Action Item

Jul 20, 2007  
Call the talk radio shows and tell them about AE911Truth.org!!
— Richard Gage, AIA
 
Subject: Talk Radio Article from Zan Overall

A list of some popular radio shows and phone numbers is at the bottom.

Something for Nothing
— by Zan Overall

Buying three minutes of air time on Larry Elder's national radio talk show would cost me $2100.00. If I call in to that show and talk to Larry about 9/11 for three minutes it would cost me $0.00.

That's a bargain that the 9/11 Truth Movement should take more advantage of. We can reach millions of citizens and tell them the facts on 9/11 with the minor annoyance of fencing with ill-informed and brainwashed hosts. That last part is fun really.

Let me give you an example of how such a call can go. On June 19th, I called the Michael Medved national talk show. (The following is a paraphrase from memory.) Michael was talking about some aspect of the "War on Terror."

I said, "Osama Bin Ladin is a bogey man the government uses to frighten and anger the American people into going along with the phony War on Terror. His wanted poster on the FBI website doesn't even accuse him of guilt on 9/11. An FBI spokesman admitted they don't have 'hard evidence' on him for 9/11."

MM: "I've heard that story but it doesn't impress me."

ZO: "Story??!! I've gone to the FBI website and checked out what you call a story. It's for real! (Wish I had given the website: fbi.gov) Have you checked it out?"

MM: "I have more important things to do with my time."

ZO: (passionately) "What you mean is that you won't confront things that challenge your beliefs."

After asking me if I believed the government engineered 9/11, Medved fell back on his old trick of asking a conjectural question. "Do you know how many people would be involved in pulling off a conspiracy of that magnitude?"

ZO: "There you go with a coulda-woulda-shoulda conjectural question! Let's talk facts!" The call didn't last much longer after that.

Here are some of the things I have learned about calling talk shows in many years of calling them. I'll start with tactics and conclude with some of the nitty gritty of contacting talk shows.

Regarding tactics, remember you cannot expect to convert the host, at least not in the short run. You are using a debate with him to inform and win over people in his audience. Don't try to go over his head and make a speech to the audience. It's his show and he has the button which will take you off the air.

Keep it conversational. Make a point and pause, letting him respond. Then play off his response, which will probably be ill-informed.

Keep your cool! The host will probably not keep his cool when he hears you accuse the government of complicity in 9/11 and the mass murder of thousands.

When the audience hears you calmly citing facts and hears the host not responding to your assertions and resorting to insults, at least some of them will begin to believe you have a case worth looking into. Present yourself as someone well acquainted with the facts on 9/11, who is just trying to inform.

This is a good response to an angry outburst from the host:

"I can understand completely why you feel that way. I felt the same way until I learned the facts about 9/11. Any decent person would be shocked to hear our leaders accused of complicity in the deaths of thousands. Unfortunately, that is where the evidence leads."

The host will try to put you on the defensive, asking you question after question. Here is a good way to put him on the defensive , at the same time showing his lack of knowledge on 9/11 and his bias. Say "I know you accept the official story on what happened on 9/11. But, in terms of that scenario, how can you explain the presence of molten metal in the basements of the collapsed World Trade Center buildings weeks later?"

Stop right there. The ball is in his court. Don't give him any more information. The chances are he will never have heard of the molten metal factor (or whatever fact you bring up). If he admits he has never heard of it, tell him the significance of the presence of molten metal, how it can easily be explained in terms of controlled demolitions but not in terms of the official story. If he comes up with some lame explanation, knock it down. When his ignorance of, say, molten metal has been established, you can say, "I don't think you know enough about the subject to have a right to the firm opinion you have expressed on what happened on 9/11."

Typically, a host just lets you make a point but passes on to his next question as if your point were meaningless. Don't let him get away with it. Say "I just made a substantive point backing up my contentions. Instead of going on to another question, let's discuss my point. If you don't agree with it, tell me why."

