Comments on: Air America Goes Live

Air America Goes Live

vraxoin — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:14:00 -0800

Today's the Day. Air America, the liberal talk radio network, goes live today with "The O' Franken Factor" at noon (first link is currently a splash page--the real site is here). Though the network is only available in a handful of markets, all the network's programming will be available online, and on XM.

By: vito90

vito90 — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:34:48 -0800

Go team!

By: obfusciatrist

obfusciatrist — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:35:05 -0800

If they want it to be a standalone thing that lives on, wouldn't it have been a good idea to not make it so reactionary to a specific other show? But I'll give other hosts a try. Franken has a voice that drives me batty in about 30 seconds.

By: example

example — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:38:13 -0800

>>all the network's programming will be available online I'm having trouble finding it online. Where is the stream?

By: remlapm

remlapm — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:39:34 -0800

From the NY Post "NO prize for guessing who Al Franken's first guest will be when the new liberal radio network, Air America, takes flight today. He took no chances and booked heavyweight blowhard and Ralph Nader-booster Michael Moore. And if that's not comfort zone enough for the lefty loudmouth on his first day, two of Moore's former TV producing colleagues, husband and wife team Patrick Farrelly and Kate O'Callaghan, are shooting a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the network's launch. We're betting it'll be fair and balanced!

By: example

example — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:40:34 -0800

Oh, and I agree. I like Franken but I'm disappointed that all the PR is playing off the Right. They need to have a message stronger than, "Same to you and more of it!"

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:50:01 -0800

T-minus 70... Here's hoping the servers don't crash...

By: emptybowl

emptybowl — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:52:12 -0800

If you tune into the internet stream now, they're playing Franken's audio book for "Lies and Lying Liars Who Tell Them". Seems to be repeating chapter 30, though.

By: dnash

dnash — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:52:38 -0800

Here's hoping the servers don't crash... From what I can tell, they already have. I'm having lots of difficulty getting the site to load. I live in Chicago, but I can't get AM radio reception in my office so the web stream is my only hope of listening today.

By: dhoyt

dhoyt — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:53:23 -0800

The tagline for the "Franken Factor" should be something along the lines of, "Fighting obnoxious self-indulgent narrow-minded ideology with obnoxious self-indulgent narrow-minded ideology". Does anyone else feel that all of those guys (Franken, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Moore) are pretty much buffoons? Starting a "liberal" talk radio network almost seems to be sinking down to the mucky conservative level and saying "Nyah Nyah!" rather than rising to meet it on a higher, more dignified plane. I'll take a listen, though...

By: nofundy

nofundy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:54:54 -0800

The difference between Air America and Clear Channel: honesty. Same goes for the difference between Rush and Franken or Savage and Rhodes. refreshing.

By: emptybowl

emptybowl — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 07:59:58 -0800

The internet stream of Franken's book just crashed. Doesn't look good. :(

By: example

example — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:02:28 -0800

OK, found it. http://www.airamericaradio.com/. Wait for it to reload the actual page then get an error when you try to load the stream.
The pictures of the hosts are disturbing. They look smug and empty headed. Please note that I am their target audience.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:06:37 -0800

The evil JRun is preventing my user registration. Curses!

By: Secret Life of Gravy

Secret Life of Gravy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:08:03 -0800

I am soooo looking forward to this. Sadly, because I live in Raleigh, I'll be listening (when I can) on-line. The 9 a.m. show, "Unfiltered," featuring Liz Winstead who helped create The Daily Show sounds intriguing as does Janeane Garofalo's show, "The Majority Report," which comes on at 8:00 p.m. What I really want is to listen in my car. If I was a conservative I could enjoy Rush Limbaugh on WPTF 680 AM which bills itself as the top-rated news/talk station in the triangle area. But, WPTF has no interest in seeking Air America programming. The Chapel Hill talk radio station, WCHL 1360 a.m. (Chapel Hill is the hot bed of liberalism in these parts) tried to negotiate for broadcast rights to "The O'Franken Factor," but sadly Ar America offers only the full program or nothing at all.

