QandO
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March 31, 2004 I'm gonna do a terrific show today McQ has already weighed in on the new Air America liberal radio network below. I suspect I'd feel about the same, if I could hear it. Still, I've a few general thoughts to add. 1: "Air America"? What, "Bird on a Wire" was taken? 2: In fact, so many Mel Gibson movies seem more appropriate: 3: Couple takes worth reading: I will also say that I think that Al Franken can be funny, although I find his skills as a political commentator to be lacking. I think he relies a bit too much on the overly cutesy-gee-aren't-I-cleverly-skewering-the-other-side-sardonic. For example, take the name of the show: "The O'Franken Factor". Okay, we get the joke, do you really want your show's title to be a joke? For one thing, it has to get old at some point.Dale Franks... Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Anger. Plus jokes.Anticapatory Retaliation... For all those conservatives who encourage moderates and liberals to listen to Limbaugh "so you can hear what we're thinking", I offer the same advice...check out Air America to see what's going on in the heads of the Left. 4: I know a lot of people are saying liberal radio doesn't have a chance, but I'm not so sure. The line-up (Janeane Garafalo? Chuck D?!?!) is a bit heavy on celebrity, and light on radio talent, but this is still early. They're in the learning curve.....building cume. It doesn't have to be "make or break". If they suck now, there's plenty of time to adjust. And they've got one big thing going for them: anger. Yes, it can be tiresome, but remember....that's exactly what helped the conservatives dominate the airwaves in the 80s and 90s. They were angry at the "liberal media", angry at Clinton, angry at the Democratic Congress. You know....just a bunch of malcontents, with a Rush Limbaugh to focus their anger. And you know? He turned out to be pretty good at it. Now, I doubt Al Franken is going to be the liberal Rush. He may be funny, but radio requires a lot more than "funny". It's a craft, and filling three hours a day requires a lot more than "Bush sucks, heya!" But there's a radio vacuum for left-of-center listeners. And there's an awful lot of struggling second-tier stations who know they can't compete against the Limbaugh/Hannity juggernaut on most first-tier stations. Suddenly, there's an alternative for them - a way to gain market share, without (futilely) struggling for the listeners already owned by the heritage News/Talk station in the market. I suspect liberal radio, given even a modicum of initial ratings success, is going to be an attractive alternative. They may never match the heritage station, but there's a market to be had. Frankly, I'm beginning to think it can work. 4: Now that Al Franken in on the air, will the liberals FINALLY stop bitching about Rush Limbaugh? He's a spin-doctor for the Republicans; he's mean; he's a Big Fat Liar! And the liberals hated that! So, of course, the liberals went right out and got their own mean, lying spin-doctor. You see, it wasn't the lying, spinning or meaness that bothered them. They were just pissed that they couldn't get a piece of that action. If you thought political discourse was polarized before...just give it a few years. |