4um: Hmm. Prominent Conservative Radio Hosts Planted Scripted Actors Among Callers

Title: Hmm. Prominent Conservative Radio Hosts Planted Scripted Actors Among Callers
Source: Crooks And Liars
URL Source: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-mad ... minent-conservative-radio-host
Published: Mar 5, 2011
Author: Susie Madrak
Post Date: 2011-03-05 20:44:54 by Original_Intent
Keywords: Pills, Vannity, Propaganda, Radio
Views: 1486
Comments: 62

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Well, looky here! From the Columbia Journalism Review:

Well, here’s a shocker: Some of the people who phone in to talk radio shows (that caller with the pitch-perfect rant, provocative comment or burning question) may actually be hired actors reading from scripts. I’m not an angry listener, but I play one on radio!

Via Tablet Magazine:
If [the actor] passed the audition, he would be invited periodically to call in to various talk shows and recite various scenarios that made for interesting radio. He would never be identified as an actor, and his scenarios would never be identified as fabricated—which they always were.
“I was surprised that it seemed so open,” the actor told me in an interview. “There was really no pretense of covering it up.”
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Curious, the actor did some snooping and learned that Premiere On Call was a service offered by Premiere Radio Networks, the largest syndication company in the United States and a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, the entertainment and advertising giant. Premiere syndicates some of the more sterling names in radio, including Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity. But a great radio show depends as much on great callers as it does on great hosts: Enter Premiere On Call.

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“Premiere On Call is our new custom caller service,” read the service’s website, which disappeared as this story was being reported (for a cached version of the site click here). “We supply voice talent to take/make your on-air calls, improvise your scenes or deliver your scripts. Using our simple online booking tool, specify the kind of voice you need, and we’ll get your the right person fast. Unless you request it, you won’t hear that same voice again for at least two months, ensuring the authenticity of your programming for avid listeners.”

Ensuring the authenticity of your programming… with paid, planted callers.

I said years ago that Pills Limbuggerer used fake callers. It became obvious, to me anyway, when I caught him using one who was making just exactly the point Rush wanted made but didn't want it come out of his own mouth.

The big Talk Radio Shows are no different than, and every bit as genuine as, "Professional Wrestling".

I don't listen to any of those hosts referred to in this article. However, I assume that "big Talk Radio Shows" are right-wing and/or conservative hosts. At least I don't see any referral to left wing, liberal or progressive hosts.

Could it be that those they named in the article are too successful for the liberals, left wing, progressives to endure? After all, the site itself is specifically for progressives, as noted in their future plans for the next election campaigns:

"The beginning of the process is to help recruit solid progressives in a slew of races where Republicans narrowly managed to get into office in the midst of a national discontent that wasn't kind to Democratic incumbents. You'll be able to keep abreast of developments along these lines at the three blogs that work together to keep this PAC going, Crooks and Liars, Digby's Hullabaloo and DownWithTyranny."

I jumped on the article because it represents something I already thought to be the case.

However, I used to listen to a lot of talk radio and got banned from one show for being too effective at cutting through the spin.

At the very least they are screening to get callers who are making the point they want made.

However, I have noticed too many occurences of well spoken callers making exactly the point the host wanted made.

I regard Talk Radio as Propaganda/PsyOps Radio. How else can they afford to pay Rush Limbaugh more than his program makes?

OI, I used to listen to talk radio, too, until I realized it was all "for show", i.e., entertainment.

Not necessarily my only point in offering a counter is that message is not the messenger and that it is at least partially substantiated by the evidence cited.