Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted March 30, 2004 Well, I'm not going to listen to it, which is as far as I'll go on the topic. However, the fact that Franken himself used to get fucked up is all the more reason he can make fun of Rush about it. At least Franken (to my knowledge) never went on about drugs eroding society, or being awful, etc, when I'd imagine Rush has. Talk radio sickens me though, so I don't know personally. Either way, I don't look down on either guy for that, but if it makes either of them hypocritical, then I would. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2004 Here's an updated article -- be wary of the source though (Washington Times -- sorry, I don't have a "OMG" nickname for this newspaper [yet...]) Source Conservatives, plug your ears: Liberal talk radio is finally here. Al Franken and a host of garrulous progressives ease onto the airwaves tomorrow morning on America Left, broadcasting live from 6 a.m. to midnight on weekdays via XM Satellite Radio and three AM radio stations — in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Mr. Franken will debut at noon with "The O'Franken Factor," a three-hour daily show airing opposite conservative host Rush Limbaugh, who has 20 million listeners. Mr. Franken once wrote a book titled "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" and has named his show as a parody of "The O'Reilly Factor," hosted by Bill O'Reilly of Fox News. Mr. Franken, who has scuffled with conservatives for years, is primed for a fight. "My first priority is to get sued by a right-wing jerk in order to generate interest in my new show," Mr. Franken said in a statement earlier this year. The daylong lineup also includes comedian Janeane Garofalo, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war; environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and Alan Colmes, co-host of Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes." XM Radio offers the new shows a built-in potential audience of 3 million. For a $10 monthly charge, the company offers 120 digital music, talk and entertainment channels for home, car or computer. "America Left" — produced by New York-based Air America Radio — joins an XM stable that already includes talk-radio fare from Fox News, CNN and ABC, among others. "We're excited to provide a national audience to progressive superstar Al Franken and his spirited cohorts at Air America. Challenging our listeners and giving them the best and broadest choices possible is our daily mission," Hugo Panero, XM's District-based president, said yesterday. But XM is not necessarily a liberal bastion. They already feature 79 talk-radio hosts of every political stripe — including Fox News' Mr. O'Reilly, ABC's Sean Hannity and independents Matt Drudge, Michael Savage and Laura Ingraham. Air America has its own political agenda in store, however. "There is a great underserved market of Americans who want to hear compelling and funny talk voices expressing viewpoints long absent from the radio airwaves," said Mark Walsh, president of Progress Media, the parent company of Air America. He added, "Air America on XM will go a long way to correcting this imbalance at a particularly opportune time." That opportune time, of course, is an election year that has become a showcase for political sniping in the news media. As Hollywood actors-turned-pundits, Mr. Franken and Miss Garofalo have criticized the Bush administration, the war in Iraq and conservative ideology in no uncertain terms. "I'm interested in doing what I can to affect this election. I'm thinking about what's the best use of my energies. I hope this is it," Mr. Franken told the Associated Press in January when he announced his intention to become a radio personality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cerebus Report post Posted March 30, 2004 "There is a great underserved market of Americans who want to hear compelling and funny talk voices expressing viewpoints long absent from the radio airwaves," said Mark Walsh, president of Progress Media, the parent company of Air America. Compelling and funny eh? Guess you should have stared somewhere else. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the biggest soft money scheme ever devised. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Anglesault Report post Posted March 30, 2004 Mr. Franken, who has scuffled with conservatives for years, is primed for a fight. Hey, he's scuffled with liberals too. Like that guy he mugged at the Howard Dean speech. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2004 Here's an updated article -- be wary of the source though (Washington Times -- sorry, I don't have a "OMG" nickname for this newspaper [yet...]) OMG CONSERVATIVE PROPOGANDIST TOOL OF REV. SUN YUNG MOON 2004? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2004 Bill Oreilly mentioned this little project as his "Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day" and said the first and last thing he'll say about it is they're debuting on 4 stations while his radio show debuted a couple years ago on 240 stations (now up to over 400). So like him or hate him, I'd say that's a pretty effective diss.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Firestarter 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2004 There's an amusing op-ed on the subject here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cerebus Report post Posted March 30, 2004 Ah, I take it you read Real Clear too eh Marney? Like I said, there doesn't seem to be a big market for this. I could be wrong, I know little about the buisness of radio, but hasn't this been tried before and failed? Besides, what if Bush loses, will there be a sweeping listenership (?) if Kerry wins? I honestly doubt it. It does, however, give liberals a huge window to throw as much money as they like for anti-Bush propaganda on public air waves without reporting a dime to the FEC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mole 0 Report post Posted March 30, 2004 Do you really have that much beef towards liberals Mike? Damn, you could have just done a little research and you would have found out something about it. It took me 2 minutes, searching in Google, and I found the FoxNews article. I don't claim to have all the answers. Heck, as somebody already pointed out, they haven't even NAMED their SF affiliate yet, so it looks like THREE stations. And I don't hate libs (I feel for them, to be sure). I just find it hilarious that those of us who commented that there is no market for this were poo-pooed when it was "announced". -=Mike Okay, fair enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Bill Oreilly mentioned this little project as his "Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day" I'm shocked. SHOCKED. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vyce 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Come now, Jobber. Janeane Gaerofalo with her own talk show? That IS the most ridiculous item of the day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Come now, Jobber. Janeane Gaerofalo with her own talk show? That IS the most ridiculous item of the day. No --- that they expect it to get ratings is the most ridiculous item. -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Janeane Gaerofalo with her own talk show? That IS the most ridiculous item of the day. She wasn't bad on Crossfire, but maybe that's because she had righties to bounce zingers off of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Here's an updated article -- be wary of the source though (Washington Times -- sorry, I don't have a "OMG" nickname for this newspaper [yet...]) OMG CONSERVATIVE PROPOGANDIST TOOL OF REV. SUN YUNG MOON 2004? Too long. Plus it sounds like something Rant would come up with... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 OMGMOONIETIMES2K4 works well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 I like the "2k4" but "MoonyTimes"? We can do better. How about "LoonyTimes"?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Works for me! It's a good play off of "Moonie", which is what Rev. Crazy Ass Moon is usually called, and it's succinct. Chalk one up for the good guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 The only problem I see is that I don't use that D.C. paper as reference, nor do I read it that much, if at all, so I'll probably forget about this name. Now that certain cable news channel on the other hand... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Back on topic, I'm currently listening right now because I borrowed a friend's XM radio. This is because he's conservative, so he'll pay for things like radio, while I'm lazy and expect government subsidies for everything. Only woke up 10 minutes ago and found Franken is on, but so far it's not all that boring. We'll see how it plays out over the next hour. They mentioned they had no SF station but want to soon, and said they are or will be streaming everything online with archives. UPDATE:Well, here's what happened so far. G. Gordon Liddy called, he and Al are friends it seems. They talk about going to jail and putting soap in a sock so you can smack guys in the head with it, and some other stuff. SKETCH: Some phony reporter tries to interview peoople at a shut down UK to New York flight. Of course, he interviews a terrorist. Haw haw. Ben Stein calls. He's friends with Al, too. They talk about Nixon. Al then claims that they invited Ann Coulter to the program, but left her in the green room, locked the door, and turned up the heat. SKETCH: Al talks to "Ann" through the door who shouts about "you should fire that Dominican or Puerto Rican or whatever he was! He was disrespectful!" among other things. Bob Kerrey is next. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Liddy is friends with a few liberals -- I remember Larry King on his radio show back in the day when living in Sappy Valley... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Well, I'm falling asleep over here, but that's because Kerrey's on, and even though he's talking about 9/11, it's still a politician droning on....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 I'm listening to it online now, and personally, I don't think Kerrey was that bad (although, it did sound--as you said--like a politician talking on a political show). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 What did Ben and Al chat about regarding Nixon? EDIT: Is Alan Colmes now on this network? I heard/read somewhere that he was, but I guess I was smoking crack because now I can't find that source... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Stein jokes about the famous Nixon speech, saying the original draft said "I am a crook" Al said that the Newt Gingrich years were about dismantling things that Nixon had setup, such as the EPA and other agencies. Stein credited him with creating something that he led to affirmative action, and they both agreed the guy was a visionary. Colmes is not actually on the Air America network, but XM is running it on this channel. XM's "America Left" runs mostly Air America content but also runs Alan Colmes and Ed Schultz, two other lefty talk shows that XM already had contracts to and were running on the other talk stations, I guess. Jeneane Garafolo's live show loses an hour of programming on XM so they can run Schultz. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 By the way, this radio is really weird. When I walked down the street to the neighbor's, I imagined it would look like a larger transistor radio with a tiny dish or something. Instead he hands me this big boxy thing with double speakers and everything. I asked how to change the channel and he told me to push the channel number on the buttons on the front. It has an LED screen or something, currently scrolling "Al Franken" in big letters. Chuck D is on right now. Chuck: I tell youth, voting is as big a responsiblity as washing your behind. You can't walk around wondering what stinks if you didn't wash, and the same with voting. Al: Uh... Yeah... I've said the same thing to my dog before, actually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Chuck D -- good rapper, disagree with just about everything he raps about. Have you heard Shultz's show? He held his own rather well on Scarborough (imo)... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 God help me, I've clicked the online stream. Top of the hour news for now....hmmm I guess I'll have to wait to hear something OUTRAGEOUS~! from those LOONEY LIBERALS! The Ofranken Factor.....ROFFFFLLLLL Oh my god....the guest is...MICHAEL MOORE!!!!!!! I hear chewing... Everyone told Moore he couldn't release his book because it would ruin his career (hahaha) to criticize Bush after 9/11 but he was such a hero he did it anyway and it was already on its 9th printing by the first week, so he showed them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Chuck D -- good rapper, disagree with just about everything he raps about. Well, uh, he dislikes the music industry suing P2P swappers. I think most everyone can agree with that. Have you heard Shultz's show? He held his own rather well on Scarborough (imo)... I usually only listen to AM/FM, not this crazy digital stuff. Everything I've read about Schultz's show says it's boring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Oh, god. It's OMGMIKEYMOOREFATLOL2004. I'm turning this off and taking a shower. Schultz is on at noon. I'll give it a try if there's nothing else happening. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted March 31, 2004 Moore is making a new movie....a COMEDY about SEPTEMBER 11th! What the fuck? and they criticize Bush for being offensive using 9/11 in his ads?! Moore says its a comedy because Bush as a leader makes good comedy....Is this guy like the most unlikeable person in the world or what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites