Do you remember Air America?

[Renew Deal]

I sure do. I remember listening to them religiously in 2004. I remember several of the shows. The ones I remember most are Randi Rhodes, Janeane Garofalo's show with Sam Seder, and of course the outstanding Rachel Maddow. I was always so impressed with Maddow. I remember listening to Air America all day long when I was poll watching for Kerry in Florida. His loss was such a disappointment.

Anyway, memory lane

[hrmjustin]

1. I remember the first day. I fell in love and I miss it.

[onehandle]

8. They started by playing Revolution by The Beatles. nt

[PowerToThePeople]

2. Malloy. He is still on, Ralps posting here in GD. n/t

[Renew Deal]

15. He used to be on at night right?

9PM?

[PowerToThePeople]

17. I think he came on right after Randy Rhodes. n/t

[BelgianMadCow]

59. Yep. Mike and Randi

truth2power

[TxVietVet]

3. I used to listen to it out of Chicago.

It later became WCPT in Chicago. I'd listen to Al Franken. I worked in SE Wisconsin and was always on the road along the Illinois border. I'd tune in to the station everyday for the years it was active. I still listen to WCPT 820 Chicago online these days.

[Renew Deal]

16. I can't believe I forgot Franken

He was great too. Very sharp.

[sabrina 1]

4. Yes, I remember it. It was like an oasis in the desert of the Right Wing Noise Machine.

Randi Rhodes was a fighter. I remember finally seeing her on C-Span where they put her up against against a Right Wing Fundy female talk show host and Randi wiped the floor with her.

Don't know what happened, but at least we had one place to go during that awful period.

[Renew Deal]

18. She had some feud with Schulz

I don't remember what that was about. I think it was a professional radio thing

[sabrina 1]

29. I vaguely remember something about that. When I first heard Ed Schultz he sounded like

Rush Limbaugh, which many people remarked on. I remember being very upset when I heard they might go off the air, but was hoping it wouldn't happen.

They had some great people on there, it's a shame it wasn't backed by someone. The right wing noise machine doesn't seem to have any problems staying on the air. What a shame.

Thanks for reminding me, I don't remember the details, but I do remember being very sad about it.

[JDPriestly]

25. That's where I first heard Thom Hartmann and Ed Schultz.

Papantonio and TYT were also on there. All the ones I love.

[BelgianMadCow]

60. Yep, Thom was on for Randi at times, I believe

I always found him Mike's saner brother

[bookman]

52. Randi

Randi was on SiriusXM until recently. I subscribe to her show via podcast.

[Ed Suspicious]

5. Why did it go under?

[Renew Deal]

20. Money

I think it was mostly funded be a benevolent donor and money eventually stopped flowing, but I'm not sure if that's the entire story.

[busterbrown]

37. Not enough listeners..

Ignorant dumb right wingers listen to hate radio all day and night. It’s like morphine to them..
Progressives have lives to live and try not to get hung up on the political stuff 24/7...

[nikto]

55. Well said...

And true.

[pstokely]

58. bad management, reliance of big celebrities

nt

[Cleita]

6. Al Franken and later Thom Hartmann who replaced him

when he decided to run for the senate. Both are still around, Al in the senate and Thom on radio and Free Speech TV.

[mucifer]

7. Al Franken's show was my favorite. Then Marc Maron . Then Maddow.

I distinctly remember Rachel saying that no one who looked like her could be a tv pundit.

I guess she proved herself wrong. Although she does have to deal with that weird makeup they put on her and they don't let her dress "like a 12yo boy". That's her description of her own wardrobe.

[TheDebbieDee]

76. I can still hear Al Franken's hate mail music in my head...

The theme from 2001 played by musicians playing instruments that they'd never trained to play! HAH!

[VanillaRhapsody]

9. I still listen to Randi Rhodes every day.

She now has her own Iheart Radio channel. If you cannot find her any other way...there is always that.

[Bobbie Jo]

21. Right there with ya....

I catch her on my way home from work.

[byronius]

27. She's the sharpest tool in the shed, period.

That woman is a college education in news analysis.

[adieu]

34. Good to hear

I thought she exited the radio biz. She and Rachel Maddow were my favorites although Franken had his moments. I liked Randi because she had a nice acerbic sarcasm about her whereas Rachel was much too mature for that type of radio work. Hartmann was too preachy and Mike Malone was too down. Stephanie Miller was great for the morning show, but I wasn't up most of the time.

