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Conservative talk radio accused of using actors as callers

March 5, 2011

Glenn Beck

Allegations are being made, accusing conservative talk radio show hosts, including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, of using paid actors to portray angry callers into their nationally syndicated programs. [Columbia Journalism Review]

Published reports suggests that the call-in shows use actors provided through Premiere On Call, a subsidiary of Premiere Radio Networks. Premiere, which is the largest radio syndicator in the country, currently offers the broadcast trinity of Beck, Limbaugh, and Hannity to thousands of stations across the country.

“Premiere On Call is our new custom caller service,” read the service’s website, which disappeared as this story was being reported. “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.”

The talk show actors had to audtion to be considered. According to one man who participated in the charade, 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.

Premiere Radio Networks is owned by Clear Channel, Inc. Conservative talk radio shows can be heard locally on KPRL (Paso Robles), KVEC (San Luis Obispo), KUHL (Santa Maria), and KSMX (Santa Maria).

 

 

 


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It seems there are 3 or 4 people on here that are self appointed authorities on what the real truth is. The deciders on what constitues acceptable talk radio. The trend I pick up is that if I dont agree with you, I am wrong or a hate monger or a tea bagger. So other than smearing shows and people you dont like, why dont you offer an available alternative that can be listened to localy. That way I can listen in to your reccomended “acceptable” shows and make up my own mind. If i dont like your reccomendation I will change the station or just turn it off. The alternative I keep hearing on here is that You dont like something, so it shouldnt be allowed for those that do because you know whats best for everyone else.


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What? Are you trying to say I’m not entitled to express my opinion on this forum?


Somebody has to stand up against these talk show bullies and declare their bullying as unacceptable—especially when it is being licensed by the Federal Government.


I happen to think the hate radio talk shows are a poor use of a limited public resource. I think our community deserves better and can do better. Surely you don’t consider The Glenn Beck show “quality” radio. What’s wrong with wanting something better?


By the way, I never said YOU were a hate-monger. But clearly Rush Limbaugh is, among others in his sordid profession. But you do seem to be wanting to defend hate-mongers. And they do have their right to try to stir up hatred and division in our nation, but the American people should not be required to, in essence, hand them a microphone and sanction their despicable rantings by way of continually and mindlessly renewing licenses that were originally intended to help make sure that the airwaves were used in a way to benefit the public good. There’s a fine line to be drawn there, perhaps, but clearly we, as a nation, can do better than Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and all the other malicious and malignant loud mouths who are paid to spread misleading propaganda throughout our nation.


There is no doubt we can do better.


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funny, but the only place I have seen “hatred” has been at the union rallies and DIRECTED at the hosts that are being called the hate mongers. Yes, I listen to conservative radio. Do I hear any “hate speech”? NO. I read alot of hate speech here though.

Show me an alternative to RL, GB, SH. I have watched the lib’s on FOX talk shows. They do not give any facts, all they do is bash the people they don’t like and call them liars. They do NOT offer any PROOF though.

I’m tired of the far left over-talking and yelling at repub’s. Just because they are louder or angrier, doesn’t make them more correct.


Again, this is America and we all have the FREEDOM to say what we believe. We also have the FREEDOM to change the station or turn the channel if we do not like what we hear. Stop trying to silence the voices you don’t agree with. If you have FREEDOM of speech, then we ALL have FREEDOM of speech.

Give this some thought, if the liberal Obama can take away MY rights to speech, eat, drink and pursue MY happiness, what will happen to YOUR rights when the pendulum swings back the other way and the ultra conservatives are in charge?????

I defend your right to speak your mind and have your say, even though I do not agree. Will you do the same for me? I wonder……………….


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Wow, nice attempt at deflecting from the accusations; if you want to listen to a radio talk show host that “allegedly” uses a professional group of actors to pretend to be real callers, please, knock yourself out, I really don’t care who or what you listen to. In my book though, you can only be a “hate monger” if you really believe the drivel being peddled AND you actively participate in spreading it further. Listen all you want though, it’s your sanity.