Be prepared for the typical responses you will get. You will always get: "There would have to be too many people involved in a conspiracy like that. Someone would have talked."

You can refer to the Manhattan Project where tens of thousands kept the secret of the atom bomb. In large conspiracies, tasks are compartmentalized and only a small number of people are privy to the whole picture. Also say that if you knew you were in a conspiracy to murder thousands of people you would realize the extreme danger of "talking."

You will also inevitably get: "What happened to Flight 77 if it didn't hit the Pentagon?" You can say, "That question demands speculation and we try to stick to what we know and can prove." I am always tempted to reply, "If I were part of the conspiracy, I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you."
So far I have restrained myself.

If you are in the 9/11 Truth Movement but believe, as some do, that Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, the question in the last paragraph will not be a problem for you, since you will be agreeing with the host.

You may be asked: "How can you believe our government would cold-bloodedly sacrifice innocent people for a political end?" Point out that governments have done this over and over to get people angry enough and scared enough to go to war.

Cite FDR's foreknowledge of Pearl Harbor, the Lusitania affair, the Reichstag fire.

Be prepared for common tactics a host will employ.

He will get you off topic and not allow you to fully present the point you are trying to make. You should point out his ploy, saying, "I called in to present some facts backing my opinions on 9/11 but you are trying to lead us far afield. Please respond to the point I just made."

One of the distractions they will use is the conjectural question, what I like to call a coulda-woulda-shoulda question. For example: "How many people would have to keep such secret?"

The best response is to point out what the host is trying to do. Say, "You are trying to derail the discussion by asking a question that can have no definite answer. People like myself in the 9/11 Truth Movement want to discuss the facts that prove the falsity of the government account of 9/11 but you apparently do not."

By the way, let's all say "9/11 Truth Movement" over and over in all our discussions, on the air or not. We need to have more and more people aware of the movement and its name.

Most of the time you will not be permitted to give out website addresses. Ask if you may. If permitted to do so, give out one, clearly and slowly. Don't throw it away. If website addresses are not permitted, you can say, "If you want to see if what I am saying is true, google "911scholars.org."
(Or whatever is apropos.)

****************************************************

Now to the nitty gritty of calling in.

It is not as hard as you might think to get on even national shows with millions of listeners. Most listeners are passive, never daring to call in.

If you get a busy signal, don't give up. When the board is full, a line will open up briefly when a call concludes. The trick is to call in at the right moment. Talk shows all have a built in delay to enable them to keep profanity from hitting the air, generally from five to eight seconds. Michael Medved's is 10 seconds.

When you feel a call is winding down try to hit your redial button about six seconds before you guess the call may end.. It can work. Also keep redialing during calls and breaks. Even when the board is full, people give up and hang up, opening a line.

If the call goes through, the screener will speak to you or perhaps just connect you to the show in progress. You will hear the host speaking to a caller or perhaps just enjoying the sound of his own voice. Turn off your radio and hang on.

When the show goes to a break you may hear a commercial as broadcast from the host's home radio station. You also may hear a few minutes of nothing. Don't be alarmed and think that you have been disconnected. Hang on the line until the break is over. The show will come back onto your phone.

The screener (sometimes it will be the producer) will ask you what you want to say about the topic. Tell him succinctly what you want to say. If he thinks it would make a good call he will say "Hold on. Turn your radio down and get right into your call when you get on the air." Otherwise, he will reject your call.

If he takes your call he will put a summary of what you want to say on a screen that the host is looking at. It is up to the host whether he will take your call. You may hang on for an hour and not get a chance to get on the show. In that case an email or a letter may be in order, including backup material.

Never lie to the screener about what you are going to say and blurt out something that you have not alerted them to. That is dirty pool and you will never get on that show again.

To get on the show you have to get past the screener.

