Limbaugh’s call-in format built community through screened agreement, not debate.

Evidence

Within a few years of his first broadcast, Limbaugh was heard on more than six hundred stations nationwide. … [Limbaugh] built a loyal national base of followers by allowing them to call in and express their support. The calls were screened and vetted; according to a manager at one of Limbaugh’s early affiliates, this was because Limbaugh felt that he was not very good at debate. Debate, however, was not the point: the object was to create a sense of community among people who already were inclined to agree with each other. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 136

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Talk radio monetized confirmation bias by giving audiences a voice in echo chambers. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 137; Limbaugh’s call screening aimed at community feeling, not debate. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 136