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"Air America still recovering from disastrous beginnings"
As part of my goal to keep Air America on the radio - and thus keep this site on the web - the current scandal is forcing me to take drastic action. I've contacted the NYT, LAT, WaPo, and other MSM outlets and started shopping around a way to nip this issue in the bud. All they need to do is give the OK, and get the quoted hosts to sign off on the comments I've attributed to them:"We all believed in Evan Cohen," a contrite Al Franken said, tears welling in his eyes. "But, he let us down."(For examples of this growing meme, see this comment and Elderta's comment here. Note that in "Left of the Dial", their former chairman was "depicted as a complete fraud.")
The comic - one of America's leading funnymen - was referring to the centrist/liberal network's original chairman. Unconfirmed Internet websites - known as "blogs" - have stated the completely unverified claim that the previous owners of the network are involved in a small loan issue of some kind. The current owners and managers have absolutely no affiliation with the previous owners or managers.
Evan Cohen resigned in May, 2004 under a cloud of suspicion as to his financial and political motives.
"I never knew much about him, but I trusted in his business judgement. Now, I know he let us down. I think I know why: he was a Republican!" an angry Randi Rhodes says.
Cohen was not just a Republican from Guam. He was also a political operative for that party and the former chief of staff for Republican Governor Tommy Tanaka. Tanaka pleaded guilty to corruption charges in 2003. [Note to LAT/NYT/WaPo editor: That Wikipedia AAR entry is a great resource, especially since it has all the facts you want to know.]
According to a clearly agitated Mike Malloy: "This was obviously all part of the Flying Monkey Right's secret plan to undermine our network! Those Nazi fascist brownshirt bastards - they stole that money and now they're trying to blame it on us! Damn them! Damn them to hell!"
Current AAR CEO Danny Goldberg stated, "Obviously, this so-called 'scandal' is part of the right-wing's plan to muffle our growing voice. It's no surprise that this started shortly after the Spring '05 ratings were released, showing us surging ahead in key markets. Have they no shame?"
Evan Cohen could not be reached for comment.
Examples of AAR's early problems can be found here, here and here.
Posted in Satire at 11:50 AM | Comments (4)
Gloria Wise scandal update: did AAR pay it back or not?
The infamous "second press release" from Air America Radio contained this:
...we agreed months ago to fully compensate the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club as a result of this transaction...
On Friday Fox News had a blurb about the alleged misconduct which had this:
An Air America spokesman says, "We're committed to paying this money and the terms are being worked out... We are awaiting direction from the investigation into how to proceed."
These somewhat conflicting reports continue to raise more questions than answers: who knew what when and how much was involved?
Over at the DailyDross, they respond as you might expect: deny, obfuscate, deny, rinse and repeat. Even AAR itself admitting that something happened here is apparently not good enough for committed "liberals".
This is all part of the "liberal" backlash against this story. That links to more examples of liberals trying to run from the truth.
One of those linked to is our good buddy Jesse Taylor at pandagon.net. He refers to the Radio Equalizer's Brian Maloney as "Doughy McSweaty". (Note to those not that familiar with "liberals": anti-white and anti-Irish racism is OK.) Note that Taylor works for or volunteers for SpringerOnTheRadio. Gosh, think they might have a dog in this fight?
I'm also informed that CNN briefly mentioned this scandal in their aren't-bloggers-cute segment. That does not count as "MSM attention". Please, continue to display your Air America scandal counters.
Posted in Meta at 10:47 AM | Comments (1)
The Camp Air America Experience
On Thursday, AAR issued the press release discussed here. Part of it discussed a camp run by Gloria Wise:Regrettably, the camp did not survive the closure of the Gloria Wise organization.Now, NewsMax can reveal:
Not according to the Gloria Wise web site, which, as of Saturday afternoon, was not only still in business - it was still touting Camp Air America and soliciting donations via a mailing address, still-working phone number and handy Pay Pal link...
...Clicking through the links, supporters are invited to sponsor an array of activities by offering up donations of $35 to $750...
What's more, as of Saturday afternoon, the Gloria Wise web site was still trading on its ties to Air America, explaining that morning hosts Marc Maron and Mark Riley "will be helping to raise money for Camp Air America this June and July."
Posted in Meta at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
Get the Air America Scandal counter!