[VanillaRhapsody]

35. They tried to run her out....and they were nearly successful...

she had announced her plans to just retire....BUT her longtime boyfriend "The Howard" came up with the idea to create her own IHeart Channel. It was brilliant and now she can syndicate herself and her fans can also listen on the internet every day on Iheart...by the way...if you miss a show...it repeats there!

[phleshdef]

10. My favorite lineup was Springer/Franken/Rhodes/Hartman/Maddow.

I was working in an office during that time, and I'd plug in headphones and that got me through many a days writing endless lines of programming code. I give Air America complete credit for becoming even the slightest bit politically literate.

Haha, I can even remember a bunch of the commercials from the webcast, word for word, because they played the same ones so many times.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

11. That and DU were life lines for me. The O'Franken Factor as he first called it

was by far my favorite. I loved the guys on my way to work. Mark Maron and "the other guy" whose name escapes me. And then Majority Report in the evening. I don't know why...but I couldn't get into Maddow right away. Later, I thought she was great.

I used to listen to KPOJ in Portland which had those people on at the times I mentioned, Randi Rhodes in the afternoon, and later Ed Schultz.

What a terrific thing that opened up as far as pipeline of progressive talk now still being heard and watched all these years later.

[Armstead]

44. Yep...I remember the Du listening parties where people would post rapid response to what was said

Not reaklly listening parties, but often rapid response posts and conversations in response to what was being said on there.

[BelgianMadCow]

61. life line

great word

[House of Roberts]

12. I resisted getting internet until 2005.

When I finally got it, I knew of two places to start, Huffington Post and Air America. I gave up on HP in 2007, but stayed listening to AA until the end. I still listen to Nicole Sandler in the morning, and Thom Hartmannin the afternoon. I also listen to Ed Schultz, if I'm awake as I'm working 3rd shift now, but he was never on AA.

I miss Peter B. Collins and Ron Reagan the most from that time.

[dionysus]

13. yes. i remember before that, i used to listen to IEAmerica.com, that was the best ever for me.

doug stephens Good Day, with nancy skinner in the morning, and in the afternoon, peter werbe, who is great, and mike malloy, who is king!

Workers Independent News Service did the news segments.

[Comrade Grumpy]

14. I remember Air America, the CIA's drug-smuggling airline in Southeast Asia.

Those were the days...

[Jesus Malverde]

33. That was the first thing that came to mind..."Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, Professionally"

[dreamnightwind]

56. And there was even a movie

with (lol) Mel Gibson! Not a bad movie really, though it hardly did the real story justice.

I also miss the radio network.

[snooper2]

64. There were some good scenes, "fuck that whirlybird"

[GP6971]

77. That was my first thought also. n/t

[Marie Marie]

19. Yes I remember so fondly.

And I still miss their broadcasts.

[SCVDem]

22. I miss Katherine Lanpher

She was on with Al Franken.

[JDPriestly]

23. Thanks. I wish we still had it.

But in the meantime, I listen to Pacifica radio. It's available on the internet.

http://www.kpfk.org/

It has good news programs in the evening as I am preparing supper.

In-depth interviews. Really good reporting.

[byronius]

24. Awesome. I still listen to Randi Rhodes, never miss a show.

Sometimes Marc Maron, although he's no longer political, sometimes Sam Seder. It was a brilliant cast, that's for sure.

[cry baby]

26. Al Franken and Sam Seder were my favorites, but I listened to it as much

as possible.

Good memories...but most can still be found elsewhere, thank goodness!

[Phlem]

28. Memory lane indeed!

My drive to work packed with AM progressive talk but now it's just........ crickets.

Huh!?

-p

[Renew Deal]

30. Do you have Sirius

Or an audio jack in your car? You can load podcasts on a phone and play them in your car.

http://www.siriusxm.com/siriusxmprogress

[Phlem]

40. Thanks Renew

I'll try that, it's a 96 Integra. The pod casts however sounds like a great idea since I've inherited an I phone 3. I'll see what I can whip up.



-p

[zentrum]

31. Hartmann, Malloy and

.....Stephanie Miller were just bumped off the air in the Bay Area. There's no progressive radio now except Listener's Sponsored Radio and an occasional show on Public radio. And this is the so-called "librul" Bay Area.

It's really a symptom of a deep seated disease in America.

[GReedDiamond]

39. The same thing just happened here in Los Angeles...

...they are all gone from the airwaves.

KTLK 1150 AM (Clear Channel) was the Air America outlet in L.A.

After AA crashed and burned, we still had Stephanie, Randi, Thom Hartman, even Mike Malloy for a while.

As of last January 2, they're all gone, and KTLK is now KEIB "The Patriot," featuring the undisputed King of Excrement In Broadcasting, "Hillbilly Heroin" Rush, and additional spewage from the likes of Glenn Beck and other teabagger head cases.

