Liberal radio is airing bad jokes and worst taste

Daily News ^ | 5/12/2004 | Michael Goodwin

[ezfindit]

The United States "is on the slippery slope to theocratic fascism." "The Catholic Church has been secretly encouraging oral sex for years." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "ought to be tortured." President Bush should be taken out and shot.

Those are a few nutso nuggets from the hosts of Air America Radio, which calls itself the new liberal voice. The fledgling network is carried in New York on WLIB, 1190 AM. With the Iraq torture scandal everywhere, I tuned in, expecting to hear sober policy analysis mixed with glee over President Bush's political pickle.

Instead, I got 10 hours of rancid venom directed at the President, Rumsfeld, Rush Limbaugh, the Catholic Church and anyone else the hosts felt like slamming. If you're a card-carrying lib who likes crude sex jokes and a cartoonish echo chamber, Air America is for you.

Take one host's linking the talk of "pulling out" the troops with the claim that "that's what the Catholic Church says about premarital sex." Ha, ha.

The network aims to give Dems a media organization to counter Limbaugh and others on the right who dominate talk radio. (What, National Public Radio and The New York Times aren't enough?)

The signing of comedian and best-selling author Al Franken gave Air America a liberal drawing card. But if his three-hour show on Monday was typical, he could sink the ship instead of saving it.

[ezfindit]

What a sick bunch! Their "network" will not survive much longer if hate, slander, and bad taste is all they can offer. This little "escapade" into talk radio will prove to be fruitless. Truth, objectivity, and reason will win out every time.

[.cnI redruM]

Like Orca of The Bay State, the radical left drives off the bridge every time.

[Cubs Fan]

Liberalism is hate

[ZGuy]

From the article :

During a day of torture by radio, I heard ads for Hewlett-Packard, Greyhound and, especially, General Motors. I asked GM why it appeared in such shows.

Ryndee Carney, GM's manager of marketing communications, said the ads were wrongly picked up from an earlier deal with WLIB. She said the station was ordered to "cease and desist" yesterday, and added: "GM will not advertise on any Air America affiliates."

[The_Victor]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1134028/posts?

Third time this has been posted. Might be time for a refresher course in title searches.

[SpinyNorman]

Radio DU is on the air!!!

[handy]

I tuned in out of curiosity on my new Satellite radio (which I absolutely love). I agree with what the author says in his article. I could only take 5 minutes before I turned it back to Fox News on the satellite. Kinda like the guy that laughs at his own jokes that nobody else thinks are funny.

[Aquinasfan]

If you're a card-carrying lib who likes crude sex jokes and a cartoonish echo chamber, Air America is for you.

No surprise here. They know their target audience. The only way for them to be successful, that is, to appeal to stupid libertines, is to offer up a mixture of Howard Stern and liberal platitudes.

[Hodar]

I guess I'm actually disappointed in the way AirAmerica turned out.

Before getting flamed, let me explain myself.

Rush, Hannity, Bortz and others engage in a polite and pointed political debate that is conservative in nature. They use published facts, as well as personal opinion to bring across 'Why' they believe the way they do. This exchange is lively, entertaining, and very informative. It allows me, the listener, to learn and form my own opinion.

Now, moving along to AirAmerica. Talk radio does in fact, lean very heavily toward the conservative side. It would be nice to hear a reasoned explaination (again, facts, sources and opinion) as to why liberals believe as they do. The exchange should mimick conservative talk radio, in that it's usually polite, direct and fair.

AirAmerica failed miserably on every single front. They have not (to the best of my knowledge) ever offered a debate in which facts along with personal opinion were offered up for the audience's consideration. No, AirAmerica chose instead to insult and attack anyone associated with something they did not share. No rationale was given for why they felt as they did, and only verbal abuse was issued. No facts, no education, and worse ... no humor. C'mon, even an immature, uneducated and biased jerk can make a statement that is funny. It's not hard, yet somehow well beyond the grasp of AirAmerica's 'talent'.

I have argued and debated liberals at work. I met one gentleman in Seattle, who could calmly and inteligently debate liberal issues. Listening to him, I found that although I may not agree with his stance; at least I understood WHY he thought the way he did. AirAmerica has done a huge disservice to the liberals they wished to promote.

