BREAKING NEWS: Air America taps Ron Kuby as permanent afternoon host

Fresh from the press release:

Air America Radio today announced that former WABC New York morning drive host Ron Kuby has been chosen to host the 3-6 pm ET show starting Monday, June 9th.

Kuby will be the permanent replacement for Randi Rhodes, who departed the network in April. Since then, the time slot has been filled by various guest hosts.

While co-host on WABC news/talk radio from 2000-07, Kuby’s morning show consistently placed in the top ten for listeners in the highly competitive New York City market.

"We're glad to have such a highly experienced and popular radio personality such as Ron on our network,” said Charlie Kireker , chairman of Air America Radio. “Considering his history of strong ratings, entertainment value and thought-provoking opinions, he will have wide appeal to audiences, affiliates and advertisers nationwide.”

“I am delighted to be joining Air America 's powerful voices in these challenging times,” said Kuby. “We'll have the news, analysis, opinion, calls and hopefully a few things that listeners haven't thought of yet, or don't want to think about.”

In addition to his accomplishments as a radio personality, Kuby is currently a guest anchor for trial coverage on TruTV's "In Session." In his spare time he is a practicing civil rights and criminal defense attorney with a long-standing commitment to social justice. For over two decades he has represented numerous controversial clients in some of the most high-profile criminal and civil rights actions in the United States . Kuby earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1983 and was associated with civil rights lawyer William M. Kunstler, of Chicago 8 fame for 13 years.

Maron, Sparks tapped for "Afternoon"

For those keeping track at home, the American Afternoon host wheel keeps spinning, as Air America has tapped former morning host Marc Maron and actor, comedian, musician and television personality Hal Sparks to hold down the fort for the next couple weeks.

Maron, no stranger to Air America listeners, will host the 3-6P ET afternoon shift next week. Sparks will hold down the fort the following week.

Sparks is best known as a pundit for various VH1 shows, as well as former host of Talk Soup on the E! network. Acting roles include "Dude, Where's My Car?" and the Showtime series Queer As Folk. He also plays guitar for rock band Zero1. He will host the week of June 2.

WCPT shuffles the deck, adding Maddow, local Hartmann hour

Well, it looks like Air America Radio's American Afternoon has lost a big affiliate.

While the network is still trying to figure out its longterm afternoon thing, WCPT in Chicago is dropping the show as of Monday and returning Rachel Maddow to the daily lineup, where she will air live 5-8P CT. The station is also moving Thom Hartmann from evening delay to the earlier 2-5P timeslot.

"As a native of Lansing, MI, it’s great to get back to my Midwestern roots and be able to talk to the people in Chicago in my new time period," Hartmann said, while Maddow added, "I am thrilled to be back on WCPT. Chicago is a wonderful city and I look forward to helping WCPT listeners make sense of this very unique time in which we live."

Since Hartmann will continue to be heard on delay on WCPT, he will air an exclusive Chicago-only live hour at 4P Fridays. "Thom Hartmann's Third Hour Friday Live" starts May 23.

The station continued to air the network's post-Randi Rhodes offering in the afternoon shift, but hinted at future changes. Considering that the station is owned by Democratic activist Fred Eychaner, a well-known supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential aspirations, and taking into account Rhodes' obvious vocal dislike for Clinton, the likelihood of returning Rhodes' Nova M Radio show to his station was a bit of a longshot.

The fate of Sam Seder

52.

That's the number of live installments of Seder on Sunday that have aired so far on Air America Radio. And it may be the total number as well, since Sam Seder's 52 week contract for the show has now expired. The next two weeks will consist of previously recorded shows, but after that, it's anyone's guess. Seder has become the second on-air talent at Air America in the past six weeks to leave the air due to an expired contract, following Randi Rhodes, who jumped to Nova M Radio in April.

Will Sam re-up for more Sunday/fill-in shows? Will he still be the web guru for Air America's website? Will he bolt for Nova M Radio or another venture? So far, there is no real concrete word, even from the oft-candid Seder.

Via his independent show blog, Seder says that his most recent Air America contract called for 52 live shows. That contract expired yesterday, but he has two previously recorded episodes in the can to last the next two weeks. He still plans on doing his webcam-exclusive shows, including ones with Marc Maron.

He will also still serve as online editor for Air America's website.

And he's still hoping to snag the vacant 3-6P shift vacated last month by Rhodes:

I may end up as Air America's 3-6 pm host. I really have no sense as to the chances of that happening. If not, there may be other opportunities at AAR or at other liberal talk networks. Don't know that those opportunities would happen soon or months from now, but I love doing liberal talk radio and one way or another I'll make it back on air.

