• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Progressive Talk 680 AM

L

Latilleon

I read another slam against Progressive Talk in the another recent thread. I have read this board for years and never posted.

Why the pure anger about a talk format from the other political ideology that many of you have had for the nearly two years that 680 has been Air America?

680 has NO promotion. 680 has NO local personalities. But with the recent AA line-up changes, their shows have been enjoyable. I listen to Sam Seader, Al Franken, and Randi Rhodes daily, after years of listening to the full line-up shows of WHBQ-AM. I gave Leon Gray a chance, but I got sick of him, and can understand why he was let go (What were his ratings like anyway?).

It is one thing to think the format won't work in Memphis despite the large number of political progressives in Memphis.

But do some of you want to see this station get rid of liberal talk just because of your political leanings? Why?

When WREC originally went to conservative talk, how did they do against WMC-AM when Limbaugh and Fleming were on 790?
 
Latilleon said:
I read another slam against Progressive Talk in the another recent thread. I have read this board for years and never posted.

Why the pure anger about a talk format from the other political ideology that many of you have had for the nearly two years that 680 has been Air America?
Click to expand...

What you're seeing is exactly the same thing from conservatives that liberals have been doing for years. How many liberals have been complaining about conservative talk over the years it's been on-air? I seem to remember liberals trying to do everything they could to force conservative talk off-the-air, including several attempts to reinstate the fairness doctrine over the last 20 years. Also, liberals have quite often blamed talk radio for their election woes over the last dozen years.

It is one thing to think the format won't work in Memphis despite the large number of political progressives in Memphis.

But do some of you want to see this station get rid of liberal talk just because of your political leanings? Why?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't care one way or another if Air America stays or goes. I don't care if Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity do either. My own personal political leanings are closer to those of Lars Larson and Neil Boortz than they are to Air America or EIB, though I really don't listen to their shows much either. All you're seeing is the shoe being on the other foot. Now that they no longer have the monopoly on talk radio, conservatives are complaining just as loudly as the liberals have been for years.
 
How about... it just sucks?

The ratings are the pits mainly because it's not good radio.

Republican/democrat has nothing to do with it.

How else could you explain how poorly it's done in such a heavily liberal market?
 
Meepster said:
How about... it just sucks?

The ratings are the pits mainly because it's not good radio.

Republican/democrat has nothing to do with it.

How else could you explain how poorly it's done in such a heavily liberal market?
Click to expand...


I think Meep's pretty much summed it up...


Franken is by no stretch of the imagination a good talk show host, agree with his politics or not.

Randi just doesn't do it for me content or talent-wise.

I thought Malloy was by far the best AAR had, and they fired him. I didn't agree with him very much, but he knew the radio end of things.
 
radiosaur said:
Meepster said:
How about... it just sucks?

The ratings are the pits mainly because it's not good radio.

Republican/democrat has nothing to do with it.

How else could you explain how poorly it's done in such a heavily liberal market?
Click to expand...

Good point. Even when Malloy was on one of his screaming rants he was more entertaining than anything else AA has/had to offer. Heck, I thought Jerry Springer did a good job there for awhile.

I don't agree with them, but I still listen if it's entertaining.


I think Meep's pretty much summed it up...


Franken is by no stretch of the imagination a good talk show host, agree with his politics or not.

Randi just doesn't do it for me content or talent-wise.

I thought Malloy was by far the best AAR had, and they fired him. I didn't agree with him very much, but he knew the radio end of things.
Click to expand...
 
I agree that most of Air America is a terrible product. Now, that being said, it seems like there are a lot of conservatives who rail against the format, and I think that was the poster's question. If the Air America detractors had diaries and filled them out honestly, it would be doing pretty well.

As I've mentioned before, liberal talk does have a place, and it does very well nationwide. It's called NPR. Rush Limbaugh is the most listened to talk host nationwide, but Morning Edition and All Things Considered rate second and third.
 
Kent said:
I agree that most of Air America is a terrible product. Now, that being said, it seems like there are a lot of conservatives who rail against the format, and I think that was the poster's question. If the Air America detractors had diaries and filled them out honestly, it would be doing pretty well.
Click to expand...

Surely you can't be suggesting that doesn't work both ways? Do you think a liberal would ever fill out a diray for Rush?

I answered him as a radio person..and my answer was it's not good radio. As a conservative, I could "rail" against the format from a political standpoint, but that would be something entrely different. And there is no shartage of liberals railing against Rush, et al. It evens out.
 
