Talk Radio: Sucking The Air Out Of The Room.

According to a 2007 Gallup poll, one in five Americans turns to talk radio as a daily news source. Considering that it's not even news, that's rather disconcerting.

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin and dozens of other loudmouths on talk radio stations nationwide continue to lie about health care. Limbaugh goes so far as to say there isn't a health care crisis at all:

Conservative columnist Cal Thomas lies about the liars on FOX News (which is just videotaped talk radio, anyway):

Joesph Goebbels himself couldn't have designed a propaganda network as deeply penetrating as conservative talk radio. As posted previously on JackRabbit Café, Limbaugh's success comes largely through his syndicator's policy of offering his show for free to hundreds of small and medium-sized radio stations across the country in exchange for ad time. It's called "vertical integration," which really means that as you scan the AM dial, there is no escaping the feverish screaming from the right.

Here is broadcast journalist Sue Wilson on AlterNet:

Drive across the seven states they represent: Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Utah, turn on your car radio, and you'll know why public opinion has changed. According to Pew research, 22 percent of Americans get their news from talk radio. And conservative talkers have been lying to their listeners about what's in the health care bill.

Lies from Sean Hannity like, "If you don't have private insurance the year that this bill is passed, you can't get that later on from your employer." Lies from Rush Limbaugh that the bill would "outlaw individual private coverage." Lies provided in talking points from the Republican National Committee like "Democrats are proposing a government controlled health insurance system, which will control care, treatments, medicines and even what doctors a patient may see."

Tell a lie often enough, and people will believe it.

And there is nobody there to call them on their lies. Nobody there to set the record straight. Nobody to push back against the propaganda that corporate radio promotes in its own political self interest. In the Blue Dog Seven states, just three stations broadcast any kind of progressive talk. Three progressive radio stations in seven entire states. But Sean Hannity "freely" prevaricates on dozens of radio stations; Rush Limbaugh deceives people on 98 in those seven states alone. 98 publicly owned frequencies where public debate comes second to selling ads for Snapple.

Special assistant to the President for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, Susan Crawford told Broadcasting and Cable magazine, "The administration understands the important role traditional terrestrial broadcasting continues to play."

Maybe they should be listening to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who says in Broadcast Blues, "If you're concerned about health care or you're concerned about the environment as your number one issue, fine, but a piece of advice from me, is you better make media reform your number two issue, because you won't get anywhere on number one without media reform."