By Jim Hagarty
Right-wing hate radio hosts in the U.S. go nuts when they are referred to as just entertainers.
They like their listeners to think of them as serious journalists, speaking truth to power and bringing conservative perspectives on major issues to light. This sounds reasonable on their part except for this fact. Some of these shows make use of a company which provides talk radio with “callers” who are essentially paid actors who phone in to praise the host and to ask the host set-up questions that allow him to then take off on his favourite left-wing punching bag of the day.
The radio stations actually pay this company for this service.
So the next time you hear an angry caller to a talk show ranting on about how terrible President Obama and all Democrats are, keep in mind there is a good chance that caller doesn’t hold those beliefs at all but is collecting a paycheque for pretending to be an enraged “ordinary” citizen.
How sinister is that, given that most listeners have no idea this is happening?
