MSNBC puts new show plans on hold

For the past few months, MSNBC has been toying with the idea of building on their prime time lineup, possibly by adding a new show in the 10P ET hour following "The Rachel Maddow Show", in place of a rerun of Keith Olbermann's highly-rated "Countdown". But don't look for it anytime soon.

MSNBC will continue airing "Countdown" twice each weeknight in prime time, with the possibility of adding a new show put on "indefinite hold." No reason was given, but it could be due to the rough economic climate affecting the media as a whole, and the fact that the Olbermann rerun actually pulls in a respectable audience, considering that rerunning it is a lot cheaper than starting something new.

MSNBC chief executive Phil Griffin suggested earlier this year he was on the lookout for a new show. He never named names, but the potential host most bandied about was Ed Schultz, who had done some fill-in work for the network on various shows. Fans of the online show "The Young Turks" and of Air America's Sam Seder have been lobbying to get MSNBC to consider them.

From Huffington Post:

Fox has 2.1 million viewers, on average, in the time slot in March. Cooper on CNN has 1.2 million and Olbermann has 902,000, according to Nielsen Media Research. On a handful of nights, a rerun of Olbermann has even beaten a live Cooper in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic that MSNBC watches most closely.

MSNBC may give up entirely on the idea of putting a new live show in that time slot, Griffin said.
"We're not going to mess with it until we see where it levels off," he said. "It places the burden, if we are going to put a show there, (for it) to be a big show because the repeat of `Countdown' is doing so well."

Speaking of MSNBC and cable news, CNN is poised to finish March third in the prime-time weeknight ratings behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC, according to the Associated Press. This would be the first time this has ever happened for the channel that pioneered the cable news genre back in the early 1980s.

The calm after the storm

Since all the mayhem of last week has settled down, how 'bout catching up with a few items seemingly left by the wayside?

Seder, Uygur vie for MSNBC gig

As MSNBC is rumored to be looking to fill the post-Rachel Maddow 10P ET slot, two liberal talk radio hosts are lobbying hard for the gig.

From Politico:

Since MSNBC mentioned looking for a 10 p.m. host to follow Rachel Maddow, the LA Times reports that two grass-roots campaigns have been flooding the network — as well as hitting Facebook and YouTube — in order to push liberal talkers Cenk Uygur, of "The Young Turks." and Air America's Sam Seder.

The lobbying efforts have drawn thousands of supporters and led fans to pepper MSNBC with e-mails in support of their favorite personality. Hundreds of people have posted messages of support online, some even creating their own video spots. (Give the time slot to "The Young Turks," warns one, "or I'll switch back to CNN.") Liberal bloggers on sites like MyDD.com have also weighed in.They all hope that MSNBC will choose a host cast from the same left-leaning mold as Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, who have helped power the cable channel's ratings.

President Phil Griffin said that the network isn't going to pick based solely on ideology but wants the hour "to be edgy, to be smart, to be a little snarky."

It's... Frangela!

John Scott at Green 960 in San Francisco is using the 4-7P PT slot currently left vacant by Randi Rhodes to audition some new talent. This week, it's Frances Callier & Angela V. Shelton, a.k.a. Frances and Angela, or "Frangela".

Who?

Here's a little more about them, from the press release:

'He’s Just Not That Into You', in theatres now, marks Frangela’s feature film debut! The girls appear alongside Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansson. Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton are real life best friends who talk to each other all day long. Frances is from Chicago and proud of it. She can be seen weekly on VH1’s Best Week Ever, and has appeared on NBC’s 'My Name is Earl', HBO’s 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', ABC’s 'According To Jim', ABC’s 'Emily’s Reason’s Why Not', Oxygen’s 'Girls Behaving Badly', Frances is also a fan favorite as Hannah Montana’s bodyguard Roxie, on Disney’s 'Hannah Montana'.

Angela is a badass Detroit native. In Chicago she hosted the regional Emmy Award winning PBS series, 'The Cheap Show' – a local version of Bill Maher’s 'Politically Incorrect'. Angela can been seen weekly on: VH1’s Best Week Ever, and has appeared on CBS’s 'Grounded For Life', NBC/Bravo’s 'Significant Other’s', HBO’s 'Mr. Show', Disney Channel’s 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody', Oxygen’s Girl’s Behaving Badly, WE Television’s 'I Can’t Believe I Wore That', 'Junk Yard Teddies' (pilot). She has also voiced 'Spider Man 2' and 'Ultimate Spider Man', 'Superman', and 'Reservoir Dogs' video games.

Frances and Angela are regular “Pop Cultural Pundits” on NBC’s 'The Today Show' and 'Dateline', Fox’s 'Mike and Juliet Show', CNN’s 'Showbiz Tonight' and 'Headline News', Fox News’s 'Red Eye' and 'The Big Story', MSN’s 'The Big Debate', and are regular contributors on NPR’s 'Day to Day' and 'Off Ramp'. They also host their own radio show, 'The Week According To Frangela - Real News, Real Funny' in Los Angeles on Progressive KTLK AM 1150 and fill-in for nationally syndicated radio talk show host Stephanie Miller.

Got all that?

More Nova M(ess)

In case you're desperate for as many sides of the story about the defunct Nova M Radio network, how about one side of the story, this from former weekend host King Daevid MacKenzie. You can find it here.

Updates, schmupdates

Yeah, I know.

The center column links and listings are woefully out of date. That being said, I'm working on it.

I plan to remove shows and stations that are no longer around, or have changed time slots. That includes all the WWRC links. I'm also going to plan ahead, since I really have no idea if Thom Hartmann will still be available on Air America's stream next week when he moves to Dial Global.

That being said, this should all be updated this week. Be patient, and if you know of any exclusions (aside from the Roots Up Radio shows that will be added), let me know.

MSNBC looking to add new show

With the success of Countdown with Keith Olbermann and The Rachel Maddow Show helping to make MSNBC a contender among cable news outlets, there are reports that the network is looking to expand even further.

The New York Times' Brian Stelter reports that MSNBC is looking to add a new show in the 10P hour, immediately following Maddow.