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What typoqueen and hotdog FAILED to mention was that the youtube video of Glenn Beck using vaporub was for a photo shoot, not his radio or TV show. They are taking the situation out of context and making it seem like Beck was doing that for his TV show.


Google it yourself. Celebrity photographer Jill Greenburg was staging a shoot for GQ magazine in ’09 and she applied the vaporub to generate fake tears–for a friggin’ PHOTO SHOOT.


So fellow liberal chat board posters, if you’re going to make allegations, at least include all the facts. Glenn Beck…vaporub…photo shoot…not TV show…photo shoot. There. I put it in simple terms.


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Actually it probably would have been better if the V. Rub was to produce fake tears as I have worried about his mental stability for some time now. Fake or real tears, he’s wacked and over all he’s a fake.


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I found this other article, which provides more detail:


http://www.opednews.com/articles/Limbaugh-Hannity-Parent-Co-by-Gustav-Wynn-110305-942.html


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Thanks for the link, excellent article. As I stated in an earlier comment, is it possible that Rush, Beck or Hannity will come out and denounce the tactics of using actors performing from a script? I’m not holding my breath. The linked article really puts the focus on Hannity and his various deceptions over the years, making quite the case that there could really be a lot of truth to the allegations.


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And if you had fully read the article you will see there is NO PROOF of the allegations. Indeed, the last sentence of the article sums it up nicely:

“Premiere On Call is a recently launched audio service connecting local entertainment radio stations with great voice talent to supplement their programming needs. The service is not utilized by News/Talk programs or stations.”


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The radio airwaves are a public trust LICENSED to broadcasters, with licensing intended to regulate the use of the airwaves.


Broadcasters now blatantly use/abuse that license to blatantly and continually, and often maliciously, deceive radio listeners. This happens day in and day out. Thus the American people are, in essence, sanctioning their own deception.


Should the United States really be issuing licenses to allow unethical hate-mongers, liars and con men to use the mass media to deceive millions of Americans daily? How is this a proper way to use a limited public resource of such power?


Sick, very sick…


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Why on earth would anyone “dislike” this statement. The opposite would be to wish for hate-mongers, liars and con men to deceive millions daily. Talk about knee jerk reasoning.


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It’s amazing mike, it’s the old truth hurts syndrome and they don’t know how to react.


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Well I must have taken a leg out of one of the stands the conservatives might have taken by pointing out that there could be an attempt to place the blame on liberals; no, instead the tactic seems to be to downgrade the story as a “non-story” or to even deny that the story actually applies to the very same talk show hosts that are mentioned in the article- wow, cognitive dissonance at its finest. Good job Roger of beating the dead horse of Air America, again and again. The failure there was not the content, but the lack of funding to carry an entire network long enough to become established. Rupert Murdoch was able to flush 90 million dollars a year for the first five years for Fox News in able to wait it out until it was established and able to start making a profit, Air America did not have the financial backing to try and do anywhere near that long of establishing the network that was started. Many of those stations have continued on with progressive talk radio, some of the more prominent hosts have landed their programing on the satellite networks, but the backers of conservative talk radio are much more willing to spend money to push their agenda by spending more and more to keep the likes of Rush, Hannity, Beck and so on on the air.

And to jfirebrand, the linked articles do not specifically come and accuse Rush or Hannity or Beck of using the service, but the implication is there, specifically. Deny that they have done this all you want, but your denial does not mean that it did not happen. In the interest of the “truth” how about Rush, Hannity and Beck all come out and specifically, categorically state that none of them ever used this service, period? Does anyone honestly believe that will happen? My guess is that the corporate controlled media will choose not to report this in any meaningful manner and those big 3 hosts will simply let the story die a quiet death, if they are lucky enough for that to happen.


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“The failure there was not the content, but the lack of funding to carry an entire network long enough to become established…”


I disagree, Bob. Air America had loads of cash from liberal backers. What they did NOT have enough of was listeners. No listeners plus no advertisers equals no success.


