In a good HuffPost Live interview by Abbie Huntsman she gets Geraldo Rivera to add to the secretly recorded Frank Luntz criticisms of Rush Limbaugh and talk radio.
Then she interviews Michael Harrington of Talker's Magazine and Rory O'Connor, author of Shock Jocks: Hate Speech and Talk Radio (I haven't read it).
There's a lot left out here but Michael Harrington (hilarious twit and professional propagandist) protects Limbaugh and right wing talk radio. He repeats many of the excuses and talking points I've heard over and over used to downplay the importance of RW radio. Many are often used even by liberals to defend the right wing talkers as "entertainers" just enjoying their free speech rights.
O'Connor rightly calls the claim that RW radio is not a political power absurd.
I would add to this that when it comes to timely and important issues the talk radio gods are well coordinated and can dominate political messaging in the US.
Here's the interview via Raw Story: Fox News host Geraldo Rivera: GOP crippled by right wing radio hosts