"It's almost like we're one personality away," MSNBC president Phil Griffin told Stelter. Olbermann supports the move as well. "Losing the 10P replay (of Countdown) is a very small price to pay for a last piece to the puzzle." Olbermann says. MSNBC insiders tell us there is nothing currently in development, but the network's goal is to add a 10P show when it finds the right host.

A reader poll on the TV Newser site, asking who should get the nod, showed Sam Seder in the lead as of yesterday (though the page keeps crashing my browser today). There is a movement to get The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur the nod, however.

And Ed Schultz has confirmed that he has been involved in negotiations for a TV gig following the move of his show to Washington, DC, though he has not gone into specifics, in particular naming the entity (entities) that he has been talking with. We shall see.

Tuesday talkin'

A few short items, including The Young Turks, an NPR experiment that didn't quite pan out, and more.

Turks go wide

Here it is, transcribed from the Air America press release:

Following a brief six month hiatus, the first progressive radio show to air across the country is set to return July 14^th, 2008 to the airwaves and in syndication on TidalTV and Air America Radio. As mentioned previously, “The Young Turks,” hosted by Cenk Uygur, just moved to its new on-air home on XM Satellite Radio during yesterday's morning drive, airing from 8–10A ET on XM’s America Left. TidalTV will broadcast on tape delay, while Air America’s Website will host the video live from 9–11P ET daily.

Outside of the two hour political show carried by XM, TidalTV, Air America and The Young Turks' website will also have a third hour of entertainment and pop culture programming from 11-12Midnight ET. Video clips from this extra hour can be found on AOL and You Tube.

Head Turk Cenk Uygur said “We are coming back to our roots and thrilled to be a part of the line up on XM, TidalTV and Air America. This new programming is going to be a perfect compliment to our tremendous web presence. When we’re able to combine the power of our internet audience with the audience we grew in our previous stint on XM, there’s an excellent chance we are going to be unstoppable.”

Bryant Park(ed)

Well, it was a pretty ambitious undertaking. Basically, an NPR morning show geared toward younger listeners, a laid-back, upbeat and less stuffy version of the rather dry Morning Edition. And with some markets having multiple NPR outlets, and the fact that the two-hour Morning Edition is played over and over again by most affiliates until seemingly everyone hears it, The Bryant Park Project at least had some potential. The show also positioned itself heavily toward online listening and interaction. It was also a morning show for people who were tired of the American Idol updates, "Battle of the Sexes," intern stuntboys and "Whip 'em Out Wednesday" shenanigans littering the rest of the FM dial. Breezy conversation and news about Zimbabwe? Who'da thunk? I admit, I actually liked it.

But new national program launches are never very easy. Especially when they carry a $2 million price tag. So, come July 25th, The Bryant Park Project will be no more.

Part of the show's struggles concerned its hosts. Alison Stewart and Luke Burbank are both very capable, but they didn't cement themselves as hosts well. Burbank bolted for his hometown of Seattle and a gig at KIRO, while Stewart took time off to make babies. News anchor Rachel Martin got a gig at ABC News. In addition, very few stations had picked it up thus far, preferring to simply rerun NPR's morning mothership over and over all morning.

Stewart, returning from maternity leave for the show's final week, told the New York Times, "From what I understand, we are obviously in extra-tough economic times, and it is a financial and strategic decision. I was told it had absolutely nothing to do with the quality or content of the show."

For morning radio listeners who can't stay awake during Morning Edition, and don't particularly care for the Morning Zoos of the world, there is one other public radio offering still available. Public Radio International launched their morning show, The Takeaway this past April. The show, hosted by Adaora Udoji and John Hockenberry, does have a market, as they've already lined up co-producing affiliates in New York (WNYC), Boston (WGBH) and Baltimore (WEAA), among others, as well as support from the BBC and The New York Times.

KPTK holds a town hall

KPTK in Seattle is hosting another shindig, as they hold their "We The People" town hall
forum on August 16th at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, Randi Rhodes, Mike Malloy and Sam Seder will all be there. Hosting the event will be Ron Reagan Jr.

Wicked, wicked Wiki

I've been pretty busy lately, polishing up LTRapedia - The LTR Wiki. So far, many pages are up. The wiki will do what is a bit difficult on a blog, namely giving deeper background information on many of the topics covered here. It's still a seemingly neverending process putting it all up, but I've been cranking away at it for the past few weeks or so. Looking for that station in Boise or Langdon, North Dakota that carries Ed Schultz? It's there. I've been holding back, waiting until I got the whole thing at least somewhat finished-looking. But I'm impatient. Again, it's still a work in progress, and many, many things still need to be added and cleaned up, but for a wiki devoted to progressive media, it's gonna be a real humdinger. Check it out.

A peek inside XM's retooled 'America Left'

Come Monday, fans of XM's Air America channel (ch. 167) will notice quite a few changes, as they ditch the Air America moniker and return to the original name, America Left.

After several weeks of speculation, XM has quietly unveiled their new lineup, with a few notable additions and a few subtractions as well. One theme that carries throughout is their attempt to air as many shows as possible by cutting off an hour on several of them. Unfortunately, they didn't go for my idea of setting up several devoted progressive talk channels. Yet.

First, Bill Press remains from the old lineup, but gets an hour shaved off. You can find him 6-8A ET.

The Young Turks, formerly of Sirius and Air America, return to the weekday radio grind after airing exclusively online since January. The new show, airing on America Left weekday mornings 8-10 ET, will actually be a replay of their online show from the night before (which will air 9-11P). At least the gang will be able to sleep in, given that they're based in California, and would otherwise be up very early in the morning to do their morning thing.

Stephanie Miller fans will be happy to hear that her show finally makes it to the XM satellites. She will air in truncated form from 10A-noon.

One personality who's show will not get sliced up is Ed Schultz, who will air live from noon to 3P. Ditto for Randi Rhodes, who's three hour show will follow in its entirety.

Rachel Maddow will air on America Left in truncated form, from 6-8P. Unfortunately, that means listeners will get that obnoxious MSNBC screaming pundits show that makes up the first hour of her show.

Thom Hartmann is still on XM, but only two hours of his show will air on delay, from 8-10P. As with many Air America affiliates these days, he'll get a replay from 4-6A.

