. 1 traffic driver for political news sites. So, let's cycle back through that: The dominant players across all news platforms are Fox News (by viewers), The Wall Street Journal (by circulation); Rush Limbaugh (by listeners); and Drudge Report (by traffic). So, when conservatives slam the "liberal mainstream media" -- what the hell are they talking about?

I've put this question to conservative media figures over recent months, and the answer is usually the same: Yes, conservative outlets hold the top spots, but they're competing with an entire liberal media infrastructure that includes ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, the liberal blogosphere, and so on and so forth. But how big is the "liberal" infrastructure, really? Fox News often outperforms CNN and MSNBC combined. The broadcast networks air actual news programming for roughly one hour a day, cumulatively, and again for an hour on Sunday mornings. No one on talk radio comes close to Limbaugh or to Sean Hannity, who occupies the number-two spot. The Huffington Post doesn't hold a candle to the Drudge Report in terms of influence or outbound traffic*. But, ok, perhaps there is a point to be made on the cumulative influence of the Times, the Post and other papers when compared to the Journal. Overall, however, we're a long way from the days when Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox News, could claim there was no voice for conservatives in the mainstream media.