Central Air is now Air America Radio On March 31, 2004 Air America Radio begins airlifting entertaining, progressive talk radio to millions of Americans who for far too long have been and are being neglected by talk radio broadcasters today. Our on-air personalities and guests represent today's top political and popular humorists, commentators, activists and analysts. Our irreverent, informative programming sparks the kind of challenging political and social dialogue that has been absent from AM radio for years. Our programs will mix provocative conversation, challenging interviews and biting political satire. http://www.centralairmedia.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 --------------------------------------- from Salon.com March 10, 2004 | NEW YORK (AP) -- Comedian Al Franken is baiting conservatives again, and this time he's bringing along a bunch of friends to back him up. Franken will be the lead personality on Air America Radio, a startup venture promising a liberal alternative to powerhouse radio talk show pundits like Rush Limbaugh. The backers of Air America announced their programming lineup on Wednesday and said they planned to launch the network on March 31 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. Franken will be joined by fellow TV comedian Janeane Garofalo, both of whom will have co-hosts for their live three-hour shows. Other shows will be hosted by Randi Rhodes, a radio personality from southern Florida, and Lizz Winstead, a co-creater of ``The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central. Franken, in a swipe at Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, plans to call his midday show ``The O'Franken Factor.'' ``Bill, I want you to sue us,'' Franken said on a conference call with reporters, referring to a case last year in which a judge threw out O'Reilly's request to ban Franken from using the slogan ``Fair and Balanced'' on the cover of his book. The ruling turned into a bonanza of publicity for Franken. However, it seems unlikely another lawsuit is in the offing. Asked to respond to Franken's remarks, Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for Fox News said: ``All forms of free speech are welcomed in this country. We wish them well.'' Franken, who has signed a one-year contract with the network, made it clear that he intends to use his pulpit to pillory President Bush in the run-up to the election. ``Bush is going down in November,'' Franken said. ``We're not ceding this territory any more. To their credit, the right wing has captured radio. We're going after them, and we're going after them hard.'' Mark Walsh, the CEO of Progress Media Inc., the company backing the network, said they have yet to sign any firm deals with advertisers but that several nonprofit organizations and progressive groups have promised to advertise. He said the company hoped to raise ``upward of $30 million'' by the time the network goes live, which would allow them to operate for about 2 years before turning a profit. He declined to say how much they had raised so far, but he said ``we are well on our way'' to reaching the goal. Reactions to the new network were mixed. Richard Cotter, the senior buyer of local broadcast advertising for MindShare Inc., says Air America could be a ``refreshing alternative for listeners,'' but cautioned that ``you never know until it goes on the air.'' Robert Unmacht of In3 Partners, a media consulting firm in Nashville, Tenn., said Air America's initial array of stations was ``weak.'' ``They've been far more interested in the thought of creating the network than in the actual business end of it,'' Unmacht said. ``You need to run a complete radio station. You can't just say hey, we're liberal, isn't that great.'' Walsh acknowledged that the starting base for the network was small, though positioned in key markets. ``We don't expect to get giant numbers right away. This is one brick at a time.'' Ironically, the name the liberal radio network has chosen for itself bears a close resemblance to ``Air America,'' a covert CIA operation in Laos during the Vietnam War. Franken joked with reporters that the radio network was also being funded by the CIA. http://www.salon.com/ent/wire/2004/03/10/air_america/
Even though it opens in only a few markets, this seems important and should have been emphasized in the press release: This does seem kinda a fly by night operation. The website is empty; you have to search just to find what stations will be broadcast. According to Now w/ Bill Moyers a few weeks ago, Randi Rhodes is supposedly the liberal Rush Limbaugh. I'm not sure that's a good thing. Then I saw this: Fight the power! I'm in.
It's going to go down in flames. No one in their right mind wants to hear a bunch of "progressives" (can't call themselves liberal, can they? Be true to thine self) on the radio b****ing up a storm and spinning atypical yarns of doom and gloom.
Quite possibly. I personally don't want to hear anyone but a spin of the AM dial proves that strategy is pretty succesful. And from what little I've read and heard, Rhodes spews as much bile, has as much disregard for public discourse, and is as entertaining as her right-wing counterparts. And, more importantly, in the (admittedly few) markets she's in now, she has high ratings. Which apparently in radio is all that matters.
It's still like that, a bunch of tinfoil hat wearing conservatives talking to Rush and O'Reilly. At least we can counteract the spin of junk like the spy that got arrested today. Apparently, she's from a Republican family and is related to Andrew Card, but the first wire stories only mentioned the Republican side of the story - she worked for 3 years of the previous 11 for Democrats in the House. Conservative dominated media misreports story: Member of Prominent Republican Family Arrested For Spying For Iraq:Alleged Spy Linked to White House http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/3/12/12718/8399
So basically you are saying that anyone that would want to listen is nuts. I also like the way that you somehow already know not only what the subject matter will be but also the style of delivery. I listen to AM talk radio and I agree with some of it and laugh at the rest. You see, in America, we have the right to express our views, even if they are not popular with everyone else. Way to be open minded about the whole thing.