So far it's been over three days since the Air America scandal broke, and not a peep from the NYT, the WaPo, or the LAT about the network they used to pay so much attention to. Perhaps they're busily investigating this issue as I type...In expectation of that day, feel free to add the countdown timer you see on the right side of the home page to your own site. It's very easy, simply copy the following code and paste it into your main index template at the location where you want the counter to appear:
This will probably work with many browsers, but, of course, there are some it won't work with.
Posted in Meta at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
Air America Radio scandal gets MSM attention; press release issued
In the editorial "Robin Hood and Air America", the WashTimes asks:Did Al Franken's liberal radio network Air America divert city money for the elderly and inner-city children to itself? That's the question people should be asking this week after the revelation that the New York Department of Investigation is looking into whether hundreds of thousands of dollars were illegally transferred from a Bronx community center to Air America. Only a community paper and a few Internet bloggers seem interested in what could be an egregious case of illegal funneling of tax dollars to a private, partisan organization...That really chaps my hide. When I first read "a few Internet bloggers", I was expecting at least an honorable mention in CharityGate. Hey, Washington Times! A "few" means at least three, not just the two you mentioned!
...But why the public till should be tapped to rescue a foundering news outlet was a question no one seemed to consider. Maybe Air America officers thought spending public funds on their network was a truly compelling public interest...
...Most of the mainstream newspapers have ignored this story. We only found out about it through the reporting of Brian Maloney, who pieced a story together on his blog "The Radio Equalizer" which was picked up by syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin. The New York Daily News buried an item at the end of a column of news briefs. There was nothing in the New York Times, which has heaped flattering coverage on the flailing network...
Now, back to the Air America scandal. They've released a press release, which one must read with Clintonian attention to semantic detail:
If the allegations of mismanagement and corruption at Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club are true, it is absolutely disgraceful...Obviously, the "allegations of mismanagement and corruption" are not just at Gloria Wise, but at
...the company that the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club officials gave money to, Progress Media, has been defunct since May 2004. That company was run at the time by Evan Cohen who has not had any involvement in Air America Radio since May 2004...
The current owners of Air America Radio have no obligation to Progress Media's business activities. We are very disturbed that Air America Radio's good name could be associated with a reduction in services for young people, which is why we agreed months ago to fully compensate the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club as a result of this transaction...
And, what exactly does "fully compensate" mean? Did they pay back the money, and, if so, how much did they get originally and how much did they pay back? And, if they did, we need notarized receipts too.
This blog jogs our memory that over a year ago, we pointed to this analysis of the sale of AAR's assets to Piquant, saying, "He thinks a securities fraud lawsuit might be in AA's future."
That's the last thing we want. First, if AAR is forced off the air, Nanci Pelosi and Barbara Boxer will probably retaliate by reinstating the Fairness Doctrine.
And, perhaps even worse, it will turn Al Franken and Randi Rhodes into martyrs for the cause.
P.S. If you have any tips about this or future AAR scandals, send an email to scandal_tips *at* boreamerica.com.
Posted in Meta at 10:04 PM | Comments (4)
Air America falls off charts in Philly
The Philadelphia Inquirer explains:Here, it doesn't even register a pulse. The flagship show, hosted by author and former Saturday Night Live comic Al Franken, airs from noon to 3 p.m. weekdays on WHAT (1340 AM).
Both WHAT and the show have fallen off the charts, according to radio-rating service Arbitron, meaning there were too few listeners to measure during the second quarter of this year - the so-called spring book. Franken's show didn't start on the station until Aug. 30.
...Measured season-to-season - the most accurate way to assess audience preferences, because listening patterns vary throughout the year - Air America has lost audience in major markets, including New York and Boston, since April, May and June of 2004.
Franken, best-selling author of such anti-conservative tomes as Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them and Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, chose to go head-to-head with gabber Limbaugh in many markets. This, it turns out, was not such a good idea.
Limbaugh, still the giant among talkers, with 14.75 million listeners on 600 stations, has squashed Franken like a bug.
Franken's ratings have dropped 50 percent in Boston since spring 2004, and he is down 14 percent in New York, where his listeners now number fewer than 188,000.
...In contrast to Limbaugh, who mocks his own pomposity, Franken comes across to critics as angry and not funny.
"Is Al Franken going to be the hottest thing in radio? I don't think so," [Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of the trade publication Talkers magazine] said. "But it's too soon to say he's finished. A lot depends on how dedicated he is to the show.
"And I get the feeling he's not dedicated to radio broadcasting. He's dedicated to politics and his own celebrity. I think he'll drop out to run for office."
