While one might have expected talk radio’s critics to jump on this issue with fangs bared, it never really took off.  The Columbia Journalism Review blog mentioned the Tablet piece, but it pretty much died there.

As it should have. This is a non-story.  The goal of any medium is to create entertaining programming that will attract and hold a marketable audience.  Does it matter how that happens?  The late night TV guys don’t write all their own jokes or come up with their own interview questions.  So what if a talk station uses the occasional “plant” (paid or unpaid) to fuel a segment? An obvious caveat: a planted caller should never be used to mislead listeners on matters of fact — especially in the areas of  public affairs and politics.

Note: It’s not clear whether this service is still available.  Tablet says Premiere took down the “On Call” web page shortly after a Tablet writer contacted the network.  At this writing, I have not spoken to Premiere.

Roll Call, a newspaper for Capitol Hill types, recently ran a most tiresome story – yet another breathless report on how much influence talk radio supposedly has with members of Congress.

“Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity can mobilize more voters than any press release or floor speech, so Members find themselves needing to be responsive or face their wrath,” a Republican strategist told Roll Call.

Maybe.  But the lawmakers’ response clearly doesn’t include voting as directed by the talk radio audience.  Atlantic.com talk radio fan/critic Conor Friedersdorf argues in a recent blog post that conservatism was much more successful before the advent of national talk radio.

“To listen to [some conservative hosts] talk, you’d think that the conservative movement hadn’t a hope of accomplishing anything until Rush Limbaugh became a nationally syndicated broadcaster in the early 1990s. Don’t get me wrong. I share the opinion that the American media of several decades ago had its ideological blind spots. And I’m thrilled that the Internet has given the public many more options for news and opinion than ever before, especially for conservatives and libertarians.

“But… [i]n 1980, before the talk radio explosion, Fox News, or Power Line, Ronald Reagan won the White House. Four years later, despite his detractors in the establishment media, he cruised to a second term. Now skip ahead to the time after talk radio’s rise. It’s been a terrible period for the conservative movement’s professed goals: despite Congressional wins in 1994 and presidential victories in 2000 and 2004, we’ve seen the size and scope of government increase, the erosion of federalism, and an explosion in the national debt.

“So… for conservatives out there who care about actual policy accomplishments and the health of the country as opposed to returning Team Red to power – who want to shrink government and protect civil liberties – what evidence do you have that talk radio is a useful ally, let alone an essential one?”

Anyone want to take that one?

Read Friedersdorf’s post HERE.  It includes a thought-provoking analysis of an on-air conversation between Salem talker Hugh Hewitt and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).  The two are at complete cross-purposes.  Coburn seems to view talk radio as a tool for solving the nation’s most serious problems (with GOP solutions, of course).  While Hewitt, clearly more concerned about ratings and revenue, stokes the more emotionally resonant “They-are-going-to-ban-talk-radio” topic by demanding the issue get top priority from Coburn and his colleagues.

Let’s start with getting a book deal.  Yes, this is highly competitive process, especially in the current economy with publishers issuing fewer titles and focusing on proven authors.  The good news is you no longer need a traditional publisher to get into the game.  As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, self-publishing has gone digital.   It is now possible to write a book and arrange (for a fee) to have it made available as an e-book.  Sell a copy to an iPad user and Apple will give you 70% of the sale price.  Amazon offers a similar deal.

Of course, traditional  commercial print publishing still dominates in sales and prestige.  But many self-published authors eventually get deals with major publishers.  Among those writers: WTKK/Boston host Michael Graham, who self-published two books before scoring his first book contract.  He has since had two book published, Redneck Nation and the recently released That’s No Angry Mob, That’s My Mom.

If time or writing experience are an obstacle, give us a call at Talk Frontier Media. We have assembled a group of experienced writers and editors who can help you get that book out of your head and into the marketplace.  We can do everything from helping you organize your thoughts to editing your drafts to full ghostwriting.  (You think the Big Names in talk radio write their books alone?  Please.)

Successful talk show hosts in markets of every size are ideally positioned to write and sell books.  They have their own media platform, excellent communication and promotion skills, and a built-in market of loyal fans.  If you think you’re ready to reap the rewards of writing a book, let’s have a conversation.

If you are interested in supporting the cause with interviews, please contact me and I’ll arrange some powerful guests.  Of course, you don’t need to be a CC station to support Fisher House — just one that wants to connect with a cause that will really resonate with its audience!

Dems need to get in there and fight

Boston Phoenix blogger Adam Reilly offers an insightful post-mortem on talk radio’s role in Scott Brown‘s election to the U.S. Senate. The bottom-line: Relationships and engagement matter — a lot.

True, most Beantown talkers were ideologically pre-disposed to support the Republican Brown.  But Brown also benefited tremendously from his long-time courtship of  the radio crowd.  Even before the U.S. Senate campaign, then-State Senator Brown would often call local shows unannounced just to share an opinion or bit of news. Conversely, Democrat Martha Coakley‘s campaign typically didn’t even bother to return calls from shows they deemed hostile.  The result: hosts who were inclined to disagree with Coakley came to dislike her. (Coakley is not unique in this attitude.  I’ve seen it many times, including at WMAL/Washington, where we were never able to get Democratic candidate/Congressman Chris Van Hollen (MD-8) on the air — not even with our easy-going morning guys.

The lesson Reilly offers is the same one we learned in the climactic scene of Top Gun: You can’t win the dogfight unless you overcome your anxiety and engage your opponent.  Of course, you need the skills necessary to mix it up with a professional talker, but most hosts aren’t that daunting.

While a liberal politician may not “win” every talk radio encounter, their very appearance can help blunt the harshness of future criticism.  As WTKK-FM/Boston personality and former political activist Jim Braude observes in the Phoenix post: “Democrats should start dialing. Most if not all conservative talk-show hosts are paper tigers. It’s also hard for any human to completely eviscerate someone who talks to them, and most talk-show hosts are human. And in my experience, after I called a show, I’d get e-mails saying, ‘You know, I hate everything you stand for — but I gotta give you credit for having the courage to come on.’