April 8, 2004
ERR AMERICA:
Anger Management
The Growing Pains of Liberal Talk Radio (John Powers, 4/09/04, LA Weekly)
On the second day of Air America, the new talk-radio network geared toward liberals (not the CIA), I tuned in to Unfiltered, a show hosted by Lizz Winstead, Rachel Maddow and Chuck D, the once-dazzling mastermind of Public Enemy. The first guest was Christopher Hitchens, the leftist heretic who has become a defender of the Bush administration’s War on Terror. Either Lizz or Rachel (I couldn’t yet tell them apart) asked what he made of the recent doings in Falluja, where mutilated American corpses had been hanged. Hitchens may be the Iraq war’s most articulate defender, and he replied exactly as one knew he would. After pointing out that such barbarity confirmed that the U.S. had waged a just and necessary war, he began explaining why the invasion was, and still is, a good thing.Knowing that Air America was created as the antidote to right-wing talk radio, I was waiting for someone to get in Hitchens’ face — you know, challenge his facts, pick apart his reasoning, or at least do an O’Reilly and tell him to “Shut up.” But Rachel (I believe) merely said something like, “I don’t agree with what you’re saying, but it’s always good to hear from such an interesting contrarian.” Then the segment ended, leaving Hitchens’ entire pro-war riff not just unscathed but untouched. Even Hitch seemed a tad nonplussed at getting off scot-free.
Air America has a long way to go. Although its opening days boasted a few amusing moments — Al Franken claimed to be broadcasting from an underground bunker 3,500 feet below Dick Cheney’s... [...]
While most of the left listened to the shows with dawning, er, yawning horror — some of us secretly thinking we would have made far better hosts — we were still willing to cut Air America some slack. [...]
Where Air America seeks its liberal audience through a Field of Dreams scenario — if you broadcast it, they will come — it took years of an organic process to produce today’s conservative talk radio.
It might help a little if the shows were competently done, but who that's been paying any attention for the last quarter century thought there was an audience in America for Leftist pap? Posted by Orrin Judd at April 8, 2004 11:53 PM
I've only listed once to Franken on a live net feed, and he was soporific. But I must differ with you on the demand for leftist pap--there is a big demand for it. What else is NPR? Morning Edition on the morning commute, Talk of the Nation over lunch, or Diane Rehm, All Things Considered on the way home, plus the 3 TV networks, Crescent News network, etc.
Posted by: John Cunningham at April 9, 2004 12:42 AMThe difference, John, is that all those other sources you cite have, over the years, managed to cozen a large portion of the American public into believing they're unbiased, "neutral" avenues of information. Air America at least has the grace to wear its bias on its sleeve.
Posted by: Joe at April 9, 2004 5:24 AMPlus a big part of their audiences, especially NPR, are conservative. Surprising but true.
Posted by: Buttercup at April 9, 2004 7:03 AMAs Buttercup notes, NPR is liberal supply to meet conmservative demand.
Posted by: oj at April 9, 2004 8:09 AMWhat John said.
Where on the dial would I find Hot Air America in NH?
Posted by: genecis at April 9, 2004 9:22 AMButtercup:
Exactly right. I tell myself it is like reading Pravda during the Cold War. Although I must admit I do have to turn the dial when Daniel Schorr or Nina Totenberg come on. I have my limits.
Posted by: Rick T. at April 9, 2004 11:51 AMI think it has been said before that most
so-called 'conservative' radio hosts have a
fairly long background in broadcasting and worked
themselves up through local radio, yet most
attempts to produce a clearly left/liberal
talk radio format have always grabbed minor
celebrities and/or other public figures who
think they can just jump in and do radio.
I don't know who those other hosts are, but I'm
not sure Chuck D. would make for entertaining
radio.