In the late night hours, Mike Malloy comes on from 10P-midnight, followed by Air America's Clout from midnight to 2A and Jon Elliot in two hour form from 2-4A.

Speaking of XM, the proposed merger with Sirius, which was rumored many times to have been consummated by now, is still plodding along. In the most recent development, 16 state attorneys general have come out and criticized the merger, and are also on board the bandwagon that favors leasing part of the combined satellite radio spectrum to outside programmers.

XM takes a 'left' turn, KIST takes a fall

In a not-so-surprising move, XM Radio is retooling it's "Air America" channel (XM167). Come July 14, the satellite provider brings back its former name - America Left.

The channel will still carry Bill Press, Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann and Mike Malloy. They are also adding Stephanie Miller and The Young Turks. Miller will likely take the 9A-noon shift currently held be Lionel. No word on what role the Turks, who left Air America earlier this year to do an internet-based afternoon show, play in this grand scheme. The show initially got its start on rival (and soon to be partner) Sirius. And there is no word on possible time shifts for the channel's current offerings.

Speaking of XM and Sirius, FCC chair Kevin Martin and other commissioners have indicated that they're willing to support the long ongoing planned merger between the two companies, with stipulations. Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus are angling for concessions, such as allocating 4% of the combined company's broadcast spectrum, or twelve channels, to use for programming run by minorities and women. This proposal has been bandied about for awhile, and is quite vague at this point.

Meanwhile, on the left coast, R & R Radio, LLC is selling KIST (1340AM) in Santa Barbara to California Lutheran University for $1.44 million. The school, which owns local noncommercial NPR affiliate KCLU, will convert the station to noncommercial status, according to AllAccess.

The station was sold by Clear Channel a year and a half ago to Rincon Broadcasting. KIST was then spun off to its current owner. Throughout all the ownership changes, the popular progressive talk format remained, most likely due to its strong ratings. Since debuting in early 2005, the 650 watt KIST has been a mainstay in the top ten among stations in the market.

As for whether a station will pick up KIST's successful soon-to-be abandoned progressive talk programming, there is KBKO (1490AM), which is owned by Rincon and is currently in format limbo, duplicating the format and signal of conservotalker KTMS (990AM). There is also KZSB (1290AM), which airs mostly locally produced, block-programmed talk shows hosted by local residents.

Middle-of-the-month soundbytes

In this edition, we look into The Young Turks' life after Air America, the apparent demise of a pioneering online liberal talk outlet, and, will the next big progressive talk star be... Morgan Fairchild? Read on.

1. The continuing evolution of the Turks

Today marked the last day of The Young Turks' show on Air America Radio. Last month, head Turk Cenk Uygur announced that the show and network had decided to part ways. Uygur and company planned to take their act online, via their own multimedia site, as well as in projects for the Brave New Films website, a venture backed by documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald ("Outfoxed").

The new show, which will air from 3-5P ET (12-2P PT), will stream from The Turks' website, will include only 12 minutes of advertising per hour, as opposed to the radio standard of 22 minutes, and will include a four-hour free-wheeling 'rolling post-game' show, which in essence sounds like a rather informal online video chat. The new time slot will obviously be easier for Uygur and company, given that their West Coast location forced them do their Air America show live from 3-6A PT. One would guess that this will allow them to have a somewhat normal sleep schedule.

As for what Air America will replace them with in morning drive, the most recent word is that they will not even bother to syndicate another morning show. Will the webstream be silent? Will it be a replay of a day-old show from another host? Will they go outside and merely slot in a local morning show from one of their affiliates (such as Richard Bey on WWRL in New York, Nicole Sandler on WINZ in Miami or Lee Rayburn from WXXM in Madison)? Or will they go in-house? Obviously, giving fan favorite Sam Seder the slot would mollify die-hard fans. There's also new weekend host Charles Binder. Not much is known about Binder or his proposed new show, except that he's a prominent New York lawyer with an as-of-yet unknown timeslot. Whatever Air America plans to do with their vacant morning shift, they'd better do it quickly. Many of the stations that formerly carried The Turks have replaced them with Jones Radio Networks' Bill Press, who picks up new affiliates this week, with XM Radio and stations in Seattle, Detroit and other markets being added.

UPDATE: Rayburn's show will be relayed via Air America from Madison for the next few weeks as a fill-in.

2. KTLK looking for a host

Following last month's departure of Marc (Mr. K) Germain, Clear Channel's KTLK (1150AM) in Los Angeles is still looking for a replacement. They've already had weekenders Johnny Wendell and Mario Solis-Marich holding down the shift, but it appears they're looking for a long-term local solution. This week brings us an odd pairing - former Boston Globe columnist Thomas Oliphant and Morgan Fairchild. Yes, THAT Morgan Fairchild. Only in L.A...

You can hear the show today and tomorrow on KTLK from 3-7P PT (6-10P ET).

3. Non-religiously speaking

First came "Freethought Radio," a small weekend show on WXXM in Madison, WI that found its way onto Air America's national slate. Now comes a similar show from the nearby Twin Cities. A group called Minnesota Atheists has signed a six month contract with local station KTNF (950AM) to do a show on Sunday mornings from 9-10A (CT). The format of "Atheists Talk" sounds rather similar to "Freethought Radio," with an array of interviews and special guests, news reports, round-table discussions and call-ins.

"We want a seat at the discussion table," said program founder August Berkshire. "This is our way of doing it."

Berkshire said the nonpartisan show will try to dispel myths about atheists - no, they're not a bunch of grumps trying to outlaw religion - and warn people about what concerns them: a supposed erosion of the separation of church and state, and the government's discrimination against nonbelievers.

Hot topics will include anti-gay-marriage laws, restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research and creationism in schools.

Occasional special segments will cover atheist history, science and book reviews, and there will be short interviews with local atheists.

It won't be a rant-fest, Berkshire said.

"We're not trying to convert people," he said. "We're trying to engage them in a discussion. We want people to realize atheists are their neighbors, family, nice people, and that they should get to know us."

The group has an initial six-month contract with KTNF. They'll have to sell their own advertising, and have already sold half of their ad spots.