Like ’em or not, Rush, Sean & Glenn (and NO I’m not a regular listener and NO I don’t watch ’em on TV) do have listeners so they’re still around.


An easy solution is to do what liberals say when prudish conservatives complain about TV shows…turn it OFF. Don’t listen. Thankfully we’re in a free country where we can just change the dial on the radio.


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AA failed because they had a younger demographic and they don’t listen to the radio whereas the old f@rts do. Many of those that might have listened to Air America listen to NPR. Air America didn’t have the large money backing that con. shows have.


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Have you seen the video on the net whereby Beck uses Vicks Vapor Rub to induce his ‘tears’? What a joke. Those how actually think he (OR ANY OTHESE CREEPS) is a serious source of info must be missing some DNA.


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I didn’t know that Beck did that so I did the Youtube thing. What a fraud and yet as Roger F. showed us, they don’t care, they still worship at the alter of lies. Amazing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuG9TdtEbu8


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oh, you guys are just silly.


I would be surprised if they even cover it as a story. Talk shows are entertainment based on current events. Yes, I have even heard folks say that when they go on a show they get all of their friends to call in to lend support, too… it happens even in little San Luis Obispo.


Liberals still have the ‘truth’ to listen to: abc, nbc, cbs, msnbc and so forth. However, a fully disclosed liberal show is doomed to failure… poor Air America… although they did leave a lasting joke on us… a US Senator.


As for the rest of us, I don’t mind listening to a show that hires people to act… like you.


Roger


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Should we be surprised that you are SUPPORTING outright malicious deception,with the LAME, worn-out, ridiculous excuse that it is “entertainment”? Have you ever heard of a concept called “ethics”?


That’s one of the problems with hate radio: it encourages compromising ethics and morality for the sake of selfishness and bigotry. The posting above is simply more evidence of this sad trend. Sick, sick, sick….


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@Roger, I’m also not surprised that you don’t care. Typical Teabagger mentality that follows blindly.


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I can honestly say I have never listened to talk radio or any of these shows mentioned in this article. However, there is enough anger toward these personalities in your posts to discredit the article. I can imagine any one of you calling in and being angry on the air…just sayin…


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And the angry right never call in on left shows, oh no the right aren’t angry. How does 3 or 4 posters on Cal Coast News discredit the article, for that matter how would 1000 angry posters discredit the article?


BTW, I’m not angry and I don’t sense any anger in any of these posts. Personally I feel it’s funny as well incredibly predictable.


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BTW, you don’t listen to the radio show but you watch thier TV shows, same difference. Either they’re deceitful or their not, and it’s been well established time and time again that that they are.


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And how does Ms. All-Knowing Typoqueen know what another poster watches on TV? Quite presumptious, I’d say!


I’m politically conservative on most issues and I do not listen the folks mentioned nor do I watch their shows either. (no TV, just internet, books, newspapers and magazines!!)


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“And how does Ms. All-Knowing Typoqueen know what another poster watches on TV?”


Ummm because she said so in a different thread.


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As I read the linked article, I find that it DOES NOT STATE that the conservatives use this service.

The article states: There was, he said, a tradition of “creating fake phone calls for the sake of entertainment on some of the funny shows, shock jocks shows, the kind of shows you hear on FM music stations in the morning, they would regularly have scenarios, crazy scenarios of people calling up and doing pranks.”

And:”Last year, a young man called in to a radio station with a problem. He’d recently attended a bachelor party, he said, and a friend of the groom-to-be, clueless of the unwritten etiquette of maledom, brought his girlfriend along, derailing what was supposed to be a weekend of gambling, girls, and general debauchery. The caller told his story with passion and verve, and then asked the station’s listeners for their advice on how to treat his clueless pal.”

Doesn’t sound like a conservative radio show. In fact, the only link is that Clear Channel, which has hundreds of shows, uses this service.

So, my dear liberal friends, you’ll need to find dirt somewhere else. This isn’t it.


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