By: adnanbwp

adnanbwp — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:11:29 -0800

I dont know about all this. Although I agree that it seems the left is going down to the right's level in a "Nyah Nyah" competition, but then after watching the Oreilly Factor and listening to Limbaugh and group, I dont see how a logical, level headed, positive and dignified conversation will be any help. If their servers let me, I will listen online.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:11:29 -0800

That site is ill-conceived, unless they didn't expect more than six people to be interested in registering/listening today. It probably doesn't have anything to do with the core values of the content people, but it will come across that way. If they're so hip, with-it, and in touch with the little guy, why can't they put up a site that loads quickly and works right? Especially since they only have a handful of actual stations, that should have been top priority. It's troubling, I gotta admit.

By: example

example — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:44:39 -0800

The website design is strait out of '98. Notice their signup poll: How did you hear about Air America Radio? (check all that apply) Television Radio Newspaper Magazine Billboard or poster Email Fox News How about "the web"? "a blog"? It would be refreshing if the progressives were progressive.

By: mkultra

mkultra — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:45:34 -0800

Starting a "liberal" talk radio network almost seems to be sinking down to the mucky conservative level and saying "Nyah Nyah!" rather than rising to meet it on a higher, more dignified plane. Good, I say. The "higher, more dignified plane" approach has been a proven failure- no one listens. It's a sad, simple truth that the only way to reach the common guy is to be the one who shouts the loudest. It's about f'ing time the Left figured that out.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:46:38 -0800

No! The evils of coldfusion have gotten to them too.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:48:58 -0800

nofundy:The difference between Air America and Clear Channel: honesty. Terrific. We've just witnessed the birth of the first left wing dittohead. Oh, rapture.

By: deanc

deanc — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:56:36 -0800

Say what you want, Franken and Moore are entertaining to listen to. Do I really want to hear another long, drawn out, personal essay by a nasally-voiced writer I've never heard of talk about how he enjoys antiquing in the small midwestern town he just moved to after he decided to get away from the "big city"? If I wanted that, along with guest commentaries from flaks from the Heritage Foundation, I would listen to NPR.

By: deadcowdan

deadcowdan — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:57:16 -0800

Yeah, it strikes me as being a bit optimistic to say that this new outfit is "honest," since they have yet to actually broadcast anything.

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:57:36 -0800

He took no chances and booked heavyweight blowhard and Ralph Nader-booster Michael Moore. Looks like the Post's "fact checkers" are about 4 years behind the times. jonmc: I think the point was that they admit they're liberal, as opposed to FOX and Clear Channel, who claim to be "balanced." I know that it makes you mad when people believe stuff, but that observation in and of itself doesn't seem too far off the mark, does it?

By: PrinceValium

PrinceValium — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:58:20 -0800

Damn liberals and their nonscalable audio streams.

By: adnanbwp

adnanbwp — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:59:15 -0800

Go to www.airamericaradio.com now. Remember its supposed to start at noon eastern. I am listening live. wohoooo.

By: ursus_comiter

ursus_comiter — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 08:59:38 -0800

Looks like their web folks got their shit together. They simplified the front page, which now just has a link to their stream, which worked for me the first time.

By: vraxoin

vraxoin — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:01:20 -0800

It's on! "Broadcasting from a bunker 3500 feet beneath Dick Cheney's bunker..."

By: PrinceValium

PrinceValium — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:01:46 -0800

woot. airamericaradio.com works. I kind of wish he would do his Stuart Smalley voice.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:03:25 -0800

I know that it makes you mad when people believe stuff, No, it makes me mad when people follow party lines blindly. I don't care for Fox, but the more apt comparisons would be Franken to Limbaugh/O'Reilly, both of whom may be blowhard assholes, but neither of whom have ever denied being conservatives. Besides the main thrust of my comment was that nofundy's "Air America is Honest," is right up there with a "Rush Is Right," bumper sticker in terms of intellectual capacity. I imagine someone will be along to accuse me of fence straddling in a few minutes, but if the choice is between that and lock-step knee-jerk binary thinking, I'll learn to love the barbed wire scraping my thighs.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:07:18 -0800

Here's a link to the Portland AM radio stream, in case the main one craps out due to loads.

