Franken on Letterman

[zoey]

Given all the attention Air America gets around here, I'm surprised nobody has commented on Al Franken's appearance on the David Letterman Show last night. Maybe everybody was too busy talking about Howard Stern's appearance the night before.

Franken is down aways on my list of favorite libtalk hosts, but last night he was really funny. I can't quite put my finger on what was different about him but I'd love to listen to guy who was on Letterman last night. Maybe it was the live audience. Maybe it was he was being a comedian and just trying to get laughs. He made some political points, too, but mostly it was a funny segment.

Meanwhile, I'm back listening to Thom Hartmann's audio stream.

 

[tbetz]

> I can't quite put my finger on what was different about him but
> I'd love to listen to guy who was on Letterman last night. Maybe
> it was the live audience.

Franken is always better before a live audience. He should do every show with a live audience. It helps to bring out the entertainer in him.<P ID="signature">______________
also known as tombetz.</P>

 

[kaufcom]

> > I can't quite put my finger on what was different about
> him but
> > I'd love to listen to guy who was on Letterman last night.
> Maybe
> > it was the live audience.
>
> Franken is always better before a live audience. He should
> do every show with a live audience. It helps to bring out
> the entertainer in him.

Franken is good on TV. His Stewart Smiley bit might have been one funiest bits on Saturday Night Live. He's also a good public speaker. I've seen him light up a room filled with right wing talk show hosts and their syndicators. However, he is a terrible talk show host. He's dull, unpassionate and not very funny. He leads all syndicated talk show hosts in "ahs" and "ums" and relies too much on interviews with magazine writers and not enough time talking with listeners. AAR will never get anywhere until they get rid of him.
<P ID="signature">______________
http://talkingradio.blogspot.com/</P>

 

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

Maybe it's because Franken's doing overt political talk in the mold of political talk. He should do entertainment...it may have a political bent, but he should be himself, not what he thinks he should be.

I'm a conservative, but I might listen to that. Instead, I get the painful, forced politico Franken.

 

[autopaint-1]

"He leads all syndicated
> talk show hosts in "ahs" and "ums"

Apparently you've never heard the Uhhhhhhhh Ummmmmmm Ed Kotch show.

"relies too much on
> interviews with magazine writers and not enough time talking
> with listeners. AAR will never get anywhere until they get
> rid of him."

Well I am finally starting to understand what people mean when they say he's not entertaining, and it's interesting. I've heard everyone say that all talk shows are the same as though they are reading a script, but when anyone does a different type of talk show the first questioned asked is, where are the phone calls? I happen to like the fact that his show isn't the typical megga dittos, long time listener, first time caller garbage. I'd rather hear what the informed have to say than some caller who either lauds the host because said host is a "True" American as opposed to those with whom the caller disagrees. To me that's just a waste of time. I come away no better informed than if I listened to the noise between stations. Oh and at least in NYC Franken gets better 25 to 54 numbers on a 20 thousand watt WLIB (1090)than O'Reilly does on 50 KW WOR (710).

 

[robmidmi]

> > I can't quite put my finger on what was different about
> him but
> > I'd love to listen to guy who was on Letterman last night.
> Maybe
> > it was the live audience.
>
> Franken is always better before a live audience. He should
> do every show with a live audience. It helps to bring out
> the entertainer in him.

I agree he is better in front of a live audience. Air America needs to change the name of his show to something like "Weekdays Live with Al Franken" (I know it is a rip-off of "Saturday Night Live") and of course have him do it in front of a studio audience, everyday. Also, he really needs a good co-host, like Katherine Lampher was.

 

[Scribbler]

Franken v. Call-In Shows

Amen, brother! I'm really not interested in hearing what the fans of radio talk show hosts have to say. I wish Franken was more glib, but I find myself listening to him more than to any of the other libtalkers because he has guests who give me interesting information -- far more interesting info than I get from Joe in Brooklyn or Sally in Toledo. As for those who say that Air America isn't necessary because liberals already have NPR, give me a break! My local NPR affiliate carries little political talk -- it's mostly straight news or cooking shows, pet shows, antique shows, beermaking shows, science shows, financial shows, classical music shows, jazz shows, opera broadcasts, etc., etc.
>
> Well I am finally starting to understand what people mean
> when they say he's not entertaining, and it's interesting.
> I've heard everyone say that all talk shows are the same as
> though they are reading a script, but when anyone does a
> different type of talk show the first questioned asked is,
> where are the phone calls? I happen to like the fact that
> his show isn't the typical megga dittos, long time listener,
> first time caller garbage. I'd rather hear what the informed
> have to say than some caller who either lauds the host
> because said host is a "True" American as opposed to those
> with whom the caller disagrees. To me that's just a waste of
> time. I come away no better informed than if I listened to
> the noise between stations. Oh and at least in NYC Franken
> gets better 25 to 54 numbers on a 20 thousand watt WLIB
> (1090)than O'Reilly does on 50 KW WOR (710).
>

 

[zoey]

Re: NPR

> My local NPR
> affiliate carries little political talk -- it's mostly
> straight news or cooking shows, pet shows, antique shows,
> beermaking shows, science shows, financial shows, classical
> music shows, jazz shows, opera broadcasts, etc., etc.

