Monday, March 02, 2009

I don't like Mondays

Here it is, the start of the week, and the start of March. As I wake up this morning, it's 12 degrees above zero and snowing. Spring can't start soon enough.

Uh, Monday.

So here we go, an update of sorts. Enjoy.

Air America shuffle

Now that Thom Hartmann is hanging his shingle at Dial Global, he will no longer be part of the lineup at Air America, not even on the webstream. In his place, the network's journeyman David Bender will take the 12-3P ET time slot, with little fanfare and nary a simple announcement or press release.

Nonetheless, it could be worth tuning in for today's guest, notorious rock legend David Crosby. And if that isn't worth listening for (so long as he dishes more about his music and rather colorful rock star life as opposed to boring personal musings about government policy). In addition, he'll take calls, so perhaps that will help.

And there shouldn't be any changes at most (if not all) of his radio affiliates. For streaming, KPOJ in Portland seems to typically be the best bet.

The show listings in the center column of this page will be updated in the next few days.

Oh Cullen, where art thou?

Columnist Tom Taylor of Radio-Info is quoting that site's message board in floating a rumor about the possible on-air return of Pittsburgh's Lynn Cullen.

The station most likely to be her new stomping grounds is WAMO (860). Cullen was laid off last year when WPTT (1360) switched from general talk to an all-business talk format. Station management told her at the time that if he had a few more saleable shows like hers, they wouldn't have dropped the talk format.

You know you miss him

Another tidbit floated by Taylor concerns the infamous Jerry Springer. The television personality, who once did a radio show with Air America, could be coming back to the AM airwaves, albeit temporarily.

The venerable talk station WGN in Chicago has been using fill-ins for the vacant midafternoon shift, vacated when John Williams moved to mornings. The station has already tapped local radio veteran Garry Meier and a rumor floated by the Chicago Sun-Times claims that Springer could even be enlisted for fill-in duties.

According to the paper's Lewis Lazare, "Meier has the advantage of being a known quantity in Chicago radio, but some broadcasting execs wonder if he can carry a daily radio talk show by himself. Springer, on the other hand, could simply be too wild to fit the bill at WGN. Then again, it may take someone like a Springer to spark a buzz and perhaps attract a few more younger listeners."

Springer? Wild? Obviously Lazare has never heard his Air America show.

More Nova (M)ayhem

Things are obviously chugging along at the former Nova M Radio (now On Second Thought). They haven't been in the news lately, so that must mean things are fairly hunky dory.

But that isn't stopping some former Nova M'ers from casting a few flies in the ointment. Former weekend host King Daevid MacKenzie offers another installment of his adventures at the former network (and he STOLE MY HEADLINE TOO!!!). Click here for his own "Nova Mess". Remember, as with many of the other tell-alls by former Nova M personnel, this is merely his take. I'm just linking to it.

Fat man talking

And finally, I include this, not just because it's from BuzzFlash, but because it's the best headline I've read all week. Here is editor Mark Karlin's take on the Rush Limbaugh lovefest that was the rather grim CPAC conference. The title? "Limbaugh at CPAC: It’s Not Over Until the Fat Man Rants."

14 comments:

jfield said...

What is with NovaM/KNUV/KPHX whatever not carrying Stephanie Miller this morning? They have never carried Lionel before.

ctk said...

they had stephanie on for at least part of the first hour. that and a charlie horse woke me up.

why they would have someone as terminally unfunny and uninteresting like li-o-nel on when they had better is beyond me.

ltr said...

The likely reason would be a satellite feed issue or a computer glitch. That's usually the case.

I'd say call the station. I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point. Stuff like that frequently happens.

NYLefty said...

I don';t like Lionel much, but I'd rather listen to him than suffer through the sophomoric S. Miller show.

BTW, it looks like David Bender will only be in the old Thom Hartmann slot for a couple of weeks.

From the Air America web site:

Tune in to the David Bender Show for what is certain to be an exciting two weeks of entertaining, informative and surprising conversations!

ctk said...

i don't live anywhere close to phoenix, and from just reading around, i don't know how many people IN phoenix listen to 1190, especially now after this nova m mess the last two weeks. calling in and letting them know that they missed most of stephanie miller (and now thom hartmann, although i don't know if they were ever planning on carrying him on dial global. but then again, 1190's website still lists randi rhodes as one of their hosts) for me is not really worth it. i would rather go find another streaming radio station (preferably that can play through winamp, and none of the cc stations allow that) than call in because it costs me nothing and if the people of phoenix don't really give a damn about their station that's their business.

i really wonder if this is the first signs of a change in the broadcast schedule. earlier this morning, none of the local sets overran the stuff off the satelite, and i don't know if air america's and stephanie's schedule clocks are the same.

Casey Buck said...

In-depth artcle on why Thom left AAR:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Thom-Hartmann-Leaves-Air-A-by-Rob-Kall-090302-67.html

Bukko Boomeranger said...

Thanks for the link, Casey. My wife and I woke up Tuesday morning, fired up the glowing tube and looked for Thom's Monday show to dowload. NOTHING! I reckoned right away that it was something to do with his change to Dial. I appreciate learning the straight dope.

My wife and I had been premium subscribers to AAR. Actually, we clawed our money back from our credit card last year because we had re-upped just before they sacked Rhodes, and we were hacked off. AAR never discovered this and cut us off, so we got a year for free. But we were going to pay for 2009. We can afford it. However, the new company AA(no longer Radio) has become is full of no-insight mooks. They won't be getting a penny from us.

Hartmann, preceded by Randi (twice) and Seder and Malloy... All the people I used to listen to in political exile are evaporating. Even Malloy's absent today. (His site says "snow.") It was easier for us to listen long-distance when the fascists were in power than it is when the allegedly progressive Obama Democrats are in control.

It's a damned shame. America is imploding, even on the radio. Good luck, mates.

ltr said...

Podcasts of Hartmann's show are currently available from KPOJ's website.

In addition, I wouldn't read much into Malloy's absence. Not sure how Atlanta is, but I hear much of the eastern part of the country got socked by snowstorms yesterday. Hey, these guys aren't robots, ya know. Not the end of the world if they take a day off now and then, or run into outside issues. Some listeners are just too damned demanding.

NYLefty said...

From Malloy's web site:

To Be Or Not To Be
Nasty snowstorm Sunday here in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains. So bad, in fact, it has knocked out a bunch of power lines - including the sort necessary to our program being broadcast live.

So . . . we may be live tonight or we may have one of our infamous "best of's." Either way, join us for the ass-kickingest liberal talk program on radio.

See you tonight.

- MDM

FSL said...

Somebody has to say it ....
Everybody who was anybody at AAR is gone:
Franken
Hartmann
Maddow
Rhodes
Malloy

AAR is running shows that nobody clears (OK, hardly anybody).
All they have left is the audio stream.
If a tree falls in an empty forest ...

AAR is done. Put a fork in it.
Then put a fork in Nova M.

NYLefty said...

Air America's Ron Reagan is getting a lot of clearances. I haven't checked most of the libtalk stations, but I do know that Reagan is being cleared in New York and during PM drive in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

ltr said...

Lefty -

Pay no heed to FSL. As we all know, he's the resident Mr. Misery.

Or, to put it more crudely, the turd that wouldn't flush.

FSL said...

Fighting Irish, you are a really nasty human being.

It's interesting you put so much attention on Limbaugh and Maloney because you and they are sooooo much a like. You share a similar style and manner and differ only in political viewpoint.

Of course, in the political talk radio blogosphere, Maloney was the original and you are the imitator. And much as I might disagree with his conclusions, at least her gets his facts right. It's a good thing you're a blogger because you'd never make it as a reporter. Jeez, that piece you did on The War of the Worlds would have gotten a "D" in any freshman Intro to Mass Media course. After that one has to ask how many other points of facts you get completely wrong.

I can see why you don't want to debate when anyone gives you other than the "mega-dittos" you crave.

ltr said...

Why thank you for the kind words, FSL. Glad you like the blog!

I take you to task because the only reason you really seem to be around is to poo-poo and insult everyone and spread your own personal narccicism. Bitch, bitch, bitch - it's all you (and your hundreds of pseudonymns) do. Perhaps it's high time you get away from the computer and listen to some Tony Robbins tapes or something.

As for Maloney, we both started our blogs about the same time. Look it up. I had never even heard of him until I had been doing this for a while. The blog just kinda happened.

And if you know so damned much, why aren't you doing a blog or working as a reporter?

Mega dittoes, dumbass!


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