By: taumeson

taumeson — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:10:05 -0800

i'll defend jonmc ... "air america is honest" is just as unprovable as "rush is right".

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:14:15 -0800

This will be moderately interesting ; as far as I know O'Reilly is the biggest spinner (because it's on FauxNews) and I can see Franken giving him some serious competition in the spinmedia-market. On a side note , I guess that a show in which both Franken and O'Reilly insult each other exquisitely with a crescendo leading to a catfight with Stone Cold Steve Austin as a judge would adequately depict how a number of pseudo-politicians (Dem,Rep,Whatever) see their target base : a bunch of WWF wrestling fans that need their daily shot. Of course I blame the sissies in marketing for that.

By: rks404

rks404 — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:15:25 -0800

thanks for the backup link, the main stream kept cutting out. I look forward to them adding a non-Real Stream - that software doesn't seem to have improved since the last century.

By: example

example — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:19:32 -0800

Thanks, mathowie, that one worked for me. WLIB is down. Chicago and KBLA don't seem to have streams. Anyone know of any others?

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:21:16 -0800

I don't care for Fox, but the more apt comparisons would be Franken to Limbaugh/O'Reilly, both of whom may be blowhard assholes, but neither of whom have ever denied being conservatives. First of all, that's entirely untrue. O'Reilly's schtick is 100% about denying being a conservative. He says that he's "pragmatic" and of course he runs the "no spin zone." He certainly denies being a Republican or conservative. Maybe I'm wrong about the "honest" thing. But their advertising, press releases, and posturing are not intended to mislead and create a false sense of objectivity. I fully expect 90% of their content to blow (and they don't even the Chuck D show on in my market) but they are certainly being honest in terms of trying to situate themselves ideologically/demographically. A lot of people--myself included--have no problem at all with the idea of partisan press, and some of those people think it's refreshing that Air America (and yes, evne Rush) are frank about filling that role. it was dumb of me to start this with a personal slap. you're just more fun to talk to after a good ear-batting. from now on, I'll try to keep my insults off-topic, so as to avoid muddling the subject. you steal drugs from your dentist. i'll defend jonmc ... "air america is honest" is just as unprovable as "rush is right" I still say that depends on what kind of "honest" you're talking about.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:22:12 -0800

So far, this is a lot more boring than I thought it would be.

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:24:20 -0800

Yeah. The pace is real slow.

By: schoolgirl report

schoolgirl report — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:26:14 -0800

Yeah, is sounds like a couple of college kids telling inside jokes so far. It'll smooth out over time, I expect. Interesting that the Navy bought ad time.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:28:18 -0800

So here's something I was wondering. I just heard five minutes of commercials. If XM radio is also carrying the show, and it doesn't have commercials, what do they hear? Does the show continue on? Is it over 30 minutes early? Do they just play some bumper music?

By: jonmc

jonmc — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:29:50 -0800

O'Reilly's schtick is 100% about denying being a conservative. He says that he's "pragmatic" and of course he runs the "no spin zone." He certainly denies being a Republican or conservative. Eh, I've only watched O'Reilly a couple times*, and anybody past infancy and pre-senility can see that the guys a conservative. And Limbaugh, Hannity, Buchanan et al. are up front with their conservatism. I just dread the creation of another army of dittoheads, and wonder if Franken's gonna screen his callers, berate anyone who deviates etc. a la Limbaugh. *but the mrs. is hooked on the sunday morning pundit shows. I avoid 'em since they only make me angry.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:34:04 -0800

Just got it through Matt's KPOJ link - thanks. I dunno what they were doing for the first 20 minutes, but Jeeez, howzabout starting off with a bang? Some bells and whistles? Some music? Parodies? Impressions? And yeah, Al's voice is a little much after five minutes. I'm in a complaining mood ~~this morning.~~

By: bshort

bshort — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:36:50 -0800

Try this.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:37:28 -0800

Oh, as soon as I typed that, they started doing an Ann Coulter impression (kind of labored, really). Good to see they're so responsive to our concerns, though.

By: bluno

bluno — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:38:46 -0800

ok.. they MUST loose the Grateful Dead Bumper music. So far, pretty boring. Rush and O'riley are huge because they have not forgotten that a successful program is first and formost ENTERTAINMENT. Unfortunately, monotone rehashing of Clark's testimony is not too entertaining... sigh.

By: example

example — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:41:35 -0800

Another station with a listen link. (unverified) http://www.kcaaradio.com/

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:55:02 -0800

Farked. (sorry, just wanted to say that!) What am I listening to again?

By: bshort

bshort — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:58:10 -0800

Is it just me or is Bebe Neuwirth the voice of the Ann Coulter impersonator?

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 09:58:17 -0800

Eh, I've only watched O'Reilly a couple times*, and anybody past infancy and pre-senility can see that the guys a conservative. Exactly. That's why he is lying when says he's not, whereas Limbaugh and Franken are not lying when they claim to be conservative and liberal, respectively. Just like you owuld be lying if you said you were a member of the John Birch Society, or I would by lying if I said I was "New Democrat."

By: rcade

rcade — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:05:14 -0800

Rush and O'riley are huge because they have not forgotten that a successful program is first and formost ENTERTAINMENT. What's entertaining about tendentious blowhards with simplistic rhetoric yelling over each other?

By: darren

darren — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:07:56 -0800

Got the Portland stream. The AirAmerican link was JRun farked.

By: mzanatta

mzanatta — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:12:11 -0800

While I agree that thus far it hasn't been the most exciting show ever, we should remember that it is just their first show. Hell, even Conan sucked for his first year. Give it some time.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:13:50 -0800

If XM radio is also carrying the show, and it doesn't have commercials XM is commercial free only on the music channels.

By: kindall

kindall — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:24:58 -0800

He took no chances and booked heavyweight blowhard and Ralph Nader-booster Michael Moore. Looks like the Post's "fact checkers" are about 4 years behind the times. That reminds me of the joke whose punch line is, "But you screw ONE sheep..." You wouldn't stop calling a guy a Nader-booster just because he hasn't boosted Nader recently, would you? Even if he says he'll never do it again...

By: rcade

rcade — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:26:02 -0800

I get the feeling that a lot of Air America's listeners don't listen to much talk radio. A good windbag radio show isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. You have to work on your listeners over time, wearing down their faculties to the point that they think three or four hours of mildly entertaining background noise is a lot better than it actually is. By the standards of talk radio, Franken's passable on his first day, especially when you consider that there's nothing like his show in national syndication.

By: taumeson

taumeson — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:27:58 -0800

Is it just me or is Bebe Neuwirth the voice of the Ann Coulter impersonator? i agree! So far, this is a lot more boring than I thought it would be. really? what, you guys didn't like the g. gordon liddy phone call? some paraphrasing: franken: oh, and i hate everything you stand for. liddy: good, i feel the same way franken: great, say hi to the wife for me, can't wait to see you guys again. liddy: no problem, good luck with all this. .... franken: and if those people get me angry, and i can just have you kill them. liddy: okay. and it won't be quick, either! oh man...i was dying.

By: luriete

luriete — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:39:43 -0800

A RealAudio stream? Isn't that like the National Socialist party of stream formats? Why couldn't they just use a regular old MP3 stream like everyone else?

By: deanc

deanc — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:44:10 -0800

You wouldn't stop calling a guy a Nader-booster just because he hasn't boosted Nader recently, would you? Even if he says he'll never do it again... Fair enough... though noone refers to a certain former president as "Democrat Ronald Reagan," nor do we refer to New York's junior Senator as "Goldwater Girl Hillary Clinton," now, do we?

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:47:56 -0800

Whoa, I am learning here!

By: LairBob

LairBob — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:50:50 -0800

FUNNY = BETTER!!
Damn.

By: anser

anser — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:58:58 -0800

Finally, a use for that XM radio I'd stopped listening to!

By: y2karl

y2karl — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:10:38 -0800

I came, I heard, I left. That Coulter skit sucks, sucks, sucks. Imminent overhaul predicted. Or at least prayed for.