[Mudboy Slim]

"The queen of venom, Randi Rhodes, followed Franken in the host slot. Her imitation of a cracker military type telling a soldier to "insert this fluorescent light bulb into that man's buttocks" was revolting. She compared U.S. prisons in Iraq to the "Nazi gulag" and said, "The day I say thank you to Rumsfeld is the same day I'll say thank you to the 12 people who raped me." Rock bottom came when she compared Bush and his family to the Corleones in the "Godfather" saga. "Like Fredo, somebody ought to take him out fishing and phuw," she said, imitating the sound of gunfire."

Back in Clinton's day, such a comment would be grounds fer a little visit from the Secret Service...ain't that right, grassontop?!

During a day of torture by radio, I heard ads for Hewlett-Packard, Greyhound and, especially, General Motors. I asked GM why it appeared in such shows. Ryndee Carney, GM's manager of marketing communications, said the ads were wrongly picked up from an earlier deal with WLIB. She said the station was ordered to "cease and desist" yesterday, and added: "GM will not advertise on any Air America affiliates."

Looks like HP and Greyhounds need to be boycotted next...MUD

[lormand]

Boycott list:
HP
Greyhound

[ezfindit]

Yep, especially HP with whom I have done quite a lot of business in the last few months.

[SENTINEL]

I just reported this to the US Secret Service. They were very helpful and promised to "contact those responsible".

[ezfindit]

Yep, no more business with thouse companies.

[Agnes Heep]

No rationale was given for why they felt as they did ....

That's because they haven't got any rationale for feeling the way they do. Feelings are all that matter.

[Mudboy Slim]

"Feelings are all that matter..."

Yep...Rationality be damned, Lib'rals are STOOOPID!!

FReegards...MUD

[ezfindit]

I agree, a well-reasoned discussion that allows for informed critiques based on facts has a chance. Vitriol and pure hatred based on "emotions" is propaganda pure and simple.

What I find offensive though, it the length and extremes these radical liberals go to and think they are funny! No wonder these folks find "partial-birth" abortion a "liberating" activity. Very sad....

[Hodar]

That's because they haven't got any rationale for feeling the way they do. Feelings are all that matter.

That has been the general accusation we have made for years. However, now and then you will find a liberal who can back up those 'feelings' with historical precidence, legal findings, and logic. It's rare, but it happens.

Consider the War on Drugs. Liberals (and some conservatives) oppose the War on Drugs. Talk Radio will by and large have a bias towards continuing anti-drug laws. Hearing the other side's view could have been intersting.

[gal522]

If anyone wants to give HP a piece of their mind, you can send an email to the CEO at:

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/email/fiorina/index.html

[old3030]

You're correct but those are usually people who are on the "liberal" side of libertarianism -- classic liberals if you will. The small-minded leftist demagogues who currently gather under the banner of liberalism are incapable of reasoned debate.

Al Franken is not funny and he's not liberal. He's a shill for the left wing of the Democrat party and would make an exceptional little Gestapo in Hillary New Reich.

[Izzy Dunne]

I guess I'm actually disappointed in the way AirAmerica turned out.

Well, I think "disappointed" is the wrong word for me - that implies expectations that were higher, and what we got is more or less what I expected.
I agree with you though, it's a good thing to hear debate and reasoning "why".

Politics is too polarized these days. It should be arguments about how best to get from here to there. Instead it's arguments about where "there" is.

We're not on the same team anymore.

[Semper Paratus]

After those comments I hope Randy Rhodes personaly finds out what a full cavity serch is all about.

[Phantom Lord]

"Air America is going to be the most spectacular failure in radio history." -- Talk show host who will remain unnamed speaking to a group I belong to on Monday, referring to industry information on how AA is doing.

[~Kim4VRWC's~]

They are actually encouraging violence... if and when they are called on it..they'll say, people will do what they want regardless of what is said on the radio. I can hear it now.. "we can't be held responsible for what other people do, this is a free country. People are going to do what they want regardless of what we say. We were just joking. We didn't mean for the president to get hurt. We are a loving group of democrats. We respect EVERY group because that is what liberalism is all about."

I hope the FCC hits them where it really hurts.

[Steven W.]

I went to HP's web site and used their e-mail feature to send Carly Fiorina a message indicating their investors don't appreciate HP using a hate-filled venue like Air America for advertising.

[Billthedrill]

I think you're right there. The "liberal" side of the house has been co-opted by aggressive, mean-spirited ideologues who don't let the reasonable ones talk. There are several here on FR who simply can't get a hearing on the not-to-be-named liberal boards, and Err America is no different. If you're not consumed by hatred, you're simply of no interest to those who are. Pity, really - it isn't that political discourse in America is dead, it's that the radicals on the left are strangling their own side.

