GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS IN THE SAME ARTICLE

POLITICO does a pretty good job of pointing out the $ connection between radio gasbags and rightwing interest groups:

But there was a more earthly benefit to the arrangement that brought Beck to the rally. It was organized by the tea party nonprofit group FreedomWorks, which had endorsed the candidates — and which has paid more than $6 million in recent years to have Beck promote the group, its initiatives and events.

The bad news is that it perpetuates the myth that these gasbags have huge audiences:

The details of the arrangements are little-known, but they have been lucrative for the recipients, and, in turn, have helped ensure that the groups get coveted airtime from hosts with a demonstrated ability to leverage their tens of millions of listeners to shape American politics.

The link goes to Talkers Magazine and as I have shown in other posts (here, here, here and here) that Talkers isn't a reliable source of audience size.