By: quarantine

quarantine — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:11:27 -0800

[slight derail] KPOJ intends to filter out commercials, regarding which they say "we are not allowed to broadcast over the internet." They missed one, though, and an advertisement for a homeopathic remedy was broadcast. An easy thing liberals (and note I'm among the ranks) could do to increase credibility would be to reject junk "medicine" such as homeopathy. I'd guess that liberalism and belief in alternative medicine are well-correlated, judging by the portion of Whole Foods devoted to this sort of thing. If they stop believing in non-scientific nonsense, liberals will look less like gullible bufoons. An easy way to start would be to reject advertisements from companies espousing homeopathy. [/slight derail]

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:12:48 -0800

I'm enjoying the heck outta the show. Now that I've severed my ties to NPR, I'm looking at investing the money I was going to donate into an MX Radio system. I'm concerned (however) that some of the B-line hosts are going to sink the endeavor. Chuck D??? Jeanine Garafalo??? Even though I agree with them on 95% of the issues, I really don't consider them articulate enough to represent them in this format (yes, yes, yes ... we'll see). I'd feel much better if they had someone like Mike Malloy on the roster.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:15:51 -0800

That Coulter skit sucks, sucks, sucks. Yeah ... How can they hope to compete with those thuddingly lame "Paul Skankland" song parodies on Rush or the endless loops of the "Dean Scream" on Hannity.

By: Ignatius J. Reilly

Ignatius J. Reilly — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:28:48 -0800

I'm concerned (however) that some of the B-line hosts are going to sink the endeavor. Chuck D? I think Chuck D will have no problem being entertaining or intelligent. He's an eloquent guy, generally. I dolook forward to him saying some controversial shit. And I can't wait for the Scaife-fed headlines about "Air America's Connections to Nation of Islam."

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:29:56 -0800

Bunsen is live-blogging the whole show, BTW.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:50:06 -0800

Bunsen is live-blogging the whole show, BTW. 12:55 pm: In an attempt to fully represent the Nixon Administration, Franken takes a phone call from actor/game show host/former Tricky Dick staffer Ben Stein. A quick Google search reveals that Spiro Agnew is an anagram for "grow a penis." Now there's your feed...

By: fraying

fraying — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 12:38:54 -0800

Best bit: Franken had Moore on, and Al Gore call in. Then Franken and his cohost prodded Moore: "Don't you have something to say to Al? Come onnnn...." Then Moore apologized in a long, rambling fashion, for endorsing Nader in 2000, ending with "you know what I mean?" Gore: "I have no idea." Priceless. (Quotes are rough from memory.)

By: rcade

rcade — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 13:16:12 -0800

Portland dumped Air America's mid-day show for Ed Schultz, a nationally syndicated liberal host from North Dakota with a couple dozen stations on board. Man does this guy sound like a liberal Rush Limbaugh -- he's got this common-man shtick down hard. He'd find an audience in any market that put him on.

By: bluno

bluno — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 13:30:45 -0800

rcade : well.. i am not saying that I am entertained by Rush or Bill, but lots of people apparently are. and they are so over the top that people with completely opposite views tune in, or pay attention. My point was that the monotone delivery senate testimony didn't seem like a way to make a big splash. Part of me hopes that they will be as incediary and obnoxious as the right-wing blowhards. maybe it just makes them left-wing blow-hards, then, but so what.... its TALK RADIO, not a copy of the Nation.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 14:08:36 -0800

Ackk! None of those links in the subject message are working and the only thing I can access is the Air America splash screen. Anyone know where I can find a schedule of the shows?