Sad situation for radio in L.A. (and the Bay Area).

[Cleita]

42. They've been knocking off the smaller markets like mine in San Luis Obispo first.

They saved the Bay area and Los Angeles for last. I think we need some laws in Sacramento to be passed. I propose that for every station that airs a Rush Limbaugh, we need equal time for the other side like Randi Rhodes. I think the air belongs to the people, so the people should be able to demand a choice. Also, all the lies Limbaugh et al need to be rebutted just like they do for political speeches. There has to be a way to demand it as freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is for everyone, not just one side.

[GReedDiamond]

45. Agreed on all points!...nt

[Armstead]

46. Thanks to deregulaiton of radio, a handful of Corporations control it all

Clear Channel made token concessions with weak liberal stations, but they've decided they don;t have to pretend to offer any balance to their right wing spew anymore.

Naturally, Congress and the FCC don't give a shit anymore either.

[Egalitarian Thug]

49. Not even a handful. Thanks Bill. n/t

[zentrum]

74. Yup. It's this kind of thing...

....that makes it hard for me to want a Clinton back in the WH ever again.

I'm very concerned about the Democratic party being Democrat.

[Egalitarian Thug]

75. Ironically, it was the same corporate parasites that killed AirAmerica.

President Obama convinced me that it is better to vote for "other" over another corporate parasite, no matter what color the jersey.

Never, ever again.

[Hoyt]

32. Got me through bush years.

[SoapBox]

36. Oh I do remember.

I remember hearing about them getting the station together...and like so many others, was desperate for a voice on our side, during the Bush Regieme Reign of Terror.

I even bought a "Walkman" so that I could listen while was out on the dog walks.

And then there was Hate Radio, FuksFakeNews and the Impotent MSM.

[gLibDem]

38. That is where I discovered Mike Malloy and

his use of the phrase "The Bush Crime Family."

I think my favorite moment was when Al Franken tried out radio "tickers" on his show. Someone would be whispering headlines while he continued with his show. It was hilarious.

[mountain grammy]

41. I cried when Air America left us.. I'm addicted to Stephanie Miller in the AM, but listen

to others whenever possible.

[Vashta Nerada]

43. I loved Air America.

I always listened to Mike Malloy back in the day. I loved how he ripped into Dubya every chance he could get.

Is he still around?

[Liberal_Dog]

71. Of Course He Is

Join us in the Malloy Truthseekers thread every weeknight at 9et.

[Vashta Nerada]

72. Really?

That's awesome!

I miss listening to Mike Malloy!

[alp227]

47. The legacy continues via the Progressive Voices channel.

Listen on the TuneIn app or on your computer, here.

Daily schedule, Eastern:
6am: Bill Press
9am: Stephanie Miller
12pm: Ed Schultz
3pm: Thom Hartmann
6pm: Leslie Marshall (replay)
7pm: Leslie Marshall (live)
9pm: Mike Malloy
12am: Thom Hartmann (replay)
3am: Stephanie Miller (replay)

Weekend shows include Ring of Fire, Bradcast (with Bradblog's Brad Friedman), State of Belief with C. Weldon Gaddy, and Keep Hope Alive with Jesse Jackson.

Also, Madison, WI station 92.1 the Mic, kept alive because of listeners' activism in 2006, carries Bill, Steph, Ed, and the first 2 hours of Randi Rhodes. Then the schedule after 4pm:
4pm: Devil's Advocates (local talk)
5pm: The People's Mic with Doug Cunningham (local labor talk, Cunningham hosts Workers' Independent News too.)
6pm: Thom Hartmann (delayed)
9pm: Alan Colmes (live)
12am: Mike Malloy (delayed)

Weekends have lifestyle and real estate shows as well as the Freedom From Religion Foundation's Freethought Radio.

This station even expanded to Milwaukee via a music FM's HD-2 subchannel. Sure, Clear Channel dropped the ball with San Francisco (960 KKGN/KNEW), Portland (620 KPOJ), Cincinnati (1350/1530, 1530 being a 50 kW class A blowtorch that reached a LOT of states at night), etc. But 92.1 is still flourishing, especially with the recent addition (I think around 2012 or 2013) of the 4pm local show that replaced Randi's 3rd hour. A station like 92.1 the Mic can work if they incorporate local hosts in drive time in addition to the regular syndicated hosts. The SF and Portland stations also had local hosts (Carl Wolfson for KPOJ, Will Durst for KKGN) and those stations were able to attract audiences for their runs because of them.