The afternoon shift is still being occupied by a revolving door of guest hosts. Ron Reagan takes over the shift today and will fill in this week, followed by former WABC host Ron Kuby next week. Air America management has still not ironed out any permanent plans for a full-time replacement. It could be a possibility that Seder could take over another slot, since the 6-9A ET morning slot has been vacant since the beginning of this year, and the network could possibly move another host, such as Rachel Maddow, into afternoon drive.

As for Seder's on-air future with the network, that's anyone's guess. But seeing as Seder has always been direct with fans on his dealings with the network, I'm sure we'll find out soon.

Seder, Maron take over the "Afternoon" next week

While Air America Radio ponders how to fill space in the post-Randi Rhodes era, they have announced guest hosts for the coming weeks.

Marc Maron, who at one time vowed never to work for the network again, is back in the host's chair next week, as he fills in on Tuesday (5/6) and Thursday (5/8). The ever-faithful Sam Seder hosts next Monday (5/5) and Wednesday (5/7), and the two will team up for a joint show next Friday (5/9) and occasionally for an online-only "SammYCam" show.

The following week (5/12-16) will see Ron Reagan, son of the former president and onetime host at KIRO in Seattle in the shift. Ron Kuby, formerly of WABC, takes over for the week afterward (5/19).

Previous hosts of "American Afternoon" have included Richard Belzer, Joy Behar and this week, Roseanne Barr and Johnny Argent. The show has been heavy with guest appearances, including Cynthia McKinney, Phil Donahue, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman, Martin Short, “Sopranos” creator David Chase, Lewis Black, financial advisor Suze Orman, filmmaker Michael Moore, and former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers.

Meanwhile, confirming last week's rumors, Randi Rhodes' show on Nova M Radio will air on XM's "Air America" channel starting next Monday, displacing "American Afternoon."

Thanks to Shelley Kapitulik at Air America for the heads-up, as well as the pics of Belzer and Barr (as seen in the previous entry).

Rambling about Rush, Roseanne, radio, and riots

Quite often, while doing other things in the real world, I tend to ponder ideas for new entries for this blog. Something may have happened that caught my attention, or some new controversy arose. Perhaps yet another right-wing media blowhard erupted. Or perhaps there's some mock outrage simmering in the blogosphere.

Now, many of these ideas don't really come to fruition. Scattered about on my computer are many half-finished entries and a few jotted notes and news items. I often find that things that supposedly offend some people, such as the whole Rev. Jeremiah Wright non-scandal and ridiculous ways of proving fake patriotism, don't really phase me. I guess I'm too distracted by paying $4 a gallon for the same gas that I got for half that price only a few years ago. Do I really give a shit about who's wearing a 'made in China' flag pin and who isn't?

But this is a media blog, nonetheless, and the majority of what I write about centers around that. As I've often said in the past, I choose not to write about every little thing some pundit or self-appointed town crier screams into a microphone. I would have little time for anything else if that were the case, and there are many blogs that do it better than I could hope to. I do, however, make exceptions.

A few weeks ago, I followed the whole Randi Rhodes controversy, because I sensed that it would blow up into something. It did. And the most recent idea I had for an entry came about while driving last weekend. A few days earlier, Rush Limbaugh was basking in the glow of his so-called "Operation Chaos," wherer he encouraged his lemmings listeners to disrupt the presidential primary process through various misdeeds. He gives himself way too much credit, since I highly doubt "Operation Chaos" is really having as much of an effect as he or others might think (Hillary Clinton is doing a better job of it herself). There's really no way to prove it. Nonetheless, his latest decree, last Wednesday following the Pennsylvania Primary, was a call-to-arms directed at his listeners:

...The dream end... I mean, if people say what's your exit strategery (sic), the dream end of this is that this keeps up to the convention and that we have a replay of Chicago 1968, with burning cars, protests, fires, literal riots, and all of that. That's the objective here.

(Here's the Keith Olbermann report on it, via YouTube.)

Okay, typical asshole comment from Limbaugh. He's got a million of these, though this one actually condones the destruction of a major American city. Well, these guys do tend to be concerned about terrorism. They just don't realize that typically, they're the ones doing the terrorizing.

The comments were deplorable, and in very bad taste. Wishing for violent riots is pretty appalling. And aren't these guys supposed to be fighting terrorism? Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) even called on Clear Channel (which owns Limbaugh's Denver affiliate KOA) to reprimand Limbaugh. Some of his listeners even turned on him. Some even called for his arrest.

