I'm sure Stephanie Miller is a nice person, but I am definitely not a fan of her show!
Her show airs in the late morning here on our local progressive talk station, between Morning Sedition and Al Franken.
There is nothing to her show - I find it really boring and hard to listen to. The show is 3 hours of just her and a bunch of callers - I hardly ever hear any guests on the show. The callers call in to ask her if she's heard the latest scoop on some issue. Which, of course, she has. Then a joke from one of the co-hosts, and back to more callers.
It seems like the show is setup that she is the "enlightened" one, and all the callers are doing a 20 questions quiz show, to see if she's "in-the-know" on some pet issue they care deeply about. Yeah, that is exciting to listen to - NOT!
If I wanted to listen to 3 hours of regular people talking (i.e. the callers) - I'd walk into the local bar, cafeteria or restaurant - and strike up conversations with people sitting there. Instead, on radio, I'd rather listen to people that are going to actually tell me something new, something that I can learn and use in my everyday life.
I would listen to her show more - if she would get some guests and do some interviews with: activists, professors, think tank people, experts, leaders on issues.
I prefer the NPR-style talk show (Al Franken sort of uses this format also) - which has guests who get inerviewed on the show, guests who are: activists, professors, think tank people, experts, leaders on issues - and you actually take something new away from the conversation that you can use in your everyday life. In this NPR-style format, the guests due to their experience and expertise in there specialty, are the "enlightened" ones, and the rest of us call in to ask questions and learn something from the guest.
> > > Her new website is now online with podcasts of her show,
>
> > so
> > > I heard it the first time this week. Wow... it's
> > amazingly
> > > good for progressive talk radio. In fact, she easily
> > rivals
> > > Randi Rhodes in show prep, but actually does better by
> not
> >
> > > having anger management issues if someone calls in and
> > > disagrees. Her two co-hosts make the whole affair a bit
>
> > > frenetic (but then I had to get used to Randi's accent)
> so
> >
> > > one has to pay attention, and she's a bit heavy with the
>
> > > program elements, but it's clear her roots are in
> comedy.
> >
> > > Her voice talent does a great George Bush, Bill
> O'Reilly,
> > > and an absolutely hysterical Alan Colmes (usually
> > relegated
> > > in bits to covering a second-tier story to his peril,
> > > pleading with Hannity to save him).
> > >
> > > She gets along quite well with the Air America fans,
> > unlike
> > > Ed Schultz (regularly referring to her AA fans as 'her
> > > peeps') and seems to focus on entertainment more than on
>
> > > lectures.
> > >
> > > She's also among the best handlers of callers I've ever
> > > heard. Unlike so many other shows where the callers do
> > > their best to simply repeat what the host has already
> > said,
> > > stumble through a mish mash of word salad and never get
> to
> >
> > > the point, or simply disagree and holler, her callers
> have
> >
> > > about 20-30 seconds to say it and then it's time to move
>
> > on.
> > >
> > >
> > > I can see this show replacing Morning Sedition for drive
>
> > > time or even Majority Report in the evenings. The
> biggest
> >
> > > problem? A clock that allows for 37 minutes of
> Stephanie
> > > each hour. The rest is ads and news. Yikes.
> > >
> > >
www.stephaniemiller.com
> > >
> >
> > I love Air America but Jerry Springer and Randi Rhodes
> > aren't my cup of tea. I *love* Stephanie Miller and I wish
>
> > that she was on after "Morning Sedition". In any case, I'm
>
> > glad I get to hear it live from WLTQ in Charleston (I'm in
>
> > Savannah, GA BTW) whenever I can. I just hope that SIRIUS
> > adds her LIVE when AAR leaves July 11th. She's a class
> act,
> > has a sharp wit, and is really funny.
>
>
> I had the pleasure to meet Stephanie and her voice guy, Jim
> Ward,during their visit to WKOX in Boston. Both are gifted
> comedians, well informed and entertaining.....and I couldnt
> add more to the compliments...she is a great host and a lot
> of fun...I do wish AAR had signed her up....
> A Miller/Franken/Rhodes schedule is powerful.....and i think
> hard to beat....just me and my 0.02
>
> I don't know how others feel about co-hosts but Jim and
> Stephanie have chemistry that works very well...this is one
> of those relationships where having two hosts works...Jim is
> also a great policy wonk and can handle callers well.
>
> I don't think Stephanie and Randi are hitting the same spot
> when it comes to contesting the conservatives.....Randi ,as
> i have said in several posts, to me is the Anti-Rush....her
> gift comes from hitting back with pure policy, debunking,
> and throwing her shoe...LOL...she is more of a two-fisted
> challenger to the Limbaugh and Hannity.....Randi energizes
> "the base" while
> Stephanie is a lot more broad in her approach...more of a
> "velvet hammer" for lack of a better term...using comedy to
> diffuse the anger and create a forum if the caller is
> willing......both are equally effective at their respective
> skill sets and I am highly impressed with both Stephanie and
> Randi's knowlege of current events...both seem to be a bit
> of policy and political wonks...and c-span junkies..which
> pays off in this business to various degrees...this is why i
> enjoy them....i know some research was done....its why i
> dont like Ed Shultz...i think his show prep is lacking and
> he seems to speak more from the cuff than from actual
> background...he seems to want to emulate Rush without the
> substance (god knows i don't like Rush but he certainly has
> substance)
> I also agree that Randi at times does a lousy job with her
> callers...but some of us enjoy that to the max....i do for
> sure...just my opinion
> >
>
> Randi should hopefully at some point learn that more
> opportunities to be heard come from the ability to manage
> your delivery....Stephanie gets more appearances on CNN and
> talk shows to air her opinions..due to her knowledge AND
> style...Randi needs to modulate a bit to gain more
> opportunties for herself...I love Randi but even I know the
> MSM will recoil from the powerfully outspoken...Id love to
> see Randi or Stephanie on the Chris Mathews sunday
> show....or heck ..any of these shows where little is done to
> balance the punditry...
>