Posted in at 01:36 PM | Comments (2)
Air America Radio: Built on the backs of the poor?
Reportedly Evan Cohen - AAR's co-founder and original chairman - convinced the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club and Pathways for Youth Boys and Girls Club (based in the Bronx) to loan AAR $500,000 that they'd received in NYC grants. Whether the loan was ever paid back remains unclear.
Those organizations recently had their funding cut off by the NYC Department of Investigation. From this:
On Friday, June 24th, New York City's Department of Investigation announced that Gloria Wise and Pathways for Youth had been determined "Non-Responsible City contractors" based on an on-going investigation "concerning allegations that, among other things, officials of Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club approved significant inappropriate transactions and falsified documents that were submitted to various City agencies."
Some leaders of those groups have resigned.
Thankfully, the programs were transferred to other groups: "Key kids, senior programs saved".
Go here for the details and the latest reports on what I'm tentatively calling AARGate.
UPDATE: "BronxGate"? "CharityGate"? "GrantGate"? "LoanGate"? "It was for the children"?
Posted in Meta at 12:00 PM | Comments (1)
"Air America Not Welcome In Chattanooga"
Fred Hardwell holds down the fort in this letter to Tennessee's Chattanoogan newspaper:We all have to hope that the decision by WDOD to change to liberal talk radio is not final. The music played by WDOD was made by artists who did not feel it necessary to curse or encourage drug use or violence to garner an audience. Nor did they feel it necessary to attack the president in wartime...Surprisingly, this gets several replies from the epistolarians of South Tennessee, including this:
Let us hope that a way is found to keep WDOD's nostalgic music on the airwaves, and that our Earl will always have a clean and pleasant showcase worthy of his talents and long service to our community.
Air America, you are not welcome here in Chattanooga. We reject your filth and treason.
Not everyone has swallowed the neocon Kool-Aid like you obviously have, and quite frankly I'm sick of the conservative media being apologists for King George and his propaganda machine.Not enough name-calling? Try this then:
Thanks to Fred Hardwell's recent letter to the Chattanoogan.com I now have a name to go with the xenophobic, ill-informed and generally paranoid attitude so common in today's public discussion.That generates this:
And thank you for your use of the word xenophobic to describe those who do not like liberal hate speech against Bush. Ooops, I am sorry, liberal talk shows. It is right on. Webster's defines xenophobic as "one unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin." That is exactly was liberal talks shows and their message are, foreign, to most of the thinking of the majority of Americans.There's yet another letter here.
Posted in Meta at 04:01 PM | Comments (3)
AAR has a White House correspondent?
From this comes the following blurb:
According to BTC News blogger Eric Brewer , who was in the briefing room yesterday, that question was courtesy of a new arrival: "Paul Sanford, a lawyer from Aptos, California, who has just been accredited as a White House reporter for Air America Radio."
There isn't more information at the WaPo or BTC. Developing...
Posted in Meta at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)
Randi wows 'em in NYC
The AfterDowningStreet blog reports on Randi's big appearance at their NYC event:Air America's Randi Rhodes received the biggest cheers and a number of "We love you, Randis" from the mixed age, multicultural audience...Did they conduct an ethnographic study, or was it just a quick melanin check?
In between jokes that cracked up the crowd, Randi Rhodes spoke at length about a timeline created by Congressman John Conyers...The link he provides has a misspelling, which leads to a scraper site featuring paternity testing ads. It's definitely more entertaining than the correct address. As for the joke, well, I guess it's all a matter of the timing. If a master comic said it it might be OK. But, anyone else saying it would sound like someone you see in the downtown L.A. library scribbling notes on index cards while researching their lawsuit against the Pope.
Rather than transcribe parts of Randi's speech on the timeline (which you should all read and study for yourself), I've decided to post my two favorite jokes. After reciting the criminal past of Bush Administration officials such as John Poindexter and Elliot Abrams, Randi joked: "I think they put their criminal activity at the top of their resumes now."
The second joke was off-color so I can't tell you here, but you can read it at my blog, Why Are We Back In Iraq? at this link (I know...shameless plug...heh).
Posted in RandiRhodes at 04:37 AM | Comments (4)
A blogger reviews AAR; Eugene purged of reactionaries
"Good news on the AAR Front in Eugene" describes the righteous battle to keep Air America's Eugene (Oregon) outlet free of reactionary voices. Bring a notepad so you can keep track of who's who in that unimportant market.
