Why The End Of Air America Is Not The End Of Liberal Talk Radio
Steve Carney dissects what went wrong at Air America and what it means for progressive talk in the Los Angeles Times:
Coming only two days after the Republicans’ upset U.S. Senate victory in Massachusetts, the sudden demise of the Air America radio network — after a protracted illness — left liberals reeling and conservatives gloating over the failure of their competing ideology’s highest profile outlet.
But the end of Air America is not the end of liberal talk radio, nor should it be, according to observers.
“The only thing they did that was outstanding — boy, did they get a lot of PR,” said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine, a trade journal of the talk-radio industry.
“The thing that was so maddening about Air America’s original programming — and they squandered their initial capital and their initial publicity — [was that] all you heard was about how bad Rush Limbaugh was and how…
Air America Calls It Quits
The lone voice of progressive talk in the radio spectrum is conceding that it just can’t attract an audience the same way that the conservatives do and will declare bankruptcy. Funny how liberal blogs are so popular in comparison…
From the Air America site:
It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.
The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America’s business. This past year has seen a “perfect storm” in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection. From large to small, recent bankruptcies like Citadel Broadcasting and closures like…
Moyers, Moore and Maddow: Alternet Ranks the Most Influential Progressives
Interesting survey from our friends at Alternet. Congratulations to Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films for landing in the top 15, as many of you know, Disinformation has distributed several of his documentaries over the years, starting with Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War back in 2004 up to his latest Rethink Afghanistan. The Disinformation Podcast crew recently interviewed Greenwald about his latest film (Listen here).
Don Hazen writes on Alternet:
The three M’s — Bill Moyers, Michael Moore and Rachel Maddow — scored highest in a recent AlterNet survey* asking more than 5,000 readers to rate the most influential progressive media figures. Moyers, who scored 67.5, and Moore, with a 66.2 score, were very close. Maddow was a tad behind at 63.5.
It’s no surprise that Moyers, the moral sage, and Moore, the rabble-rouser, are ranked at the top. They have been popular with AlterNet readers for years. Moyers’ current show, “Bill…
Political Power Couple Susan Sarandon & Tim Robbins Split
On Zennie Abraham’s SF Gate blog:
When I read that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins separated after 23 years together, my thoughts immediately turned to their two decades of liberal political activism. The Democratic power couple was particularly active during the 2008 Presidential Campaign.
Here’s Susan Sarandon talking about Sarah Palin at Boston University in September 2008, when she says that Palin’s views are “worrying” and would set the woman’s movement back. She also quoted actor Ed Harris, who said Palin “would be a really large footnote in the annals of moose hunting”. Saradon also expresses her thoughts on the media’s coverage of politics.
Tim Robbins was no less involved in political commentary and activism. In this video originally provided by CrooksandLiars.com, Robbins appears on Real Time with Bill Maher and really gets after Steve Hayes, who tried to claim a connection between al-Queda and Saddam Hussein…
The Relentless War on Drug Users Is Escalating Violence in the US: It’s Time for Harm Reduction
Don Hazen, veteran progressive and currently the main man at AlterNet, (plus a good guy and friend of Disinformation), has penned a compelling editorial on the drug war:
Ethan Nadelmann is one of a handful of marvelously charismatic and motivating speakers within the liberal and progressive universe. He talks creatively and emphatically about race, class, gender, corruption, power, human rights, immigration and the devastating impact of prison-industrial complex on all aspects of society, all progressive touchstones. Yet relatively few people know who he is, or follow his efforts. Why? Because he has devoted his life to transforming America’s attitudes and laws about drugs, which is no easy task, and often a thankless one.
There exists a complex, almost paradoxical attitude toward drug use and the ramifications of “drug war” repression among many progressives. Even Baby Boomers, many who successfully navigated a journey through their own drug experimentation as they came of age, often…