So, as typical in conservojerk circles, the usual gang of idiots had to figure out a way of playing tit-for-tat. They wound up appointing some loser with no life the task of listening to Air America, in the hopes that they could find some ammo to fight back with. They needed a finger-pointing "AH HA!" moment. The best they could come up with was an afternoon fill-in host, Roseanne Barr:

But you know what, I think I am old and I’m okay with being a baby boomer being older and everything like that. 'Cause I think one really good thing about it, we were just talking about it, is that I am over the BS. And I just want to identify solutions and then get 'em done. And I want to ah you know the people who are listening, I want to remind them or encourage them or wake them up to say you know what, you have so much more power then you think you have.

I mean I think somebody’s profiting by keeping us all divided and making us feel like oh my God we don’t even know what to believe what we’re reading what’s true. But you know, we have a lot of power and there is a Democratic Convention in Denver in just a short time and we should a bunch of us go there and repeat the Democratic Convention from Chicago. Like, let’s just cause a bunch of trouble. Let's wrest back our government from what, six or seven you know guys like McCain and Romney and Bush from the top. Let’s just go take it. It’s ours. Nobody gives it to you, you just go take it. Let’s meet in Denver and let’s do it...

...And then let’s get on a bus, whatever let’s meet up in Denver. I mean seriously, I’m willing to do it. I’ll even put some of my own money into it because I’m like committed. I see how it easy it is for ah the woman in particularly of my generation to go take it all. Take it all, it’s ours anyway.

As is typical, the mock outrage oozed from every pore of the wingnut blogosphere. Even Fatboy, who never had a sense of irony, and certainly no shame, got in on the act. Yet, as is typically the case, this anger and hostility seemed very phony. Ripping apart an inexperienced guest host? Oh please!

Well okay, she didn't call for burning cars and rioting. Her most blatant call for action was to "go take it." Which is in stark contrast to the hostile fatwa issued by an ivory tower shock jock who only leaves his house to golf with his elitist buddies, go whore-hopping to the Dominican Republic or score drugs. Hey, at least Barr offered to go to Denver herself. Limbaugh doesn't give a shit what happens to the world just so long as his money's safe and nobody walks across his lawn.

And that was the basis of the idea I initially had. Since Limbaugh was calling for a massive assault on Denver, I thought it would be cool to bring the party to his house. I call it "Operation Hog Roast." We'd descend on Palm Beach, FL, set up tents in his front yard, leave beer cans all over, piss in his bushes, fornicate in the flower beds, score pills behind the local Denny's and go four-wheeling on his favorite golf course. The kicker would be very appropriate - we'd cap it off a massive pig roast! At a fat pig's house! Now, that sounds pretty cool, huh? Of course, seeing as he's more shut off from the world in his mansion fortress than Howard Hughes ever was, he probably wouldn't even notice all the chaos on his front lawn. Still, sounds like a heck of a party!

So, back to the Roseanne thing. As Air America fans know, she's one of a long string of 'celebrity' hosts filling in while the network figures out how to replace Randi Rhodes. And since only about three stations of note actually carry the show, it's a safe bet that few people are actually listening to her. Plus, Roseanne's off the air at the end of this week. Can't say the same for Limbaugh, who's 500 or so affiliates will still carry him for the foreseeable future.

Keep in mind that the protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago were originally supposed to be peaceful. A bunch of hippies, live bands, plenty of pot and some good vibes capping a three month time span that had just witnessed the violent assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. The hippies and cops initially got along well, with a few minor altercations. Then the Yippies and a few other rabble-rousers descended on the city. Adding to that crowded, filthy conditions, similar to what ended the whole Haight-Ashbury thing a year earlier, and the mayhem commenced. Of course, Limbaugh and his frustrated wingnut acolytes are living in a fantasy world, where they see Democrats and liberals as dirty hippies, so it fits in well with their delusional wet dreams. If only it were that simple.

So, after raising so many points and asking so many questions, I offer a solution. If Limbaugh wants to burn Denver to the ground in August, instead of delegating his followers to go out and do his dirty work, he needs to get off his fat ass and out of his mansion and lead the charge himself. To order others to do the lawbreaking that he's not willing to do himself is a cowardly chickenshit move. He should know that he can't rely on his goons to get it done. Porta-johns typically outnumber protesters at right-wing rallies!

At least Abbie Hoffman and his gang got out on the streets of Chicago themselves and got down to business. Hell, even Roseanne, at one time one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, offered to go to Denver. Moral of the story: If you want to get it done, don't be passive - do it your own damn self!