4. RadioPower.org signs off for good

A departure that completely slipped by the nose of LTR is that of webcaster RadioPower.org, a progressive talk radio pioneer which apparently shut down last month after five years of operations. Currently, the former four stream service is down to one, airing ambient techno music. Which means, the formerly popular progressive talk channel is no more.

Since 2002, long before Air America and progressive talk became big, owner Shelby LaPre gave a spotlight to progressive talkers, in addition to music webstreams featuring techno, punk and ambient music. LaPre claimed last year that listener donations helped the service to operate for 5 years, reaching on average between 2.5 and 3 million listeners per month with their various music and talk radio streams. RadioPower was also one of the first streaming services listed on iTunes.

Originally, the talk channel merely relayed the feed of the old I.E. America network, which carried shows from the likes of Mike Malloy, Thom Hartmann, Peter Werbe and others. When I.E. America folded in early 2004, LaPre continued on without them, and even served as the primary streamer for Hartmann's show before he was picked up by Air America.

Defections were common over the years. Old shows were replaced with obscure local and online shows of the time, such as The Young Turks and Guy James. Most recently, after merely piggy-backing other streams, they aired a slate of mostly original shows from the likes of Tony Trupiano, Kacey Sherrod ("KC Live!) and Henry Raines ("American AM').

But it's hard to compete as a small player in a world with many options. Air America's the most widely-known name. Nova M Radio has Mike Malloy and a wide variety of weekly shows from various up-and-comers. And Head-On Radio Network has aggressively built a rather impressive online-only operation. Not to mention, as opposed to 4-5 years ago, progressive talk can now be found on many AM stations in many markets. Many of these stations stream their signals. All of this meant that RadioPower became an afterthought.

This is not the first time RadioPower has been in danger of going kaput. Last year, LaPre claimed that the high costs of running an online service would lead to its demise. In addition, bigger names like Malloy, Hartmann and The Turks had since moved on, and competition was obviously stripping RadioPower of listeners and supporters. Still, RadioPower was a voice when a voice was difficult to find, and one can only reflect on the importance of RadioPower to the history of modern progressive talk.

Nobody's business but the Turks

NOTE: See update below

Fans of Air America Radio's The Young Turks have been asking the question over the past week, "What happened to The Young Turks?"

Since their most recent show on December 12, many have been asking what the story is. In light of the dismissal of Kent Jones, Rachel Maddow's sidekick, last week, some have been wondering what is going on at Air America. Did Cenk Uygur and company succumb to the corporate axe as well? The rumors and conspiracy theories have been flying at their site and places such as Daily Kos.

Granted, only three on-air days is not enough to cause a panic. But the absence from the airwaves was unannounced. And there was some speculation that the show has been suspended due to content. Did Uyger get heat for allegedly sipping from a beer bottle on-air? Did his scathing criticism of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic-controlled Congress last week ruffle the wrong feathers? This is all mere speculation, and many are likely jumping to conclusions.

After one conspiracy theory after another was bandied about on the Turks' website, Uygur broke the silence this past weekend. Sort of:

Guys, we clearly hear you. It's not like we're not checking our own website (I've read everything you guys have written and been amused and impressed by some of the speculation). And I completely understand and more than empathize with your frustration about the lack of news on the show.

Would we tell you exactly what's going on if we could? Of cooouuursssee!!!!

Let me put down two rumors real quick though. This has nothing to do with content or a suspension.

Finally (for now), we will definitely do a show on Monday. Check back into the website to see when and where. Again, We're totally sorry about the confusion and the lack of information.

We just a need little patience and faith that we're looking out for you and that we can't wait to do more shows as soon as possible. Thanks and we love you.

A fill-in host was on the air in place of The Young Turks this morning. But Uygur claimed that he will do an online show via the Turks' website this afternoon (3PM ET) to explain all.

Given all the staff turnover that has taken place since Air America's debut almost four years ago, it is no surprise that devoted fans fear the Turks are the next to go. Did they cross the line? Are Pelosi, et al 'sacred cows' who should not be blasted as vigorously as Uygur did? Uygur was certainly not the first to bash Democrats on the network.

Was that a real beer he sipped from in honor of Prohibition Repeal Day? I used to do that gimmick when I worked in radio. It's an old trick. Tell everyone you're cracking open a cold one. They didn't have to know I was opening a can of Diet Pepsi. That's the beauty of 'theatre of the mind.' Even if it was a real brewski, it was only a sip, and since Uygur is not personally responsible for operating any radio station, aside from doing a syndicated show, the FCC would not be able to do anything anyways.

Or is ll it just technical difficulties due to the process of feeding a show from the West Coast to the Air America studios in New York? Sounds most plausible to me.

Nonetheless,, Uygur will explain all this afternoon, and you can find an update here.

But not much is really known thus far, aside from what Air America and Uygur and company know. Cue up They Might Be Giants.

UPDATE: Apparently, The Young Turks and Air America will be parting ways come January 15. Uygur said that the show will be going a "new direction" and the parting is amicable. The "new direction" will likely be web-based, and will possibly include "new partners" like Brave New Films. No replacement has been named as of yet. Here's a link to the recorded show.

No deal between MSNBC and Rosie (Whew! That was close!)

The other day, I wrote about MSNBC and their talks with Rosie O'Donnell, about the possibility of adding her show to air after Keith Olbermann. Well, those flirtations didn't last long. It appears MSNBC backed out of the deal.

Some rumors claim that money was the dealbreaker, or that O'Donnell would not commit for more than one year. MSNBC wanted a long-term commitment. Still, one might speculate that possible media blowback from the negotiation rumors could have played a part.

On a blog post on her site, she claims that her "career as a pundit is over b4 it began." It was almost a done deal, but she attributes the collapse of the deal to comments she made publicly about it at a Miami book fair over the weekend. Obviously, spilling the beans didn't sit too cool with MSNBC brass. It appears they nixed the deal once and for all.

Why would they entertain signing her for her own news show? Well, she gets ratings. Believe it or not, The View did very well during her short stint, and fell off after she left. Plus, with the Writers Guild strike crippling the late night talk show landscape, NBC/Universal evidently needed a strike-proof Plan B. That's really the only possible explanation.

