We now know that call-in political talk programs are a fraud in the sense that for the most part the callers are voice actors that are paid to read a script.
The US is supposed to be a free country that values liberty and open discussion on the issues. Instead we have an assortment of radio talk programs that are basically an advertisement for a political party. I just like you, believe that the media needs to honest with the public and if need be, they must be forced to be upfront.
The companies that produce infomercials that employ famous personalities wouldn't tell us that people like Alex Trebeck and the Fonz are paid employees of the company if they weren't required by law.
Using that same reasoning, Premiere Radio Networks needs to be forced by law to acknowledge that specific calls are paid callers. They can't deny it as they employ many paid callers.
The main national right and left wing talkers are well coordinated as a unit on a daily basis. The main ones regurgitate much of the same material. They’re getting paid millions to sell talking points. To be useful the call needs to be in agreement with the conservative talking point of the day. Abramoff emails had some references to coordinating radio when trying to influence politicians. Local right wing talkers often reinforce the national shows and coordinate with state and local GOP political needs -the same holds through with the left. Are they getting preferred topics lists and how are these coordinated with paid callers on a national scale?
What percentage of the calls that make it through to Limbaugh and Hannity during a day, reaching many millions of listeners, are from real callers? The real answer may be very embarrassing considering that so many conservatives believe in these guys as being honest.
Though the influence of national talk radio is diminishing, it's time that congress steps in and requires that the public be well informed as to what is going on behind the scenes regarding talk radio.
Your thoughts on this?
The US is supposed to be a free country that values liberty and open discussion on the issues. Instead we have an assortment of radio talk programs that are basically an advertisement for a political party. I just like you, believe that the media needs to honest with the public and if need be, they must be forced to be upfront.
The companies that produce infomercials that employ famous personalities wouldn't tell us that people like Alex Trebeck and the Fonz are paid employees of the company if they weren't required by law.
Using that same reasoning, Premiere Radio Networks needs to be forced by law to acknowledge that specific calls are paid callers. They can't deny it as they employ many paid callers.
The main national right and left wing talkers are well coordinated as a unit on a daily basis. The main ones regurgitate much of the same material. They’re getting paid millions to sell talking points. To be useful the call needs to be in agreement with the conservative talking point of the day. Abramoff emails had some references to coordinating radio when trying to influence politicians. Local right wing talkers often reinforce the national shows and coordinate with state and local GOP political needs -the same holds through with the left. Are they getting preferred topics lists and how are these coordinated with paid callers on a national scale?
What percentage of the calls that make it through to Limbaugh and Hannity during a day, reaching many millions of listeners, are from real callers? The real answer may be very embarrassing considering that so many conservatives believe in these guys as being honest.
Though the influence of national talk radio is diminishing, it's time that congress steps in and requires that the public be well informed as to what is going on behind the scenes regarding talk radio.
Your thoughts on this?