The liberals already have a talk radio network....it is called NPR. The damned thing is my tax dollars support it! I definitely don't want to hear Democratic Party propaganda for three hours a day. The right converts over easily to radio, but the left? Get any informed right-leaning caller on there and those hosts are dead meat. I'm not open minded at all when it comes to such tripe. Nobody wants to listen to people whining about how Bush is the antichrist, taxes should be raised on the evil rich, corporate "greed" is destroying America, etc. etc. That's what you will hear on a leftist talk radio show.
this is still America, so if you don't like it, then don't listen again bama, as you continue to make crazy statements of absolutes..the more your reputation as a nutcase is cemented
There is nothing crazy about what I stated. If you're a liberal, you have a certain set of shared beliefs that vary only in degree, not principle. And I don't intend to listen, as will the rest of America. Notice I never said that I had a problem that the libs were doing this, but I merely stated that it was doomed to failure.
you said "Nobody wants to listen to people whining about how Bush is the antichrist, taxes should be raised on the evil rich, corporate "greed" is destroying America, etc. etc. That's what you will hear on a leftist talk radio show." that is talking in absolutes, you do it all the time....you act like your views are the only ones and that "nobody" believes any differently..you are being either blind or malicious. You ignore the fact that liberal books have dominated the best seller lists the past couple years. So its rather obvious that there is a huge market for a liberal radio network. My post here and in the other thread where ya made some crazy absolute statement are intended to help you maybe see why your message and agenda are largely laughed at here. When you give zero respect, you will recieve zero. Everyone is pretty intelligent here and you mock that with your statements of absolutes.
I will listen if I can. It might be great. Why won't people listen? Comedy Central seems to be doing ok.
And yet people listened to people whining about how Clinton is the anti-christ, the Fedxeral government is evil, and Socialism is on the march.
I don't give a damn if you respect me. I never said that my views are the only ones....just the correct ones. Who cares if Al Franken's awful bit of horsedung and the total excrement that flows from the computers of Michael Moore are snapped up by empty-skulled liberals everywhere. Ever heard of preaching to the choir? Most people are not uber-liberals and don't want to hear about the inherent unfairness of capitalism, why it is there fault that people are homeless, SUV's are the devil....etc. Liberalism= negativity. And yes, that is an absolute statement. There is no positivity in being liberal. You live in a cauldron of doom and gloom. Bush is destroying this. Our corrupt capitalist society is destroying that. People are starving. Blah-blah-blah. Name one positive tenant of the liberal agenda. Name one part of it that is good besides the fact you "care." And yes, socialism marches on. We already have a needless cradle to grave welfare state here, now we are on the road to socialized medicine administered by our bumbling federal govt. Do you really want health care paid for by others controlled by an entity that buys 70 dollar hammers, lose billions of dollars here and there and can't even deliver a simple letter over a 150-mile distance in less than two weeks? Clinton was the most corrupt and sociopathic president we've ever had. He was by far the worst ever, even making Jimmy Carter seem downright competent at times. It's one thing to shoot the messenger of AM radio, but quite another when your boy gives them plenty to crow about. And yes Rimrocker, the Federal Govt is evil when allowed to grow unchecked in power like it has in recent years. The Patriot Act, the seizing of land by the govt. for preserves without due process, the tales of the FBI's "Carnivore" email reading software, campaign finance laws that are an assault on free speech are among the abuses of our govt. It doesn't matter which party controls it, but the fact that Consitutional checks are slowly and surely being eroded. From there we lapse into tyranny. Ignore it at your peril.
I was going to leave this thread alone until this post, bama, but you are coming across as seriously deranged. Said like a truly openminded individual. At least Al Franken uses documented facts as opposed to the exaggerations, overstatements, and lies common to the GOP and their talking heads (and re-spouted by bobbleheads). I agree that MM is way, WAY out there. I am sorry that you have completely closed your mind to facts and hard data, but there are many highly intelligent liberals out there. In fact, there are several liberal posters on this board that strike me as considerably more intelligent than you, given the quality of your posts lately. Like the audiences of O'Reilly and Limbaugh (along with your listeners, I'm sure), huh? While it is true that most people are not "uber-liberals," there is a tiny percentage that are as far right as you are. Personally, I don't know a single liberal (NOT EVEN ONE!) who believes that capitalism is inherently unfair or that it is the government's fault (or anyone else's for that matter) that people are homeless. Accordingly, I have never heard anyone say that SUVs are the devil (though Arianna Huffington makes a strong case that SUVs contribute to terrorism far more than drugs). Instead, let me point out some statements by the conservatives you seem to claim represent the only political position that is positive. “A President sets his agenda for America in the first 100 days. John Kerry’s plan: To pay for new government spending, raise taxes by at least $900 billion.” "Kerry Has Received “More Money From Paid Lobbyists Than Any Other Senator.” "Senator Kerry's policies of higher taxes, increased regulation and economic isolationism would hurt Ohio's economy and Ohio workers." "For over 30 years, Kerry's primary occupation has been stalking lonely heiresses." "Kerry is like some character in a Balzac novel, an adventurer twirling the end of his mustache and preying on rich women." And Ann Coulter even went so far as to claim that the Clintons had "crack pipes on the White House Christmas tree." So much for positive messages, huh? I have to agree with you that socialism is not right for this country, but you (and the other pundits on the far right fringe) are overstating things a bit when you call liberals socialists. GREENS are socialists, democrats have a sense of social justice, something that you are devoid of. This shows clearly how skewed your perception is. IMO, Clinton has been by far the best president of my lifetime and I didn't even vote for him in '96. Nixon has been the most corrupt president in MY lifetime, with Bush and co. taking a close second. It is truly sad how twisted your perception is, but c'est la vie.
I stopped listening to NPR news years ago. Much of the funding is corporate so they can't afford to criticize any of the corporations that fund it, and their idea of fair and balanced is only a *little* better than Fox News. If you actually watched/listened to something before making a judgement, you could make a better argument.
NPR is just as much a corporate w**** as ABC and other "news" sources. They run an occasional left-leaning story, but they're beholden to giant corporations, just like the rest of them. What does that say about America that the only news we get has been approved and sponsored by the largest corporations in world history?