Kent said:
I agree that most of Air America is a terrible product. Now, that being said, it seems like there are a lot of conservatives who rail against the format, and I think that was the poster's question. If the Air America detractors had diaries and filled them out honestly, it would be doing pretty well.

As I've mentioned before, liberal talk does have a place, and it does very well nationwide. It's called NPR. Rush Limbaugh is the most listened to talk host nationwide, but Morning Edition and All Things Considered rate second and third.
Click to expand...

You mean Nice Polite Republicans? since the Goopers have repeatedly threatened NPR with defunding, they are a shell of what they once were. Now, with the exception of AAR, which I admit is not done well, it's ALL right-wing.

part of the problems is that we on the left like nuance and instinctively hate the screaming crap that is put out by rush, Hannity, etc. It feeds the haters, however, and it pulls good numbers.
 
I disagree with the opinion that AA is bad talk radio...

Sam Seder is great. Jerry Springer was crap and I am glad Seder was moved to mornings. It was strange towards the end of the Majority Report when there was animosity between Janeane Garofalo. Seder is very passionate and smart.

Al Franken was kinda stiff, and he suffered when Katherine Lampher left, but now he is enjoyable to me. He does good stuff and has good regular guests. Sometimes his humor goes over people's heads (and its weird when he's joking and his guests think he's serious), but I usually like his brand of humor.

Randi Rhodes is like Leon Gray. I usually agree with her, but I hate it when people disagree with her and she acts mightier than thou. She will admit mistakes, but sometimes her arrogance annoys me.

Rachel Maddow is very witty and she won me over when she had the morning show.

Mike Malloy was like the conservative talkers with more rhetoric and name-calling than informative stuff.

Liberal talkers cannot be the same kind of personalities as the biggest names in conservative talk. You are reaching for a different audience and you cannot capture them the same way.

I see that the ratings aren't there for 680 AM so far, but I don't care how many liberals are in Memphis; if you don't promote the station, you will not get listeners.
 
radiosaur said:
Surely you can't be suggesting that doesn't work both ways? Do you think a liberal would ever fill out a diray for Rush?
Click to expand...

Did I say that? I simply said that if most of the people who are blasting Air America filled their diaries out honestly, it would be doing pretty well. I don't believe I said anything about liberals and Rush.

I answered him as a radio person..and my answer was it's not good radio. As a conservative, I could "rail" against the format from a political standpoint, but that would be something entrely different. And there is no shartage of liberals railing against Rush, et al. It evens out.
Click to expand...

In that case, we agree. I think the fact that it evens out was exactly my point to begin with.







[/quote]
 
I've found Air America very inconsistent. To me, the good:

Sam Seder
Randi Rhoads (although she's a bit shrill and goes tin foil hat too much for me)
Rachel Maddow
Mike Malloy (when he was on)

The bad:

Al Franken (not funny and hard to listen to)
Janeane Garafolo (she derailed everything)
The new guy at 7 p.m. is so completely dull, and from what I've heard is all long form interviews.
Just about every live show on the weekend (what's up with RFK Jr.'s voice?)

I've been sampling Talk Left on Sirius...Ed Schultz is good, and the Stephanie Miller show is incredible.

Progressive radio can be done well, but I think Air America's mistake early on was trying to bring in familiar names instead of just really good air talent.
 
MisterHonesty said:
I've found Air America very inconsistent. To me, the good:

Sam Seder
Randi Rhoads (although she's a bit shrill and goes tin foil hat too much for me)
Rachel Maddow
Mike Malloy (when he was on)

The bad:

Al Franken (not funny and hard to listen to)
Janeane Garafolo (she derailed everything)
The new guy at 7 p.m. is so completely dull, and from what I've heard is all long form interviews.
Just about every live show on the weekend (what's up with RFK Jr.'s voice?)

I've been sampling Talk Left on Sirius...Ed Schultz is good, and the Stephanie Miller show is incredible.

Progressive radio can be done well, but I think Air America's mistake early on was trying to bring in familiar names instead of just really good air talent.
Click to expand...

For the most part, I would agree with you. Randi Rhodes is easily the most talented of the bunch, even though she sounds a little too angry for my tastes. The Al Franken show wasn't bad the first time I listened to it, but it seems like the very same show has been on repeat for two and a half years. I also agree with you on Schultz. Haven't listened to enough of Miller to make an informed opinion. At least with Schultz, you also know his opinions are his own. While Franken and Garafolo I'm sure have their own opinions, it's hard to tell if they're spouting their own or reading liberal literature sometimes. I would say I probably agree with Schultz almost as much as I do Lars Larson and Neil Boortz. Their political views aren't as different as one might think; they just emphasize different subjects during their shows
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom