PressEthic

On Sept. 21, Research 2000, "the Nation's most unbiased and reliable research firm," released the results of a survey testing whether the "instapundits" on talk radio are more open to hear from callers with opposing views.

They concluded that progressive hosts were more willing to take calls from dissenters than conservative hosts.

The results, from easiest to access to least easy to access:

1. Ed Shultz (Progressive)

2. Randi Rhodes (Progressive)

3. Stephanie Miller (Progressive)

4. Laura Ingraham (Conservative)

5. Rush Limbaugh (Conservative)

6. Sean Hannity (Conservative)

Research 2000 comments on the most accessible and least welcoming talk radio hosts:

1st - Ed Shultz: once again was the easiest to get on the air with regardless of view point for the simple reason that the show is the only format of the six that does not ask the caller what they want to discuss. In fact, the only question the screener asked our fifteen callers was simply where are you calling from, radio call letters and your name.

6th - Sean Hannity: Once again, not a single one of our callers with a different point of view was able to get on the air with the host. Eleven of our callers with dissenting view points were told by the screener either “I will pass it on” or “call our liberal hotline” and then disconnected. Two other callers with a different view was told that the host would not have time to take the call today, however, if the caller would give his name and number to the screener, the Hannity program would call them back first thing the next day. We gave the screener the numbers of the two callers. We decided to call back after the calls were not returned within the first hour and received a recording that stated, “Calls are not be accepted from this number” The remaining two calls with a dissenting point of view were put on hold during the first hour and those callers were kept on the line for remaining two hours until the show completed, never getting on the air without feedback from the screener.

The original survey's results are mysteriously missing from the site and just redirect to the firm's homepage. But a google cache brings up Research 2000's methodology.

In August and September, we examined the same six nationally syndicated talk shows we did back in April which are heard in the Washington DC ADI five days weekly between August 21 through September 19, 2006. Three liberal: Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes and Ed Shultz. Three conservative: Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh. Back in April, each program was called ten times (5 with a point of view compatible with the host and most of the callers and 5 that were not). In the August-September follow up survey, we called each show 15 times with a point of view which was not compatible with the host and most of the callers. We decided not to do any calls with compatible view points because the April survey showed that those callers with compatible views with the host and most of the callers were able to get through and on the air between 15-30 minutes with each of the hosts.

I'm worried about the methodology of this survey, if only because they chose the three most popular conservative radio shows to call into. In general, talk radio is dominated by right-leaning political commentators and Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity's programs rank among the top 5. Shultz is up there too, but what about calling into the Al Franken show, one of the most popular liberal talk radio shows? Maybe it wouldn't have been so easy to get on the show?

Maybe the pollsters should've thought about picking on progressives that are the conservatives' size.