The killing of the deal is likely sad news for a possible rival, Bill O'Reilly of FOX Noise. His reaction to the possible signing? "Oh, it's on!" The constipated one started his show the other night exclaiming, "Huntley, Brinkley, Chancellor, Brokaw...and now, Rosie" under the headline "Far Left Merger." In other O'Reillyisms, he decried how NBC had "embraced the radical left agenda in pursuit of ratings" and adding his own suggested contributors ("It is not true that Sean Penn will be co-anchoring the NBC Nightly News...It is also not true that Hugo Chavez will become their chief foreign correspondent." Ho hum.

The irony is that O'Reilly was so delusional that he was trying to make as if she would be competing head-to-head with him. Ehh... not so fast, Bill-O. Your competitor is still and will always likely be Keith Olbermann. You know, the one who's name will not pass your lips? Who actually stands a legitimate chance of kicking your ass once and for all by this time next year? Yeah, that guy. But he's much more obsessed with Rosie, so in his weird little world, he's more comfortable bullying women than men.

But now we can all breathe a sigh of relief that it won't come to be. Or at least I can. And now, I can offer up my own personal opinion on the matter, which I neglected to do the other day.

Let's face it, O'Donnell would have been a terrible fit for MSNBC. Or any self-described news channel. She's a walking, talking train wreck, who seems to be more about making news herself than covering or talking about it. Her bombastic style is love-it-or-hate-it. She makes too much news herself, since the mainstream media is obsessed with the off-kilter antics of Hollywood celebrities. That's why we hear so much about Paris Hilton's criminal record and Britney Spears' divorce. And I certainly don't think either of them deserve news commentary shows on MSNBC.

We may have a few things in common politically, but I've never liked Rosie O'Donnell. Going back to her days on VH-1 in the early 90's, I thought she was one of the most obnoxious people I've ever seen on television. For a comedian, I never thought she was funny. Just irritating. I turned the channel whenever she came on. She went on to do movies that I made sure not to watch. Then there was that daytime talk show, but I don't watch daytime TV. And then The View, which I avoided like the plague anyway. If I want to watch people scream at each other, Jerry Springer is a more entertaining choice.

All in all, despite her outspoken political views, she would make a poor pundit. Sure, MSNBC would get a ton of press out of the deal. She gets that reaction out of the media. And I'm sure that's why the network teased the possibility of an O'Donnell deal, without really committing to it. But news commentators should talk about the news, not be the news. And giving her a show would absolutely kill their credibility.

There's talk about seeking out another pundit to host a show in that time slot. Some, such as Cenk Uygur of Air America's The Young Turks have their own suggestions. He offers up Air America hosts such as Rachel Maddow, who already does some work for MSNBC and would actually be a good move if MSNBC were to take a left turn, and even NBC's David Shuster, who actually would be a strong choice.

Currently, Dan Abrams' show seems to be a temporary thing, and while it is good, is not effectively holding on to the audience of red-hot lead-in Olbermann. Joe Scarborough couldn't do it before him either. And the rest of MSNBC's nightly lineup consists of prison documentaries and pedophile snaring.

But enough of the screaming pundit approach. That's played out, and it's bad enough that a channel called 'Headline News' airs Glenn Beck marathons all weekend. I have a novel solution to their quandry. How about a show featuring real news? You know, like CNN did when Ted Turner ran the joint. Or like we still see on BBC News, Nightline, the News Hour on PBS, occasionally on Anderson Cooper's CNN show, and other places? Likely, Olbermann can attribute his success to covering news stories not shown on other outlets. When has FOX Noise ever done an actual story on waterboarding? We're not talking about two pundits screaming at each other over it, we're talking about covering it as an actual story. MSNBC could tread where most cable outlets don't seem to go anymore, and most certainly not in the 9-10P ET hour with Larry King on CNN and Asshat and Doormat on FAUX. Sure, NBC might not have the global news coverage muscle that CNN and FOX have, but those guys squander it anyway, and MSNBC has more than enough to work with.

Some might say that doing real news is a ratings killer, that more people tune in to catch the latest exploits of Paris, Britney and Dog the Bounty Hunter. But the news channels need to constantly come up with new ideas. Because people will eventually tire of the TMZ approach to news, and with an important election on the horizon, and the growing woes of rising oil prices, environmental issues, international strife, shoddy health care, and a Congress that spends more time bickering with each other than getting shit done, people are going to want to find out what exactly is going on in the world. The exploits of Britney Spears, and even Rosie O'Donnell, will be the least of our concerns.

Quick hits

All too often, there are some smaller stories worth mentioning, but not enough to really fill a whole article. So here's a few "Quick Hits":

First up, fans of Ed Schultz will want to tune in to C-Span today (August 28) at noon ET, as Fargo represents with a three hour television simulcast, as C-Span often does with AM radio talk show hosts. You can find C-Span on your cable or satellite system (naturally) or access it at c-span.org.

Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann gets the C-Span treatment this Friday (August 31) from noon to 3PM ET.

Meanwhile, in Young Turks land, only one turk remains, as Ben Mankiewicz departs for a new gig. He will be working for gossip site TMZ.com's new television show, to debut in syndication this fall. Mankiewicz is also a weekend host on the Turner Classic Movies cable network. No word on any replacement, as Cenk Uygur carries on solo.

So, how did Keith Olbermann's recent NBC Sunday night gig turn out? In the initial Neilsen numbers (not finalized), the special network edition of "Countdown" beat FOX's game show hit "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" but fell behind "60 Minutes" and "America's Funniest Videos" on CBS and ABC. Olbermann's show lead in to "Football Night In America" throughout most of the country, though West Coast viewers saw it after the game, as is customary in those markets to fill in the prime time lineup there.

Should I spoil it for those who haven't checked their TiVos yet? Well, you can still catch bits and pieces at YouTube, including the 'Worst Person In The World' and another segment.

Elsewhere, Gonzo is Gone-zo, and family values Republican Senator Larry Craig of Utah once got busy in an airport bathroom. Let's hear it for the Grand Ol' Perverts!