And, someone named Tom Carter has a review of Air America:
What I've heard has been disappointing and discouraging. Instead of reasoned discussion of liberal views, I heard wild rants, distortions of truth, disregard for or ignorance of facts, and an unsettling amount of bigotry. Added to that are crude language and personal insults of a kind rarely heard in serious media programming...
Several examples follow. (Second one via this).
Posted in Meta at 07:47 AM | Comments (0)
All 12 KTLK listeners turn out for Impeach Bush protest
Previously I described John Conyers' plan to conduct Impeach Bush / Downing Street Memo protests across the land. Randi Rhodes is at the event in New York City.
Meanwhile, the protest in Hollywood, California got around a dozen participants. I didn't ask, but since they didn't have radios with them I'm going to assume that KTLK's ratings plunged this afternoon.
My report on the event - complete with a couple pictures - is in "Los Angeles Impeach Bush protest falls flat".
Posted in Meta at 06:29 PM | Comments (1)
Brit: "Air America is truly terrible, amateurish and sometimes downright embarrassing"
British person Andrew Stephen of the New Statesman lives near the White House but is barely able to tune in to the local Air America affiliate. Overcoming that hurdle (perhaps via one of their podcasts or on the internet or something) he tuned in recently, and he informs us that he's come to "a sad conclusion - that the middle and left are incapable of producing radio that can compete with the daily outpourings of the right."
He goes on to note the fact (previously covered here) that AAR's NYC listenership on WLIB is now less than when they were a Caribbean station. Then:
...I can reveal at least part of the reason for all this: Air America is truly terrible, amateurish and sometimes downright embarrassing. It sounds like University Radio Essex did in my student days - paved with good intentions, but lacking in technical expertise or professional flair. Limbaugh, by contrast, is a brilliant performer who instinctively understands the rhythm and pace of radio. His show crackles, while Air America sounds as though it is struggling for air. Even the ads seem to scrape the barrel, with Franken wretchedly recommending some brand of mattress...
He ends up by spending three paragraphs telling us that AAR's problems are because Americans are dumb.
Posted in Reviews at 05:48 AM | Comments (4)
Rush Limbaugh in Los Angeles: Triple Franken's audience
The latest in a long string of press releases from El Rushbo is "Rush Limbaugh Rules Los Angeles and Chicago", which includes:
The Rush Limbaugh Show, heard Monday through Friday on KFI-AM in Los Angeles from 9 a.m. - noon scored, among Persons 12+, a 4.4 share with 100,100 listeners tuning in, on average, every quarter hour. Among Adults 25-54, he has a 2.5 share with 35,900 of them tuning in, on average, every quarter hour. Al Franken, who airs at the same time on KTLK-AM in Los Angeles, has a share of 1.2 with 28,400 listeners Persons 12+ tuning in, on average, every quarter hour. With Adults 25-54, he has a 0.8 share with a listening audience of 11,900, on average, every quarter hour. Mr. Limbaugh's audience of Persons 12+ is three and a half times the size of Mr. Franken's audience. Among Adults 25-54, Mr. Limbaugh more than triples Mr. Franken's audience.
Posted in StuartSmalley at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)
Monterey County is in for a treat
One of Air America's newest outlets is KRXA 540 in the Monterey area. It looks like the locals are going to work at making it as successful as it can be. An example can be found in this from the Monterey County Weekly. It includes this quote from manager and host Peter B. Collins:
"There's a pent-up demand for other voices," says Collins, who will host Live From Monterey, a call-in show that will run 3 to 6pm daily. "It's either right-wing hate speech or public radio—which does a good job, but leaves people wanting more."
Later on they mention the ratings for AAR's San Luis Obispo outlet KYNS: 3.4 in the first period after it switched format. Few people outside of California and probably some inside might never have heard of that small Central Coast town, as it's the #173 radio market in the country. And, the last stats were released in January and there's no scheduled update date.
They also mention WLIB ratings from 2004, but, oddly enough, they don't mention the latest ones...
Posted in Meta at 11:12 AM | Comments (1)
Four words Bobby: Chattanooga, WDOD, Air America?