[Steven W.]

thanks for posting!

[cricket]

"I just reported this to the US Secret Service. They were very helpful and promised to "contact those responsible"."

Best response!

[cricket]

"Their "network" will not survive much longer if hate, slander, and bad taste is all they can offer.. . .Truth, objectivity, and reason will win out every time."

. . .and I hope Rush never mentions them by name - ever; not one of them or their network.

[bfree]

This can't be. I thought only Republicans were mean spirited.

[prophetic]

Today I called Hewlett Packard and spoke to the Executive dept and expressed my grave concerns as an investor and a private citizen how they were sponsoring all this HATE on the airwaves. I requested that they either pull their ads or they will hear from me at the next stockholders meetings.

I think we should all do the same.
Contact HP here http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/regional.html and let them hear our concerns!!!

[cricket]

"This can't be. I thought only Republicans were mean spirited."

Right! . . . and these are their own best advertisment; what you hear is what you get. . .or as we often say; 'garbage in; garbage out'.

[Richard Axtell]

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. The left shoulda hired someone other than that self possessed idiot Franken. They coulda proceeded to "build" a radio network, based on expanding listeners and market penetration, instead they stupidly blew their wad early on in a ego inflating display of ignorance of sound marketing and business practices. They woulda achieved something like their ostensible goal of competing with right-wing talk radio, but, they seem incapable to understanding why they are failing.

What is happening is that the fleece has fallen off the wolf; we easily see what Franken and Air American's founders really intend to do. Any pretense of a legitimate purpose for this fiasco has been lost. Franken and his foolish backers all along intended to try and smear and defeat Bush, by producing a uninterrupted flood of filth and fraud, propaganda that would spread so wide and be so poisonous, as to have its effect before any real backlash could form. Poisonous? Yeah! Spread wide? Naw. The sewage Franken calls "Liberal Talk Radio" and thinks will "knock Limbaugh off the air" reeks so strongly, that sponsorship will flee, and so will affiliates. Franken's moronic babbling and lame attempts at humor will be contained, if unintendedly, in the little concrete septic tank they call a studio. Virtually no one will ever hear it. Hehehe. Shame... really.

(Franken)ly, I am surprised that these idiots have self destructed so quickly. Any sane and halfway intelligent person would study success in Talk Radio, and at least try and mimic it. Instead, Franken and his morons violated every obvious rule of broadcasting and debate, and are producing garbage that even Michael Moore might turn up his nose at, if you can imagine something like that. But, more and more money could keep this sorry fraud of a network afloat, ... for a while longer. At least until the election, ... maybe. C'mon, George Soros! Don't throw in your cards yet! Break out that check book, and write some big ones! I mean, in for a penny, in for a few hundred million, right? Let's go, Mr. Soros! That black rat hole is hungry for more cash, and you are the one who supposedly wants to waste, er... invest his whole fortune in an attempt to unseat the other George, ... George W. Bush.

After a disastrous loss in November for the Democrat Party, I hope the various suckers... er, contributors (including George Soros) to "Air America" realize how pointlessly their money was wasted, and sue that idiotic grin right off Al Franken's corrupt mug. He deserves to be devoured by his own.

[reagan_fanatic]

President Bush should be taken out and shot

Uhh, excuse me - but I believe that is a threat against the President of the United State's life, folks. Someone should be paid a visit.

[cricket]

"I could only take 5 minutes before I turned it back to Fox News on the satellite."

I have satellite as well and have wondered if no one listens to certain shows or at least, little draw; does Satellite keep them on. . .or what.

People ask me if I don't love having so many options on Satellite; I do love program/music options; but have to say my dial sits mostly on Fox News or I turn on AM for radio favorites, like Rush (!). . .

[cricket]

"We're not on the same team anymore"

Worse, there are huge numbers of voters who have yet to notice. . .

[sheik yerbouty]

With what some liberals put in their mouth, a bad taste could be inevitable.

[cricket]

"Looks like HP and Greyhounds need to be boycotted next...MUD"

Would offer that they should first be informed; who knows; maybe a lone Liberal is reporting back to them on what great programming they bought into.

[Phantom Lord]

we easily see what Franken and Air American's founders really intend to do.

