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| Franken, Garofalo to Host Liberal Radio | ||||
| 2004-03-11 | ||||
| Raw meat, anyone? Comedian Al Franken is baiting conservatives again, and this time he’s bringing along a bunch of friends to back him up. A bunch? Christ, they’re lying already! Franken will be the lead personality on Air America Radio, a startup venture promising a liberal alternative to powerhouse radio talk show pundits like Rush Limbaugh. He’s their Top Gun? Step right up, rich liberals! Who wants to be the first to flush a ton of money down this toilet?
Boston’s not on there? Thank you, God! Franken will be joined by fellow TV comedian Janeane Garofalo, both of whom will have co-hosts for their live three-hour shows. Great. Janeane can give away straight razors so you can slit your wrists while you listen to her. Sounds like her unemployment has just about run out...
They just keep rolling out the firepower. Speaking of which, whatever happened to the Ed Schultz Phenomenon? Franken, in a swipe at Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, plans to call his midday show "The O’Franken Factor." Here’s a suggestion: "Shithead Speaks". "Bill, I want you to sue us," Franken said on a conference call with reporters, referring to a case last year in which a judge threw out O’Reilly’s request to ban Franken from using the slogan "Fair and Balanced" on the cover of his book. The ruling turned into a bonanza of publicity for Franken. However, it seems unlikely another lawsuit is in the offing. Asked to respond to Franken’s remarks, Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for Fox News said: "All forms of free speech are welcomed in this country. We wish them well." He then he pulled his jacket over his head as he convulsed in laughter. Franken, who has signed a one-year contract with the network, made it clear that he intends to use his pulpit to pillory President Bush in the run-up to the election. Well,...no shit??? "Bush is going down in November," Franken said. "We’re not ceding this territory any more. To their credit, the right wing has captured radio. We’re going after them, and we’re going after them hard." Dead man walking... dead man walking...
Yeah, go where the money is. Them nonprofits really toss around the bucks. Will that Soros idiot even give them any money? He said the company hoped to raise "upward of $30 million" by the time the network goes live, which would allow them to operate for about 2 years before turning a profit. He declined to say how much they had raised so far, but he said "we are well on our way" to reaching the goal. Care to show us some numbers? Of course you don’t...
Fred, you got the Fat Lady warming up in the bullpen? Robert Unmacht of In3 Partners, a media consulting firm in Nashville, Tenn., said Air America’s initial array of stations was "Weak.They’ve been far more interested in the thought of creating the network than in the actual business end of it," Unmacht said. "You need to run a complete radio station. You can’t just say hey, we’re liberal, isn’t that great." Hey! Isn’t that the way it oughta be? Walsh acknowledged that the starting base for the network was small, though positioned in key markets. "We don’t expect to get giant numbers right away. This is one brick at a time." Hope Mr. Walsh has a nice severance package already written into his deal. Ironically, the name the liberal radio network has chosen for itself bears a close resemblance to "Air America," a covert CIA operation in Laos during the Vietnam War. Franken joked with reporters that the radio network was also being funded by the CIA. HA-HA-HA. Al’s a friggin hoot! | ||||
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #28 B: I've seen the same thing done with Iranian money in my industry. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-3-12 12:08:52 AM |
| #27 There is no market for this stuff. I doubt they care. The station will survive through the election and then they will just use it to launder advertising money. It's a nice little plan really. They pretend it's pulling advertising dollars, when in fact no real companies are actually spending real money to attract real customers - it's all just a pretty little paper trail. Companies like DU pretend to "pay" for the advertising with money that really comes from Kimmy and Mrs. Skerry, and the advertising agency "earns" the dirty money which they report as income, pay taxes on it making it clean so they can distribute it as salaries and dividends. And then they all brag about how much money they are "earning" and what a fantastic success this liberal radio has been. |