WDOD 1310 AM is Chattanooga, Tennessee's oldest radio station but their big band format is in trouble, the local paper reports, and they're considering picking up Air America Radio as one possibility to boost their ratings. At this point in time I'm reminded of a popular definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.Apparently their mainstay DJ is Earl Freudenberg, and he's been at the station since 1963. Their general manager had these words that probably have Earl a bit on edge:
Mr. Downs said morning host Earl Fruedenberg "is a fixture on WDOD and we expect he will remain a fixture for a long time to come."I have a tip for them that might actually help, and, no, I'm not joking: add AAR programming, but have Earl "fisk" (as we say in blogdom) what he hears on the Franken and especially Mike Malloy shows. Start out slow so AAR HQ doesn't catch on, but by the time this new "AAR Remixed" format becomes popular it'll be too big to stop.
Asked if the 6-10 a.m. slot for Mr. Freudenberg would be affected by the changes, he said, "Probably not."
Posted in Meta at 12:29 PM | Comments (10)
Air America Radio ratings Spring '05: off the charts!
Once again, AAR's ratings are off the charts - literally. The ratings for Spring '05 are out, and at first glance they aren't pretty.
For the Riverside-San Bernardino/Inland Empire market in California, Air America's KCAA outlet is not even on the chart. This isn't the first time that's happened; whether it's ever been ranked remains open.
In the Nassau-Suffolk, NY/Long Island market, AAR has actually had some success: they're at 1.4 versus:
0.7 in Winter '05
0.8 in Fall '04
1.1 in Summer '04
0.6 in Spring '04
Just don't tell AAR that that's only the #18 market in the U.S.
Similar "success" can be found at Los Angeles' KTLK, which is currently at .8 versus a string of .3s. That's more than twice Liberman Broadcasting's "tropical" choice. (In bad news, the addition of Phil Hendrie, Mancow, and others to KLAC-AM doesn't seem to have helped, but that might just be because those changes are new.)
Now, of course, I've saved the best for last: AAR's sinking "flagship" WLIB. While they're doing good on Long Island, their ratings in NYC are 1.0. That's the lowest ever, and even lower than when they were a Caribbean station.
If they can't make it there, they can't make it anywhere.
(Hat tip to SaveFarris in the comments here).
UPDATE:
At Chicago's new AAR station WCPT, they've got a .4 share. Who-hoo!
In San Diego, they're at 1.7 versus 1.6 in the last period. Unfortunately, those are down from 2.6 and 2.3 in previous periods.
UPDATE 2:
RadioEqualizer has more and points out that if Franken is getting a 1.7 share at WLIB in NYC, then that means that all their other shows in that market are in deep trouble.
The press release "Rush Limbaugh Rules New York City" points out that Rush gets twice as many listeners as Al Franken.
The Sun Times puts some spin on in "WGN, WGCI hit home runs in spring ratings":
A newcomer that wasn't expected to register in the ratings yet was WCPT, which debuted as "Chicago's Progressive Talk" on May 5 -- five weeks after the beginning of the spring ratings period. The Newsweb Corp. daytime suburban outlet for Air America Radio and other liberal talk programming debuted in 34th place with a 0.4 percent audience share... That already puts WCPT within striking distance of Salem Communications' WIND, which signed on in November as a 24-hour syndicated conservative talker and was tied for 31st with a 0.5 share in spring.
Posted in Meta at 03:23 PM | Comments (9)
Randi Rhodes to Keep Left Busy, Entertained at House Party
John Conyers (D-Space) and friends will be holding house parties on July 23, 2005 to speak out about the Downing Street Memo and Plamegate. And, I support these parties. The reason is simple: they'll keep our "liberals" friends occupied with safe and semi-sane activities, and as we know that's the best way to keep lefties from harming themselves and others:On July 23rd, in over 150 towns and cities, prominent speakers and ordinary citizens will hold public forums, perform dramatic recreations of the Downing Street meeting, and host house parties and study circles...Sure, the last bit is a bit worrisome and I hope they'll keep the partiers under supervision and won't be just releasing them into the community.
The agenda at various of these events will include speeches, panel discussions, viewing of DVDs, dramatic recreations of the Downing Street Minutes, debates, writing postcards and letters to congress members and senators not present, writing letters to the editor, training participants in effective lobbying, honoring local fallen soldiers, and planning local marches and flyering campaigns – with such actions in some cases immediately following the event...
As far as Air America content is concerned, their very own Randi Rhodes will be at the party in New York. Others joining her include Bob Fertig from the ludicrous democrats.com and Rep. Maurice Hinchey, whose name rings a bell but I haven't covered in the past.