Speaking of not-so-great Gonzos, Ted Nugent got a slide by most of the media for his onstage fatwa issued this past weekend toward members of the Democratic Party (video). Taunting the likes of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer and others to taste the business end of his submachine gun, he also flung around some rather violent rhetoric. And they say we're filled with hate! Geez! Meanwhile, all the Dixie Chicks said was that they were ashamed that the President hailed from the same state as them, and look what they had to put up with. Meanwhile, Sean Insannity on FOX Noise was bending over backwards to kiss his buddy Ted's ass, which in itself is tough to do when one has no neck. As for The Nuge, well, what else do you expect from a gung-ho right-wing war nut who avoided the draft in the late 60s in perhaps the most disgusting way possible?

For those that are curious, yes, the newly minted (pun intended) "Green 960" in San Francisco (formerly "The Quake") does indeed have a new logo, as you can see at right.

And finally, remember this guy? That's "Radical Russ" Belville, and he won that "Next Progressive Talk Star" contest thingy last year. And yes, he does have a radio show, airing Saturday mornings on KPOJ in Portland, OR. Tomorrow morning, he goes nationwide, as he fills in for the day for morning talker Bill Press on his syndicated show. Catch "The Bill Press Show" weekday mornings 6-9AM ET.

Spring cleaning

Hi kids! Miss me?

Okay, news has been slow lately. So, I've been taking a bit of a break. Lots of things going on in the outside world, ya know.

Not to mention that this beautiful spring weather brings other things that are not so beautiful - namely every airborne allergen one can possibly imagine. Needless to say, I've been feeling pretty crappy as of late.

But there's oh so much to talk about. so without further ado, here we go:

Yes indeed, Lionel is now on Air America Radio. Lionel wrapped up his WOR gig just over a week ago, and some right-wing dork named Steve Malzberg has been hired to take his place. Nonetheless, Lionel fans (and I know you're out there) can tune in every day now, twelve hours earlier than normal, to hear "The Lionel Show" on Air America.

The rest of Air America's roster changes will be phased in starting this weekend, with Sam Seder's new Sunday afternoon show debuting this Sunday, May 20. Next Monday sees the weekday shuffle, as they launch "The Air Americans" weeknights (8P-midnight ET), bump Jon Elliott to three hours later (midnight-3AM ET) and make other changes. You can see the rest here.

And soon, you'll see a whole new Air America website. That is, if you can actually pull up their website (which seems to have been on the fritz too frequently as of late). I dunno, when I redesigned my site, I worked on it offline, then launched it in mere seconds, with no disruption. Then again, it doesn't seem like a real web-saavy bunch over there. Nonetheless, look for a redesigned presence and allegedly a new logo for Air America sometime soon. Perhaps prior to next week's on-air makeover. So if you haven't listened to or downloaded those year-old airchecks currently at the bottom of their front page, better get a move on. Stop procrastinating.

One show that will be displaced is "EcoTalk" with Betsy Rosenberg. Air America programmers dropped it from the weekday lineup, in order to roll out the new lineup. They did however reserve a Sunday slot for the show, 10A-noon ET. Only thing is, Rosenberg and company are trying to line up sponsors to keep it going. Doing a radio show isn't cheap, and they actually have to pay out of their own pocket. You can read more here.

As Lionel makes his Air America debut today, another liberal talk show makes its return today. After pondering the shuttering of the whole operation, Radiopower.org has rebounded, deciding to rebuild instead. And today, they welcome Tony Trupiano to the fold, with a new show airing exclusively on Radiopower. It will air from noon-3P ET weekdays, displacing Thom Hartmann, who will no longer be on the service. Trupiano has been around talk radio for awhile, mostly syndicated around his home state of Michigan. A few years back, he left radio to run for Congress. As of late, he has returned to the airwaves, often as a fill-in for Ed Schultz. Now, he's back on the air. Other shows on Radiopower currently include "American AM," a Tampa-area morning show, "KC Live," which I have absolutely no information on, and Peter Werbe's Sunday night show, which airs on WRIF in Detroit. Replays of the shows fill out the remainder of the schedule.

Another web radio service serving up liberal talk is Head-On Radio Network, which I regrettably don't get around to covering much (and some of those guys have been getting on my ass about it). Like Radiopower, they carry a generous slate of original programming, running a live lineup from 10A to 9P ET weekdays, with replays filling out the remainder of the lineup. There's been quite a bit of shuffling as of late, a new website layout (take THAT, Air America!) and other tweaks. You can check out shows such as "The Cup-o-Joe Radio Show" with Joe Vecchio, "Fox'd Up" with Jon Fox, Jeff Alan Wolf, Bill O' Brien, Guy James, Mark Levine and Bob Kincaid. They do a pretty bang-up job, pay out of pocket to provide quality talk radio to the streaming masses, and generally kick ass and take names. So instead of bitching and moaning about Air America and their balancing act of trying to please fickle listeners and terrestrial radio people at the same time, you can check out some legitimate alternatives. Check them out at Headonradionetwork.com.

Fans of Stephanie Miller are still gushing over her MSNBC simulcasts a few weeks ago. Don't look for this to become permanent. Miller said she would not want to do it again, whatever that means. MSNBC, in the wake of the whole Imus fiasco, has been in the process of throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. Last week was Moral Court radio clown Larry Elder. MSNBC has also been shuffling their own hosts in and out of the slot, and this week White House correspondent David Gregory steps in, and he may get the gig permanently.

If you're a fan of fine theater looking for something a little more esoteric, then head over to Chicago, where "Jerry Springer: The Opera" has made its trek across the Atlantic from 609 performances in London. The production, about the talk show host and former Air America personality, starts on May 14 at Bailiwick Repertory in Chicago. How intriguing is this? David Soul, the former "Hutch" of "Starsky and Hutch" played Springer at one point, and both Harvey Keitel and Kevin Kline have reportedly been courted to play the role. Wow. Just plain wow.

Last we checked, WCMI in Asheville KY/Huntington, WV was still on the air and carrying Air America Radio programming. And they're evidently getting some attention, since the local paper even wrote an article about the syndicated radio show that appears on the station - The Young Turks. "They're one of the hottest commodities in progressive radio," WCMI Assistant Program Director Brandon Millman said recently. You can read more courtesy of the Herald-Dispatch.