| Posted by: B 2004-3-11 10:29:33 PM |
| #26 Does anyone really care what Garoffolou or Franken have too say? |
| Posted by: smokeysinse 2004-3-11 3:39:33 PM |
| #25 Randi Rhodes? I think they meant Randy Rhoads! |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-3-11 1:05:03 PM |
| #24 Liberal talk radio already exists. It's called Radio Pacifica. There's no market for this stuff. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-3-11 12:30:56 PM |
| #23 This effort will fail. Lack of listeners, lack of advertisers, lack of commitment by Franken, Grarfolo & Co. I project press release of cessation of operations to be dated November 3 effective November 30. Look for victorious Republicans to ignore it. Look for defeated Republicans to bring law suits for illegal campaign financing. Look for 501(c)(3)s to get queasy feeling. Hope they've got good lawyers. Maybe they can get a recommendation from Martha Stewart. |
| Posted by: Mr. Davis 2004-3-11 11:38:41 AM |
| #22 Ruprecht beat me to the punch, but it really does sound like NPR without the government subsidies to prop it up. Then again with their current lineup, maybe they are TRYING to be a non-profit organization after all. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-3-11 11:35:07 AM |
| #21 Short term they will cannibalize ratings from NPR and gain a few curiosity seakers. Long term, they won't survive. I suggest this be nicknamed Air Amerikkka. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-3-11 11:19:52 AM |
| #20 It will fold after six months and claim MEDIA BIAS for their fall. Actually I hope they scratch by. That way we will have a constant window into the liberal heart. Imagine the comedy value of this station? Laughing at not with them. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-3-11 11:17:26 AM |
| #19 Thanks for the update Mr.Davis. I really see this failing. Most of their target audience will more likely be tuned into Eminem and others after a few listens. |
| Posted by: Lil Dhimmi 2004-3-11 10:36:58 AM |
| #18 Yawn. Franken and Garofalo are goin to do what again? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-3-11 10:23:01 AM |
| #17 LD, The |
| Posted by: Mr. Davis 2004-3-11 10:09:01 AM |
| #16 Here in SF there are three "news" talk radio stations. Two are totally conservative. The third has two extremely liberal hosts. One is on at 10 p.m. the other is on at 1 a.m. I don't think that's an accident. RMcleod, is that lard ass Bernie Ward and Ray Tagliero still on the air. I'm originally from the Bay Area, but have been away for two years now. Those two would hang up on me before I could ever complete a whole sentence. I can't say I miss their programs. |
| Posted by: Lil Dhimmi 2004-3-11 9:55:01 AM |
| #15 Randi Rhodes, a radio personality from southern Florida Isn't this the gem of humanity that makes racist attacks on Condoleeza Rice? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-3-11 9:42:57 AM |
| #14 Franken and Garofalo... Well, that's a helpful tip. If you want to be hee-hee-larious and annihilate the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy™, get two pairs of birth control glasses together and have them say "fuck." |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-3-11 9:39:47 AM |
| #13 It's odd about Al, he used to have Republican leanings right after 9/11. I saw him in Camp Bondsteel, Albania in late '01 with the USO Troop, which included Clint Black, Elizabeth Dole, and some NFL cheerleaders. |
| Posted by: Bodyguard 2004-3-11 8:44:07 AM |
| #12 This net's gonna canabalize NPR's market share and very little else. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-3-11 8:11:58 AM |
| #11 Isn't a comedian someone who is intentionally funny? How exactly does Al Franken fall into that category? |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2004-3-11 7:41:16 AM |
| #10 Anyone who believes the left-wing spewings offered by LIAR AMERIKA will differ from the propaganda from offered up by the anti-FOX, pro-DEMOCRAT abcnbccbspbscnbcmsnbccnnNYTLATDCP propaganda machine, is bound to be sorely disappointed. Whether the speakers are Penis Jennings and Danny Rather or Gnome Chumpsky and Michael Moore or Franken and Garofalo or KKKerry and his VP, their talking points will be written by the Democrat Party. |
| Posted by: Garrison 2004-3-11 6:20:43 AM |
| #9 air america?--is this network a cia front also?--does franken work for the company?--is tenet the exec producer?--lol |