Sometimes they are unfair and capricious. Do your best to convince them you would make a good call. They don't mind controversy. Controversy is their bread and butter but they want callers who are good communicators. Try to be prepared and speak well. Avoid conventional greetings, such as "How are you doing?" I just say the host's first name and launch into what I want to say.

Record the call in some way. It is good to review how you did and think of ways to improve next time. If it seems important enough you can usually order a recording of the whole show or the hour in question. That will cost you some money. I often send the host a letter with published material backing up what I said. If you have a recording you can quote yourself and the host accurately. When I send a letter, I paper clip a self- addressed postcard to it. The host might not write a letter or an email, but it's hard for him to resist scribbling something on a postcard. Correspondence also develops a personal relationship with the host.

Talk shows are usually topic driven but some have a time during the week when they are open to any subject you want to bring up. Michael Medved has "Disagreement Day" on Thursdays. He also has "Conspiracy Theory Day" once a month. It always falls on or around the Full Moon. I believe he is calling us lunatics. Class action suit anyone? Larry Elder has "Open Mind Friday."

Make a list of talk shows in your area, local and national, with times on the air and call in numbers. Distribute to 9/11 activists in your area. To get you started here is how to call in to three national shows.

Michael Medved airs from 2 PM to 5 PM, Central Time, M-F.
(800) 955-1776 .

Larry Elder airs from 5 PM to 8 PM, Central Time, M-F.
(877) 99 LARRY / (877) 995-2779.

Laura Ingraham airs from 8AM to 11 AM, Central Time, M-F.
(800) 876-4123.

You will find some hosts on the left who are open to 9/11 Truth.
You will find no hosts on the right who are open to 9/11 Truth.
Strange to say, you will find many hosts on the left who oppose 9/11 Truth.

I think that we can change the minds of those who disagree with us. Talk radio is a great way to do it and the price is right! Let us be thankful that there are hosts willing to give us free air time!

-END-

Top Radio Shows & Contact Numbers

 1.   Rush Limbaugh  •  800-282-2882  •  12pm – 3pm EST (live radio)
 2.   Michael Savage  •  800-449-8255  •  generally on the air M-F, 6pm – 9pm EST
 3.   Glenn Beck  •  888-727-2325  •  9am – 12pm
 4.   Sean Hannity  •  800-941-7326  •  2pm – 5pm
 5.   Laura Ingraham  •  800-449-8255  •  M-F, 9am – 12pm EST
 6.   MANCOW  •  888-2-MANCOW (262-6269)  •  mornings, 6am – 9am
 7.   George Noory  •  West Coast 800-618-8255  • 
       East Coast 800-825-5033, 818-501-4721, 818-501-4109  • 
       late nights, 1am – 5am EST
 8.   Neal Boortz  •  281-558-5738  •  8:30am – 1pm
 9.   Bill O'Reilly  •  877-9-NOSPIN (966-7746)  •  12pm to 2pm EST
10.   Dr. Laura  •  800-DRLAURA (375-2872)  •  M-F, 12pm – 3pm PST
11.   Mark Levin  •  877-381-3811  •  6pm – 8pm EST
12.   Bill Bennett  •  866-680-6464  •  6am – 9am EST
13.   Michael Medved  •  800-955-1776  •  M-F, 3pm – 6pm EST
14.   Adam Carolla  •  866-901-ADAM (2326)  •  M-F, 8am – 1pm EST
15.   G. Gordon Liddy  •  800-478-7111  •  M-F, 10pm – 1am EST
16.   Art Bell — see George Noory, above — only weekends
17.   Jerry Doyle  •  800-876-4123  •  4pm – 5pm
18.   Dr. Joy Browne  •  800-544-7070  •  12pm – 3pm
19.   Hugh Hewitt  •  800-520-1234  •  M-F, 3pm – 6pm EST
20.   Dennis Prager  •  877-243-7776  •  M-F, 12pm – 3pm EST
21.   Mike Gallagher  •  800-655-MIKE (6453)  •  M-F, 9am – 12pm EST