Another newspaper article about a talk radio station came Sunday, as the Traverse City Record-Eagle did an article about Petoskey, MI move-in WJML. As you read here last week, the owner of WJML consummated some station-swapping, dealing mostly liberal talk WWKK and a quarter million in cash to another company in exchange for their high-powered Traverse City station. As a result, the best of the former WWKK and WJML have been combined on one station, simulcast in both Petoskey and Traverse City. So, liberal talk fans in Traverse City can now hear Ed Schultz every afternoon right before Michael Savage, and maybe even tune in to Air America, albeit delayed into the wee hours. Provided they don't sleep at night, of course.

Conservodorks are paranoid and live in perpetual fear that liberals are coming after them to force Limbaugh, Hannity, et. al. off the airwaves. Oh boo fucking hoo!

Oh shit. It's back. Just what we need - more unfunny comedy on television.

And finally, a side note to President Bush: Never, NEVER accidently joke about a 281 81-year old woman being alive during the the time of the 13 colonies. Especially if she's the Queen of England. Just plain embarassing. I'm beginning to worry about the 28% that still like this guy. Perhaps expected incoming British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will remember this, as he's expected to be less of a lapdog to the Bush Administration. We shall see.

WURP/Pittsburgh sold

1550 The Edge's days may be numbered.

WURP, the Pittsburgh-area 'hot talk' station and longtime affiliate of Air America's The Young Turks has been sold to Business Talkradio.net Inc., a company that programs a 24/7 business/general talk format.

The deal is pending until approved by the Federal Communications Commission, but Business TalkRadio.net plans to install their own programming, which consists of business news, talk shows such as Doug Stephan's Good Day and Ray Lucia, and various lifestyle programming. The station will also carry some local programming, including news and sports. The purchaser will take over management via an LMA as of April 15.

WURP is not a liberal talk station. They do air The Young Turks and some Air America weekend programming (another Pittsburgh station, WPTT, carries Thom Hartmann's Air America show), but they also carry a hodgepodge of shows from conservative G. Gordon Liddy, 'hot talkers' Tom Leykis and Don and Mike, and a feed from Sporting News Radio.

The Turks have been carried on the station for several years, predating their signing with Air America last fall. Recently, the station added additional programming from the network to fill gaps in the schedule. The station has never been a factor in the Pittsburgh ratings due to a very weak signal that covers only a small fraction of the terrain-challenged market. A construction permit has been granted to move the transmitter closer to the city's center.

The "Talkers 250"

Yesterday, noted radio industry trade publication Talkers Magazine released its annual list of the top 250 talk show hosts in the country. And once again, the list will likely leave many scratching their heads.

Now, keep in mind that the Talkers annual list is not scientific, and to their credit, the editorial staff doesn't claim it to be. They claim the selection process is indeed "subjective with the goal being to create a list reflective of the industry's diversity and total flavor as well as giving credit where credit is due."

Involved in the compilation of this list are both "hard and soft factors" including (in alphabetical order) courage, effort, impact, longevity, potential, ratings, recognition, revenue, service, talent and uniqueness. And they acknowledge that this is not a perfect process and that the results are arguable.

So, about this list. The usual suspects are found at the top of the list. Limbaugh, Hannity and Savage hold down the top three positions (no surprise there). Dr. Laura Schlessinger seems to have pleased the editors as her show has slowly risen from near-dead status over the past few years.

At number five is Ed Schultz, obviously given credit for his dominance of the liberal talk format. Other talkers often found on liberal talk stations that make an appearance in the "Heavy Hundred" portion of the list include Randi Rhodes (#13), Alan Colmes (#16), Lionel (#23), Stephanie Miller (#36), Bev Smith (#37), and Thom Hartmann (#51).

Below the top 100 are 150 other hosts, listed in no order whatsoever. Some names of note include Air America Radio's Jon Elliott, Mike Malloy, KKZN/Denver's Jay Marvin, former WWKB/Buffalo host Leslie Marshall, The Young Turks, KGO/San Francisco's Bernie Ward, and Sam Greenfield and Armstrong Williams of Air America Radio's flagship station, WWRL in New York.

NPR has a couple names on the list, including morning host Diane Rehm (#91) and Terry Gross (unranked).

Al Franken, who was ranked in the top 20 last year, is not on the list, likely due to his intended departure from radio. Talkers Magazine excluded anyone who's show was not on the air at press time. This would also include finance guru Jim Cramer, who ended his radio show in December and even Phil Hendrie, who left radio last year. As for Marshall, who left WWKB a few weeks ago, her departure was probably after the compilation of this list.

But what does all of this really mean anyway? This list will likely spark many, many arguements. I'll go along with the top three picks, even though I don't particularly like them. Truth be told, they do dominate the medium of talk radio (for better or worse). They've got many affiliates and a great deal of pull in the business. Hey, it's reality. After that, it gets a bit ridiculous.

I'll go along with Schultz at #5 (though I'm sure many conservative talk fans will beg to differ). In the past year, he's moved to the forefront of a young and rapidly growing niche, namely liberal/progressive talk. I'm a bit skeptical of the placement of other talk hosts. For one, why is Colmes even in the top 20? Granted, he's a competent host with many years of radio experience. And while many on the left regard him as a bit of a wuss, he realizes that talk radio is really about entertainment, and in that regard does a decent job. Still, is he really that much of a presence on the radio? While neither Colmes nor FOX really publish a list of his affiliates, his show is a bit hard to find on the dial in many markets. And he's nowhere to be found in this country's largest markets. Miller, who's way down at (#36), behind a few obscure local talkers and guys like Lars Larson and the obnoxious Mancow (#11), who lost his Chicago flagship last year, in addition to several other key affiliates. Hell, Mancow is one position ahead of the guy he's shamelessly imitated over the years - Howard Stern. Granted, Stern is exclusively on Sirius now, but the guy still has serious pull in the industry. At least more pull than Mancow. Likely, the creators of this list took into account punditry work on the cable news channels. But we are talking radio here, right?

What's really a crime is that Hartmann, who's show has done extremely well in several large markets and has been growing at a pretty rapid pace over the past year, is ranked below the likes of the Satellite Sisters and G. Gordon Liddy. Perhaps they forgot to add 'pulling names out of a hat' to the criteria used in compiling this list.