Franken, yes. Founders, not so much. I beleive that every single founding partner has left. And their director of marketing just quit saying "This is not an organization I want to be affiliated with."

reeks so strongly, that sponsorship will flee, and so will affiliates.

The do not have any "affiliates" in the true sense of what an affiliate is in the radio industry. They PAY stations for air time to carry their broadcast. In the rest of radio world, "affiliates" pay to carry a program and recoup the expense, and hopefully profit by selling ads.

[wbill]

No surprise why it failed. There can only be just so many choruses of "George Bush is an idiot".

"Thank you for calling Air America. You're on the air"

"George Bush is the root of all evil."

"Thank you caller, couldn't agree with you more. Next caller, please"

"I think that George Bush is a moron."

"Absolutely. Next caller?"

"Umm, I just called a sec ago, you know, the root of all evil thing? I forgot to add that I think Bush is a moron, too."

And so on......

[Christian4Bush]

"GM will not advertise on any Air America affiliates."

Good for GM. I own a Sierra truck, and I am that much more proud to do so at this moment.

[lormand]

DONE!

[Mudboy Slim]

ouch...LOL!!

[Mudboy Slim]

"...who knows; maybe a lone Liberal is reporting back to them on what great programming they bought into."

Putting them on notice before we take 'em on is only fair...GM was smart enuff to skidaddle when pressured.

FReegards...MUD

[Christian4Bush]

"Consider the War on Drugs. Liberals (and some conservatives) oppose the War on Drugs. Talk Radio will by and large have a bias towards continuing anti-drug laws. Hearing the other side's view could have been intersting."

You know what gets me sometimes? What gets me is how much the left whines about the liberals don't have a voice on talk radio. THAT IS SO FREAKIN' BEYOND THE PALE!!! If anything can be counted on the fingers of two hands, it is the number of stations in any given market that have a conservative voice!

I am primarily a sports fan. Before two months ago, that's all I listened to, out here in Los Angeles (XTRA 690/1150AM). One of my favorite programs over the years, the "Loose Cannons", seems to somehow mix in a hatred for President Bush from one of its hosts, and one of its "analysts" (Vic "The Brick" Jacobs). The one voice of reason was from a co-host who was not even born in this country, former Lakers star Mychal Thompson.

As Laura Ingraham and others have said, the problem with the liberals is not that the left doesn't have a voice in the media. Their problem is that the right DOES have a voice now, with talk radio, the Internet, FOX News, and the like. That makes US "polarizing".

Let's hit these liberals where they hurt the most: their wallets, and at the ballot box. When they start wondering why their ratings are dropping like a rock (and believe me, they will whore themselves out for money and ratings), then we'll tell them how we "feel", and that many of us won't support their BS elitist stances.

Just my $0.016482 (if John Kerry is elected)

[Phantom Lord]

If anything can be counted on the fingers of two hands, it is the number of stations in any given market that have a conservative voice!

While possibly true, it is also a misleading statement. The station that conservative voices are on is nearly always the biggest station on the block, and often a 50,000 watt blowtorch.

[Christian4Bush]

It's not that the shows that are conservative aren't heard; my point is that the ratio of conservative shows to all shows, or even all opinion shows, tends to be tilted more to the left.

Trust me, I'm glad that conservatives like myself can be heard on these blowtorches. I wish there were more of them; I know that the left does not. That's all I was trying to say, really, that the left is more concerned with the presence of our voice, than it is with the "absence" of theirs.

[Christian4Bush]

"President Bush should be taken out and shot

Uhh, excuse me - but I believe that is a threat against the President of the United State's life, folks. Someone should be paid a visit."

Totally agree, the USSS should handle it.

Did they ever followup with those people from that throwaway paper in Florida (calling for the assasination of Rumsfeld)?

Did they ever followup with that "thing" on "The View" (not a Starr Jones) who was complaining about the President's press conference interrupting "American Idol", who suggested that "we ought to send a WMD his way" (meaning the President)?

Did they?

Again, as the President and Dr. Rice have said, "We have to be right 100% of the time, to secure America. The terrorists (without and within--my paraphrase) only have to be right once."

[Phantom Lord]

my point is that the ratio of conservative shows to all shows, or even all opinion shows, tends to be tilted more to the left.

On radio?

[Richard Axtell]

Thank you! Your details and facts make my denunciation of "Air America" seem almost charitable. Their ignominious end may be even closer than I had thought it might be, based on the points you make. Will George Soros come to their aid? I wonder if he is that foolish?