But, don't worry, as the political stars will be at other parties as well:
"Baghdad" Jim McDermott
Maxine Waters
Barbara Lee
Charles Rangel
Posted in RandiRhodes at 12:58 PM | Comments (2)
Air America demographic defined
As previously discussed, AAR is coming to Missoula, MT. This occasions a local to tell us:
With over sixty percent of Missoulians voting Democrat in the last election, smoke shops on every corner and several "gay friendly" bars and restaurants - promoters thought we'd be a most excellent target market.
Italics in original; bolding added.
Moving to the even more frozen north, the "Vibe Editor" of Wayne State's newspaper discusses a bohemian street fair on 4th Street in Detroit and lets us know that AAR's target market is not just limited to those who are perpetually stoned:
This single street has thrived as a community for students, artists, hippies, hipsters, and all sorts of neo-libs. Put bluntly, it is a neighborhood that makes viewers of FOX News cringe in horror and listeners of Air America smile in delight.
Kewl! Rather than approaching this from a psychological POV, let's concentrate instead on "liberal" "tolerance." This wonderful, tolerant Fair expresses the tolerance of "liberals". But:
You will not find corporate sponsors, chain restaurants, fancy stages with well known performers, yuppies, or even barriers with security guards to keep people separated from each other.
Here's a wacky prank if you're in the area: get as many people as possible to dress up like yuppies and document "liberal" "tolerance".
Posted in Meta at 03:19 PM | Comments (2)
Official: Al Franken and Michael Savage don't mix
As previously reported: Santa Cruz is getting their own Air America station.
Now, comes the report "Owner to fill KSCO, KOMY airwaves with opposing political views" with some rather interesting tidbits about the switchover. Here's the owner:
"We seemed to be on the right track, but when the network learned that we carry Michael Savage four hours after the end of the Al Franken program, it became out of the question for them to accept us as an affiliate..."
Gosh, why would they be afraid of a little conservative chat? Oh yeah, it might make the audience wake up from their stupor. Because of this, the owner split his stations: conservative KSCO vs. the "liberal" KOMY:
"It's really an indication of how polarized the nation is," Zwerling said. "I've always thought people would want a station to be a voice for everyone. I guess not. People aren't interested in the left and right on the same station. Not even Air America; they told me it wasn't a good business move. In the last few weeks, I've thought maybe I'm the one who's wrong on this."
Apparently the reeduction took.
Posted in Meta at 10:05 PM | Comments (2)
AAR to rock Carmel Valley with KRXA AM 540
I have absolutely no idea where Carmel Valley is, but I guess it's somewhere near Carmel, which is on the sea about 100 miles south of Frisco. I'd imagine during some parts of the day there are more sheep than people available to listen. But, anyway, nowheresville is about to get their own Air America Radio station in the personage of former Spanish station KRXA. It was recently bought by DC lawyer Hal Ginsberg and talker veteran Peter Collins.
Previously: "Santa Cruz to get Air America Radio, big time"
Posted in Meta at 10:00 PM | Comments (1)
Rachel Maddow: "Color consciousness is important"
Ah, "liberal" identity politics! Where would they be without race baiting, "reverse" racism, and the belief in racial memory? Here's a transcript featuring Rachel Maddow of Air America Radio on the Tucker Carlson show:MADDOW: They happen to have all been white guys. It is better for the country to think that we have a representative court.
CARLSON: Right.
But the idea—the fact is that ideas are more significant than skin color. That's sort of a basic premise of America. And it's being incrementally rejected in favor of this notion that someone who shares your skin color must somehow have something in common with you. And it's just not true...
...MADDOW: But I am saying we need to have a representative court that looks like America, so Americans trust the court.
CARLSON: OK. I'm just saying, we should be moving away from color consciousness, because it's wrong morally. That's all I'm saying.
MADDOW: I disagree. Color consciousness is important...
Posted in AlsoRans at 09:56 AM | Comments (3)
Air America now buying ideas from MoveOn.org
If you got an email entitled "A Traitor in the White House" and containing the following, who do you think it would be from?
[We need] your help to get a traitor out of the White House. For two years, we've known that someone in the White House undermined America by maliciously leaking the identity of CIA covert operative Valerie Plame to punish her husband for criticizing the Bush Administration. And now what many suspected has finally been revealed: the leaker is President Bush's closest advisor, the man they call "Bush's Brain" – none other than Karl Rove...
