If you are a fan of progressive talk radio like I am, you will get to enjoy both the best liberal talk show and some of the best radio hosts in the country and a great inaugural event.
“Obama Radio Nation 2009" is a three-hour live show and national radio broadcast from Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University, located just three blocks from the White House, hosted by the nationally-syndicated progressive talk-radio host Bill Press. It will be broadcast live on progressive talk-radio stations around the country, and C-Span will carry it live on TV. It will give people the opportunity to see and hear some great entertainment, and it will make you wonder why it’s so hard to find them on radio stations.
It will feature my favorite host, Stephanie Miller, as well the country's leading progressive talk-radio hosts Joe Madison, Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Mario Solis-Marich. It will be a celebration of the inauguration of President Barack Obama and the role progressive talk radio has played nationally in this historic occasion and the rousing Democratic election victory.
The show will also feature a "house band," giving the show a feel akin to a more lively "Prairie Home Companion.
6 comments:
Isn't it interesting that while Conservative talk radio has thrived through advertising rather than being subsidized, it's just the opposite for liberal talk radio. They can't break out nationally without being subsidized. Advertisers aren't interested in liberal talk radio because their customers aren't interested in liberal talk radio. Advertisers go where the most listeners are going to be.
I don't see any liberal talk show hosts in the top five, or even ten. Of those listed, there are two that I don't know. Of the 23 listed, I don't recognize two. Jon Arthur and Jim Quinn. If they are liberal, then that makes two of the top 23. Not a good showing.
According to Arbitron, the top five programs are those of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and Glenn Beck. Others include Neal Boortz, Mark Levin, Bill O'Reilly, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt, George Noory, Laura Ingraham, Bob Brinker, Mike Gallagher, Rick Roberts, Jay Mundy, Jim Quinn, G. Gordon Liddy, Bill Cunningham, Melanie Morgan, and Jon Arthur.
The most successful pioneer in the 1990s talk radio movement was the politically conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh's success demonstrated that there was a nation-wide market for passionately-delivered conservative (and in many cases, Republican) commentary on contemporary news, events, and social trends. Other radio talk show hosts (who describe themselves as either conservative or libertarian) have also had success as nationally-syndicated hosts, including Sean Hannity, Jon Arthur, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Neal Boortz, Michael Savage, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck. The Salem Radio Network syndicates a group of religiously-oriented Republican activists, including evangelical Christian Hugh Hewitt and Jewish conservatives Dennis Prager and Michael Medved; these are mostly distributed in a 24-hour network format among Salem's own stations, and they generally earn ratings much less than their syndicated counterparts.
Politically liberal talk radio aimed at a national audience has also emerged, although its ratings remain a fraction of conservative talk radio. Air America Radio, a network featuring The Al Franken Show, was founded in 2004. It billed itself as a "progressive alternative" to the conservative talk radio shows, although in contrast to most talk radio, it was a subsidized operation with wealthy backers buying airtime, and largely not able to support itself by selling commercial time to advertisers.
Who is subsidizing liberal talk radio besides me? Liberal talk radio has thrived, despite illogical, ideological driven decisions like WJR's not to carry one single liberal talker on the most powerful station in a traditionally blue state in one of the most liberal cities in the country. I have to subscribe monthly to the Stephanie Miller podcast because I can't hear the show clearly unless I'm close enough to Ann Arbor and AM 1290 WLBY or Detroit and AM 1310 WDTW to get a good signal.
Here's one reason why hate-filled losers like Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Bill Cunningham, Bill O'Reilly and those others losers thrive. When O'Reilly finally pulled the plug because his ratings were so low, who do they give his slot to? An unproven, boring tool like Fred Thompson, instead of a proven, talented professional like Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, Rachel Maddow, Thom Hartman, Bill Press and Mike Malloy just to name a few.
Yeah...WJR must be run by fools. Why would they not run a single liberal show...unless, of course, it isn't worth it because there is no audience.
It's a business, bozo. WJR airs its lineup because it makes the most business sense.
If a liberal answer to Rush had an audience, he/she would be on the air.
I don’t think WJR is locally owned. But even if it is, they are putting ideology over profit. It makes no sense that the most powerful station in a blue state in a blue city has not a single non-rightwing voice. There certainly is an audience. People like Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartman and Randi Rhoades are beating limpdick in some markets. In fact, Rhoades was beating Limpdick so badly in Florida that Clear Channel bought her show and out it in another time slot.
Progressive radio is new. Takes a while to become widespread. Not sure all this name calling accomplishes anything. Stephanie Miller is my favorite. She helped me get through the Bush insanity. My veteran friend came back from the war missing a leg, haunted by what he saw (his company was in Fallujah and participated in a raid that killed an entire family including small kids, with no insurgents found). He thinks Limbaugh is a draft-dodging, lazy, fake patriot. Not a lot of respect for Cheney and Bush, neither of whom saw combat. They have special names for the rich guys who get cushy assignments while the regular troops do the dirty work.
Welcome to the blog, Book Lover, and thanks for the comment. I like you screen name; I love books, too. I’m checking out your blogs, and look forward to commenting. I discovered Stephanie Miller about three years ago, and I love the show. Actually, Jim Ward is my favorite on the show. I taped the show because I went to a Blue Tiger event that Sunday, and I’m just watching it now. I know progressive radio would thrive if it was just given a change and was on as many stations as rightwing radio. I might even listen to a rightwing show if it was on before or after a liberal show.
I agree name-calling does not help, but I sometimes get caught up in it. I spent 20 years in the Navy, so I’m a little sensitive to so-called leaders or hawks that are so quick to put troops in harm’s way or support putting troops in harm’s way, but they never served.
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