| Posted by: SON OF TOLUI 2004-3-11 3:06:33 AM |
| #8 I wish them luck. Regardless of how I feel about their |
| Posted by: Craig Hagan 2004-3-11 2:34:12 AM |
| #7 LIAR AMERIKA -- Four cities, a few clowns who could not make it on network TV, and zero for-profit advertisers. Their product: They are promising the same repetitious left-wing spewings available 24/7 in the dominant left-wing media. And no ALGORE! Where's algore? Oh....Al is going to be occupied running for President under the flag of the Green Party.Franken's first book leeched off of Rush. His second book whored off of Fox News Channel. Now, the little mYn's radio program is hoping to piggyback to success on O'Reilly. I do hope O'Reilly keeps his INNER CHILD and his EGO in check and refuses to provide the parasitic Franken with the free publicity it needs to achieve success. |
| Posted by: Garrison 2004-3-11 1:33:49 AM |
| #6 Here in SF there are three "news" talk radio stations. Two are totally conservative. The third has two extremely liberal hosts. One is on at 10 p.m. the other is on at 1 a.m. I don't think that's an accident. The most popular show is Rush's. And Savage isn't far behind, in fact, he was long the leader...in the Bay Area. Another interesting thing: they want to beat Bush, but all four of these four markets (NY,LA, SF)aren't going to vote for Bush anyway. I'd be a lot more impressed if Franken was trying this out in Bush Country. And what's up with non-profits being major advertisers? That is really weak. |
| Posted by: RMcLeod 2004-3-11 1:28:02 AM |
| #5 At least some support staff will get paid for a while.Does Franken realize 3 hours/day,every day is going to cut into his lucrative speaking schedule?Should we start a pool as to when he will start reading on-air from one of his books? |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-3-11 1:13:53 AM |
| #4 This will endear them to the faithful 100 who will tune in each and every time they go on air. It will fall on its ass, otherwise. Hate is a powerful emotion, but it burns bright and burns out. Personally, I see this as a Deaniac phenom and will last about as long. Personally, I think stealing the name 'Air America' demonstrates they have nothing original to offer and is, actually, rather offensive... and proves how stupid they are. Does anyone here figure it's a good idea to screw around with the people who served in the REAL Air America project? Uh, if I'm not mistaken, they were very resourceful and very unconventional. Self-starters, you might say, heh. Some night when this show is on the air don't be terribly surprised if it suddenly goes *boom* and then all you hear is empty air or static... I can't think of more deserving idjits. FOAD 'tards. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-3-11 1:04:19 AM |
| #3 I see this radio network as a failing proposition. It is one thing to get money from leftist institutions and to combine it with government subsidies, (so you can be all happy talking about raising everyone's taxes, and creating good jobs for good leftists ) but they are talking about an essentially socialist inspired network. Sure, the John P and Catherine T MacCarthur Foundation et al will throw them a few bucks for the hosts saying the right things, but the basis for talk radio, commercial/private advertising will not be there in enough totals to support socialist radio in the long run. Some companies, such as media companies, will initally buy into some advertising but at some point the CEOs of these companies know they will have to explain to their shareholders to explain the benefits of supporting leftist radio. Oh well. It's the lefties' money to waste I suppose. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-3-11 1:00:33 AM |
| #2 If you are going to have a successful talk show, you are going to need substance, and a steady diet of "hate Bush" is going to get old pretty quick. You will also need people who have "been and done" things in real life, who bring a range of professional experiences and wisdom to the forum. We all love comedians, but a steady diet of them will turn off the audiences. Their effort is just another front for "Bush bashing" and the dems are willing to pay millions for it. Think of the good that people could do with that kind of a fortune. *sigh* This fair country of ours needs an enema..... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-3-11 12:47:53 AM |
| #1 4 stations? Only 596 to go to equal Rush. Good luck. |
| Posted by: Mr. Davis 2004-3-11 12:46:05 AM |