OK, if it was from MoveOn.org there would probably be a few Nazi references or uses of "$hrub" or the "Bush Crime Family". And, since this site is about Air America Radio, you have probably already guessed that that's who the email came from.
Here's the petition that the email was pimping. Oddly enough, the text at that page is a bit more restrained than what you see above. And, you'll note it also includes a nifty checkbox just in case you want to be added to their mailing list.
Posted in Meta at 05:46 AM | Comments (0)
How "liberals" can grab even more of the media
The Komrades at Kos have a thread entitled "UPDATE: Air America in Bush Country - How it was done", all about the grassroots effort by the "Baton Rouge 6" to bring AAR to Louisiana.
Have these people no shame? Can't they let the center or the right have access to at least one format of media?
Think about how important talk radio has been to the GOP message machine. Then, think about what we can accomplish when our superior ideas get the same kind of exposure.
Wait, I take everything I wrote above back. Let the "liberals" talk. It'll only make them less popular than they are already.
Posted in Meta at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)
Santa Cruz to get Air America Radio, big time
KOMY AM 1340 in Santa Cruz will start broadcasting Air America on Monday, July 18. That station currently broadcasts Rush, Michael Savage, and other conservative talkes. Their sister station KSCO AM 1080 does the same. KSCO will continue to broadcast conservatives, and the only AAR programming KOMY will broadcast is Al Franken and Randi Rhodes. The stations' owner wanted this for months, but he had to resist pressure from the Supreme Soviet AAR headquarters which wanted him to carry their full lineup.
According to station owner Michael Zwerling:
"People have been asking for it for years, and we’re going to give it to them, big time."
Posted in Meta at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)
Ed Schultz beating Rush Limbaugh in Miami?
Those wacky "liberals" are at it again, trying to talk up Air America Radio and using their loony statistics to try to show something that doesn't exist.
Raw Story - the left's answer to the Weekly World News - says that:
The Ed Schultz show actually passed Limbaugh among the 25-54 age range in the nation's twelfth largest radio market. Schultz scored a 3.4 rating to Limbaugh's 3.2, climbing 1.1 ratings points from the winter figures
Just one problem: they're in different time slots. In Miami, El Rushbo is still beating the spectacles off Al Franken. And, of course, Ed Schultz is not only not part of the Air America network, his show is also owned by the guy who made Limbaugh famous.
The only hope for Air America is to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.
Posted in Ed Schultz at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
Air America: bye bye Sirius, hello XM!
XM Satellite Radio is now the exclusive "satoutlet" and "satprovider" as well as "satsource" for Air America. In further absolutely breathtaking news, Al Franken and his cohorts will occasionally broadcast before a live audience at XM's DC studios.
This prompted Air America Radio CEO Danny Goldberg to promulgate the following entirely voluntary statement:
"We are very grateful to XM for the belief they have shown in Air America Radio... Our association with XM Satellite Radio is a major step in bringing a truly national voice to tens of millions of Americans who are sick of relying on conservative or middle of the road media for their news and political opinion."
Note that Sirius will still host Stephanie Miller and Big Dumb Ed on their Left Talk channel. As for myself, I'm not happy about this news. I'm not a big fan of Sirius for reasons not related to their programming, but at this point in time I have no such problems with XM. Accordingly, I would have preferred that AAR stayed on Sirius.
Posted in Meta at 11:17 AM | Comments (1)
L'Air America venir a Baton Rouge
Bonjour et bon tonne! Nous sommes informe que l'Air America Radio est venant a la Baton Rouge (Red Stick) en Louisiana!Alerte! Anglais a la avance! Alerte!
Vicki Lancaster, a Baton Rouge statistician, said her group of private citizens months ago started a petition campaign to bring Louisiana left-leaning radio programs like those Air America offers...WYNK a existe depuis au moins 1980, mais elle n'a pas un website. Je ne sais pas le "Wattage" d'elle, mais elle est certainement miniscule.
About 1,500 signatures later, listeners will be able to hear the likes of left-wing comedian Franken and Bob Shultz, [sic] host of "Straight Talk from the Heartland," on WYNK 1630 AM on weekdays until sundown. On the weekends, the station will cover all the Air America programs, Lancaster said...
Posted in Meta at 12:35 PM | Comments (1)
I expected fawning, but this is hyperfawning
No one expects much from celebrity reporters, and what little is expected is that they'll fawn all over their subjects. But, Ken Tucker takes it a mite too far in a behind-the-puff article entitled "Reporter's Notebook: Inside An Al Franken Interview". Either that, or BBRM managed to find someone who has absolutely no concept of funny. Or, perhaps this is just very deep satire from Tucker.
Posted in StuartSmalley at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
"Pants on Fire: How Al Franken Lies, Smears And Deceives"
There's a new book all about Al Franken coming out in October: Pants on Fire: How Al Franken Lies, Smears And Deceives. If you want to get an idea of what it will feature, the author has a blog. But, note that you can order it through Amazon now before Soros-funded groups start trying to get it pulled.
Posted in at 12:27 PM | Comments (1)
Janeane Garofalo never left a guest post on my blog
Here I've got a whole category just about her, but for some reason she appears to have left a guest post here. "Garofaloized"? I don't know whether that's really written by her, but it does sound like it could be her.
Posted in Janeane at 02:30 PM | Comments (1)
Beware Kossacks bearing charts
The "liberals" over at DailyKos are trying to prove that Air America Radio's ratings are better than reality indicates. Their leader explains his promotion of this entry:
From the diaries. Interesting stuff -- kos
With an imprimatur from someone who once said, "Screw 'em" and then tried to cover it up, you know there must be something wrong with it. I'm not going to bother dignifying their post with a response, but if you want to see some past coverage of AAR's ratings, use the search feature to the right. Perhaps Brian Maloney will deign to respond, but I doubt it.
Posted in Meta at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)
WARF 1350 AM Akron lineup congeals
Breaking news from Akron, Ohio...
As previously discussed, WJMP dumped Air America Radio. That left the field open for the new WARF 1350 AM, which has quickly picked up AAR's premier shows: Al Franken and Randi Rhodes. Filling out the time slots are Stephanie Miller, Big Ed Schultz, Bill Press, and The Lionel Show.
One minor complication for Randi: as pointed out here, she will occasionally be preempted for the Akron Aeros of the Double-A baseball league.
Posted in Meta at 11:29 AM | Comments (4)
Paging Mike Malloy!
I only listen to Mikey sporadically for entertainment purposes, so I don't know if he's frothed all over this story: "Bush Crime Family Conspiracy". I would like to make it perfectly clear to any other VRWC members that I'm only providing that link for entertainment purposes and in the hope that Mike Malloy could discredit himself even more by discussing yet another wild-eyed conspiracy theory. I do not believe anything at that link. In fact, I only read the first few paragraphs before I couldn't continue because I was laughing so hard. That's really funny stuff, and I don't believe a word of it.
Posted in MikeWho at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)
Air America Radio coming to Montana
In order to accomodate all of the "liberals" from other states who have polluted Big Sky country with their presence, two local radio companies (Spanish Peaks and Mount Sentinel) will be starting an AAR affiliate this month. I really have no joke or other comment, most likely out of extreme disinterest.
UPDATE: The Montana AAR station will be KKNS at 105.9 FM.
Posted in Meta at 12:11 PM | Comments (2)
Al Franken beating robotic voice reading snippets
Terrific news for Air America and the Al Franken Show! Investors Business Daily reports that Al's show is the second most downloaded podcast from Apple's service, right behind iTunes' own show.
Of course, they also report that right behind Al is "Inside Mac Radio", which is no doubt right up there with the Rush Limbaugh show in popularity.
Also in the top five is the BBC World Service:
The content consists of little more than 15-second headlines, delivered in a robotic voice through a text-to-speech software program.
But, bear in mind that Al's show is ahead of the robotic voice reading snippets.
Posted in StuartSmalley at 02:20 PM | Comments (7)
Jerry Springer and schizophrenia
Time to check in with Jerry Springer. Since there didn't appear to be anything of interest at springerontheradio.com, I decided to check out jerryspringer.com, a site that I'd never visited before. Frankly, I wasn't expecting little more than a doorway page, but all I found there was two links: one to his TV site, and the other to his radio site. One will, of course, note the rather dramatic difference: on the left, the decline of western civilization and, on the right, a far sleepier road to ruin.
I note also that Springer's radio site is getting more visits than before, around 1300 a day. A good number of those are from jerryspringer.com.
However, consider what I pointed out in this post. If a good number of people are searching for his name, and the #1 choice is his schizo site, and he's getting so few hits to his radio site, then that probably means that most of those going to the doorway are choosing the old, non-political Jerry.
Posted in PureClass at 05:56 AM | Comments (0)