By: mathowie

mathowie — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 14:09:41 -0800

I thought it was funny Franken mentioned blogs on the very first episode. I guess he is hip afterall. (if you consider the wankery of blogs to be hip in any way, shape, or form)

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 14:15:31 -0800

Remember that the Big First Day isn't over yet. "If all goes according to plan," Atrios will, he says, be on the Janeane Garofalo show tonight.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 14:27:47 -0800

How do we know Atrios isn't Janeane Garofalo? [click here (*) for theme from Twilight Zone]

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 15:16:18 -0800

Who is this Randi Rhodes woman who doesn't even seem to know the name of the network she's being broadcast by? So I missed Franken, but I've tunred on the radio have just been annoyed by a Rush sound-a-like named Ed Shultz, and now there is this come-and-go New York accent complaining about her career. I can't say I'm overly impressed. As a liberal, I'll probably keep reading blogs and listening to NPR. I will however give it a few weeks to settle out, besides, Janeane Garofalo is a babe.

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 15:22:51 -0800

So, I just learned I need reread and spell check. Thank you.

By: dnash

dnash — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:18:55 -0800

Part of me hopes that they will be as incediary and obnoxious as the right-wing blowhards. maybe it just makes them left-wing blow-hards, then, but so what.... its TALK RADIO, not a copy of the Nation. Then I hope you got to hear Randi Rhodes rip Ralph Nader a new asshole. Seriously. She absolutely tore into him. And he, sounding for all the world like Bill O'Reilly in a huff, hung up on her. I see where people could say she was too abrasive, yelling at him and talking over him - but what saves her, compared to others, was she was actually making points. Like, how will Ralph get on the ballot in all states without a full third party to support him? Supposing he won, how would he ever get his ideas passed by a congress thoroughly against him? She confronted him with the bald truth that his candidacy is a waste and an impediment to beating Bush, and he didn't like what he heard so he fled. And for people who think that Rhodes's demeanor is "too much" like Rush and Hannity and the other right wing gang - those guys did not take over the whole of media conversation about politics by being all nice and prim like the SNL parody of NPR.

By: substrate

substrate — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:22:43 -0800

Can anybody dig up a torrent? I'd like to hear it, no local station carries it and the site was dead to me, DEAD I SAY, when I tried to connect.

By: dnash

dnash — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:52:24 -0800

Here's a Windows Media Player link for the Portland station: mms://ccdig.liquidviewer.com/KPOJ I used that for a while this morning. They're currently playing Randi Rhodes now on tape delay from earlier.

By: jacobsee

jacobsee — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 17:33:00 -0800

Bill Maher calls into "The Majority Report" and sounds reasonable and intelligent. Off to a good start. I couldn't listen to Randi Rhodes cut people off...I guess I'm more of an NPRish snob.

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 17:46:47 -0800

And he, sounding for all the world like Bill O'Reilly in a huff, hung up on her. Really? Actually, I think he held his end quite nicely. In fact, I was so put off by Rhode's infantile blame-anyone-but-the-democrats harangue, that I am now ready to take the vow: I will NOT vote for John Kerrey.

By: logovisual

logovisual — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 18:20:49 -0800

In fact, I was so put off by Rhode's infantile blame-anyone-but-the-democrats harangue, that I am now ready to take the vow: I will NOT vote for John Kerrey. Because, you know, Randi Rhodes is his campaign manager. (And yeah, I'll go there -- John Kerrey isn't running. John Kerrey isn't his name. His last name is Kerry. Kerrey is, confusingly enough, the last name of Bob Kerrey, serving on the 9/11 commission.) Listening to Majority Report talking to Atrios now... they're just using him to lecture on modern history, which is kind of a waste. I very much enjoyed the Maher interview, especially when Janeane Garafalo called him on his friendship with Coulter -- I, too, am not a fan of confrontation, but that was a question that needed to be asked. All told though, I don't know how much I care, since (a.) I'd be more interested in a radio station that cultivates a FactCheck.org-style mentality rather than a "liberal" one, and (b.) I don't really listen to the radio anyway -- I don't drive, and I've got plenty of songs to listen to when I want sound to come out of my computer. But yeah, when I'm in a car, I generally insist on NPR. Hurrah for All Things Considered, I say!

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 20:43:05 -0800

How do we know Atrios isn't Janeane Garofalo? Duh. She doesn't wear gray turtlenecks.

By: eustacescrubb

eustacescrubb — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 15:34:16 -0800

Alas, why can't people stream content in something other than Real? You'd think people wanting to attract as many listeners as possible would make as many options as possible available.