Continuing today’s theme of me discovering things everyone else already knows, I just learned that there’s an entire industry devoted to providing actors to be fake call-in guests to talk radio shows. If I read Daily Kos more regularly, I would have learned this back in July.
Of course, just because some programs do it, doesn’t mean all do, or even that any given one does it. But enough do it to support a business model providing the fake callers.
I don’t know why people always go on that “professional” wrestling is fake – of course it is fake. It is fake the same way movies are fake, but that doesn’t mean stuntman aren’t real athletes, who are often in real danger (of course, a portion of the danger comes from their own behavior).
http://heelsandheroes.blogspot.com/2012/11/editors-note-this-is-updated-version-of.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/frank_deford/08/21/wrestling/index.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119010/3/index.htm
http://prowrestling.about.com/od/whatsrealwhatsfake/a/wrestlingdl.htm
I look upon people who think talk radio is an honest discussion with the same pity I look upon people who think pro wrestling is fake – your missing the point entirely.
Of the people who go to find it necessary to point out that magic shows are fake. As if there is any possibility that anyone thinks they are REAL. Wrestling is just a modern day variant of vaudeville and carny traditions (with an internal jargon from there as well).
However, to be more accurate, the article was not talking about talk radio in the complete sense, but that specific subset of shock and prank shows that are clearly distinguishable. Michael’s distillation above is along the lines of “Sports are fake” being the takeaway from an article about wrestling.
“Of the people who go to find it necessary”
Or the people who find it necessary…
One should never post before coffee.
Thank you for confirming what I have long suspected, but I must admit I’m surprised to find that the practice is so “professional”. Via your link is the delightful story about the Yiddish Farm – a bold undertaking.
If I found out that this applied to Car Talk I’d be really depressed.
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