In all fairness, LTR did its own list at the end of last year, ranking the top ten talkers of 2006. And much of the same criteria that Talkers Magazine utilized was used. Yes, it was subjective, but tried not to reflect any personal bias. I also gave detailed reasons for why the particular host ranked where he/she did, which Talkers doesn't. Did the LTR list create controversy? You bet. Some people thought I had lost my mind with some of the choices (Schultz at #1 created the most outcry, as did the omission of Sam Seder). In all fairness, a reader-compiled list was also included.

Basically, the Talkers Magazine list is a bit suspect, and not to be taken overly seriously. If your favorite host isn't on the list (where the hell is Rachel Maddow?), or if they're excluded to make room for someone like KTLK-FM's Jason Lewis (who, in the most recent Minneapolis/St. Paul ratings book, got crushed in his afternoon timeslot by the local 1,000 watt Air America affiliate), then fret not. This list appears to be for amusement purposes only. Don't lose sleep over it.

Radiopower.org signing off

Shelby LaPre, founder and owner of Radiopower.org, announced today that they will fold the online streaming service. The end will come January 7, 2007, just two days after the five year anniversary of the service.

"We have been struggling topay our bills for a while but it meant something to me to reach this milestonebefore we make as graceful an exit as possible. Now, alas, we've run out of resources to operate on, so the time has come," LaPre said on a message posted on the organization's website.

"These were some of the best years of my creative life. Every day brought some new challenge and reward. Thenetwork was growing at a rate of 20% per month! and seemed as thoughit would never end. Then came, Air America.

"RadioPower was more than just another network, it was born of my vision that someday people could communicate without any assistance or influence fromgovernments or corporations. We managed to operate for 5 years from listener donations, reaching on average between 2.5 and 3 million listeners per month with our music and talk radio streams. Many of our listeners experienced music and points of view that they had never experienced before. I know this because many of our extended family have taken the time to send us an email and thank us for the experience. This of course in turn supported the artist's exposure and contributed to making more people aware of their talents. As an artist this is my personal satisfaction, to know that we did in fact help spread new and different voices, views, ideas, and genuine expressions.

"Perhaps we were slightly ahead of our time."

In addition to syndicated progressive talk from the likes of Thom Hartmann, The Young Turks, Jeff Alan Wolf and Peter Werbe, Radiopower also programmed three music streams, dedicated to electronica, blues and punk rock.

You can read more of LaPre's farewell statement, in addition to ruminations on the future of webcasting, problems with corporate control of our society, and the trials and tribulations of running four webcast streams at Radiopower.org or at OpEd News.

The Young Turks hire ambush reporter Mike Stark

Blogger, Marine Corps veteran, University of Virginia law student, renegade reporter and media prankster Mike Stark has been making quite a name for himself this year.

For awhile, via his weblog Calling All Wingnuts and his posts on the Daily Kos, he has entertained many with recordings of his stealth ambush calls to a variety of conservative radio hosts.



He slipped in a Viagra reference on Rush Limbaugh's show, not too long after the noted prescription drug enthusiast got busted for smuggling the sexual enhancement pills into the Dominican Republic.

He angered Bill O'Reilly so much just by mentioning Keith Olbermann's name that the Big Giant Head threatened to sic FOX Security on him, obviously not realizing at that moment that his radio show is syndicated by Westwood One.

Stark has also been a thorn in the side of various politicians and TV personalities. He suggested to FOX News talking head Brian Kilmeade that he forgo the expensive suits and haircuts and go fight in Iraq.

And just this past summer, he punked Hannity on his FOX show showing us all what we already knew.

In short, he's likely the guy that many at FOX News most love to hate. For that matter, the rest of the conservative media doesn't take kindly to him either.

Things got a bit more serious earlier this week when Stark was roughed-up by Virginia Senator George (Macaca) Allen's hired thugs. Stark initially approached Allen following a campaign appearance at a hotel in downtown Charlottesville and was subdued. Then, when he asked Allen a question about abuse allegations involving his first marriage, Stark was shoved to the ground, roughed-up, and forceably removed from the hotel grounds.



Allen, whose struggling re-election effort has resorted to accusing his rival, James Webb, a Vietnam War veteran and former Navy Secretary under Ronald Reagan, of including pornographic writing in a novel based on his time in Vietnam, merely said about the Stark incident, "Things like that happen".

Stark later recounted the incident on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" (YouTube link). He has also filed assault charges against several Allen supporters who wrestled him to the ground.

All in all, Stark has become an expert at ambushing conservatives and holding their feet to the fire. And now, he's officially a part of the 'old media'.

On Wednesday, Cenk Uygur of Air America Radio's "The Young Turks" announced that they have hired Stark as an on-air show reporter.

"Mike is smart, tough, well educated, dedicated and obviously courageous. This country needs more reporters like Mike Stark. I am proud to be part of an organization that is going to give people like Mike an opportunity to ask more tough questions of our elected officials. The people have a right to know."

Young Turks spokeswoman Arianne Schrodel said the 38-year-old Stark would be the show's first "street reporter."

TYT bills itself as "the first nationwide liberal talk show and first live, daily Internet TV show." It airs live Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Air America radio and via Webcast. The show, based in Los Angeles, began broadcasting in 2002 and moved to Air America in September.

Stark would not say how much he was being paid as a reporter for the show. He also said he was uncertain if he would cover the Virginia Senate campaign because of study demands at U.Va.

"This job is totally secondary to law school," said Stark. "But the main reason they're hiring me is because of the void in the media of asking difficult questions of powerful people."

Sirius Left announces Election Night coverage

From All Access:

Sirius is gearing up for election night with lots of special programming on their in-house channels, as well as from networks they carry, such as NPR and Air America. On Sirius Left, look for special election night shows with Alex Bennett, Lynn Samuels and the Young Turks. OUTQ is featuring it's new "OUTQuotient" index (in partnership with The Advocate) measuring the impact of gay voters, candidates, and issues, with John McMullen and Michaelangelo Signorile anchoring the coverage with News Dir. Tim Curran and analyst Corey Johnson. Oh, and their conservative channels are also planning special programming.

As I hear about any other special programming, I'll pass it on.