One more reason for public radio stations to drop the tent-pole schedule with classical music middays and evenings and adopt the news and information format with programs like:
Talk of the Nation
Here and Now
Day to Day
Diane Rehm
News and Notes with Ed Gordon
To the Point

Most public radio stations stream online, including the leading public radio news and information outlets:
WBUR, Boston
WAMU, Washington, DC
WNYC-AM, New York
WHYY-FM, Philadelphia
WBEZ, Chicago
Minnesota Public Radio
Wisconsin Public Radio
Michigan Radio

Program classical music and you hear from listeners only when you drop the format. News and information listeners actually donate. That's the main reason most of the major public radio stations have dropped music programming.

 

[k9ez]

Re: NPR

> > My local NPR
> > affiliate carries little political talk -- it's mostly
> > straight news or cooking shows, pet shows, antique shows,
> > beermaking shows, science shows, financial shows,
> classical
> > music shows, jazz shows, opera broadcasts, etc., etc.
>
> One more reason for public radio stations to drop the
> tent-pole schedule with classical music middays and evenings
> and adopt the news and information format with programs
> like:
> Talk of the Nation
> Here and Now
> Day to Day
> Diane Rehm
> News and Notes with Ed Gordon
> To the Point
>
> Most public radio stations stream online, including the
> leading public radio news and information outlets:
> WBUR, Boston
> WAMU, Washington, DC
> WNYC-AM, New York
> WHYY-FM, Philadelphia
> WBEZ, Chicago
> Minnesota Public Radio
> Wisconsin Public Radio
> Michigan Radio
>
> Program classical music and you hear from listeners only
> when you drop the format. News and information listeners
> actually donate. That's the main reason most of the major
> public radio stations have dropped music programming.
>


But with HD radio coming NPR can do both.

 

[Scribbler]

Re: NPR

> One more reason for public radio stations to drop the
> tent-pole schedule with classical music middays and evenings
> and adopt the news and information format with programs
> like:
> Talk of the Nation
> Here and Now
> Day to Day
> Diane Rehm
> News and Notes with Ed Gordon
> To the Point

Northeast Public Radio, which broadcasts the same programming on nine stations and five translators in Upstate New York, Connecticut, and Western Massachusetts, broadcasts only half an hour of classical music on weekdays -- the rest is all news and talk. It carries Morning Edition and All Things Considered, BUT it carries NONE of the shows listed above. So with only a few exceptions, the only political talk shows in this huge area are right-wing shows and in a very few markets, Air America and/or Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, etc. WKZE-AM, which is licensed to Sharon, CT (the transmitter is actually in Millerton, NY) is a daytimer which carries nothing but Air America and gets its programming, not from the AAR satellite feed, but from the Internet! And oddly, this station does not appear on AAR's affiliate list, even though it's been carrying the AAR stream for at least a couple of months.

 

[autopaint-1]

Re: Franken v. Call-In Shows

> Amen, brother! I'm really not interested in hearing what the
> fans of radio talk show hosts have to say. I wish Franken
> was more glib, but I find myself listening to him more than
> to any of the other libtalkers because he has guests who
> give me interesting information -- far more interesting info
> than I get from Joe in Brooklyn or Sally in Toledo. As for
> those who say that Air America isn't necessary because
> liberals already have NPR, give me a break! My local NPR
> affiliate carries little political talk -- it's mostly
> straight news or cooking shows, pet shows, antique shows,
> beermaking shows, science shows, financial shows, classical
> music shows, jazz shows, opera broadcasts, etc., etc.
> >
>

C'mon Scribbler, keep quiet about that commie Air America and let true American patriots like Hannity speak. Y'know all Franken does is go to Iraq and entertain the troupes while real Americans like O'Reilly (a combat veteran mind you) are on the front lines fighting the liberal demon that infests our great nation. I don't know who you liberals think you are and just wait, this free speech nonsense has to go. Fair and Balanced Fox news, the only source for news for true Americans. Look there's no excuse for making our supreme leader look bad and when you speak out against his honor Mr. Bush you give comfort to the enemy. Same thing happened when you voted in that commie Clinton. You know that guy was such a bad example for us all. All he thought about is sex and we all know from our readings how dirty sex is. One last word of warming to all the libs out there. Watch it because Fox security is keeping its eye on everyone so don't step out of line. You know I'm kidding about all this but how far off am I from the world people like Savage & Coulter would like to live in.

 

[autopaint-1]

Re: NPR

> > > My local NPR
> > > affiliate carries little political talk -- it's mostly
> > > straight news or cooking shows, pet shows, antique
> shows,
> > > beermaking shows, science shows, financial shows,
> > classical
> > > music shows, jazz shows, opera broadcasts, etc., etc.
>
> >
> > One more reason for public radio stations to drop the
> > tent-pole schedule with classical music middays and
> evenings
> > and adopt the news and information format with programs
> > like:
> > Talk of the Nation
> > Here and Now
> > Day to Day
> > Diane Rehm
> > News and Notes with Ed Gordon
> > To the Point
> >
> > Most public radio stations stream online, including the
> > leading public radio news and information outlets:
> > WBUR, Boston
> > WAMU, Washington, DC
> > WNYC-AM, New York
> > WHYY-FM, Philadelphia
> > WBEZ, Chicago
> > Minnesota Public Radio
> > Wisconsin Public Radio
> > Michigan Radio
> >
> > Program classical music and you hear from listeners only
> > when you drop the format. News and information listeners
> > actually donate. That's the main reason most of the major
>
> > public radio stations have dropped music programming.
> >
>
>
> But with HD radio coming NPR can do both.
>
And WNYC is currently broadcasting classical music 24/7 on it's HD 2 channel.