But the thing is. The broadcast media industry has changed a LOT over the years, if you're old enough to remember when Walter Cronkite was a news anchor/Elvis couldn't shake his hips on Ed Sullivan/music was on the AM dial. It's all been dumbed down. When considering why Air America tanked, don't just buy into the right wingers saying "Libs have nothing to say, radio listeners prefer right wingers." Consider why all the cable channels like A&E, History, MTV going all reality TV all the time.

Wholesome, intelligent, status quo-challenging programming just won't cut it in the boardroom. Guys like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity make their fortunes appealing to a very marketable demographic - one that prefers an authoritarian, traditionalist echo chamber that confirms their prejudices. In contrast, Thom Hartmann rationally and critically explores what's going on in the nation and world and engages with right wingers, even finding common ground at times! He doesn't sink to the shoutfests on the right wing dial.

Quite frankly, I think Air America really blew it by going 24/7 instead of the syndicated model in which right wing hosts like Limbaugh succeeded. If liberals really wanted to make an impact on the airwaves, they should have modeled stations like their conservative counterparts. The conservative stations make sure to incorporate local shows especially in the morning and afternoon drive times in addition to the syndicated shows. As the saying goes, "all politics is local". If the effort was taken in the early days of the GWB years to develop talent in the local level as much as was done for the 24/7 Air America model, imagine what impact it would've had on the airwaves.

Speaking of local radio talent, I encourage you to listen to Pat Thurston on San Francisco's KGO on Saturdays 6-9pm and Sundays 4-7pm PT. She provides a progressive take on what's happening in the region, nation, and world and often interviews people like Russ Baker, Robert Parry, and Marjorie Cohn. She even interviewed Bill Ayers once, recently.

Something I wanted to add in my edit. on a recent show, Norman Goldman suggested that liberal talk could break ground on the FM dial, since a lot of the Air America stations that crashed and burned were on weak AM signals. CBS has invested in launching new sports stations on the FM dial, and the media companies are investing more energy on FM nowadays.

[sakabatou]

48. Yes, I remember it

[nirvana555]

50. I loved Air America! I remember at the time, I was Associate Dean at a career

College and my hours were 1pm -10pm. I had about a 45 minute drive home every night so I'd listen to the radio. I stumbled upon this really smart, very funny, and totally on it women with a sidekick named Kent. Yea, it was Rachel. I KNEW there was something beyond special about her. It feels like a lifetime ago. As someone else mentioned, Air America and DU totally got me through the Bush nightmare.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

51. Do you remember I.E. America Radio?

[Renew Deal]

63. I remember the name

But I don't think they broadcasted in my area.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

68. They streamed on the web. It's where I found Mike Malloy.

[Stardust]

53. Air America changed my life (not sure if I'm that grateful sometimes ;-)

Seriously, it opened my mind and kept me from losing my it through the horrible Bush years. I'll never forget Mark Riley's comment to Marc Maron after we lost in 2000, "We'll be alright...we'll be alright." Such a wise man...such a comforting balm to our broken souls.

I still listen to Randi Rhodes every day. She's taught me so much. Thom Hartmann turned me onto DU. Love Mike Malloy, too. All the AA alums are great in their own way. We are all richer that Air America once graced the airwaves.

[longship]

54. MORNING SEDITION!!

With Marc Maron and Mark Riley. Some of the best political humor ever.

Thankfully, the archive is still online so you can still get your Morning Sedition fix.

Morning Sedition Archive

Marc, Ted from Nebraska is on line one..

Marc, Future Marc is on line one.
I love that guy!

Plus, the Morning Sedition Players.

Great stuff every day.

And who could forget the iNews 5000 WiFi Headline Translator?

Man, those were the days. Just ask Lawton Smalls.

[bullwinkle428]

66. Don't forget about Jim Earl -

"...he wrote and performed for a number of Air America Radio's radio shows: The Randi Rhodes Show, Unfiltered with Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow and Morning Sedition where he performed his regular bits "War on Brains," "Rapture Watch," "Morning Remembrance," "Sammy the Stem Cell," "Todd Brad: Policy Analyst," and "The 5 W's Plus 3 of Journalism." "

He also came up with and performed the characters of reporter Mort Mortenson, Mort Milfington, and the recently-defrocked Cardinal Milfington.

"Rapture Watch" bits for your listening pleasure!

http://www.jimearl.com/rapture.html

[longship]

69. Love Rapture Watch!

Cardinal Milfington!!

Thanks.

[pink-o]

81. I loved that show so much!!!

I could not have a mascara wand near my eyes, nor be drinking coffee when I was listening to it. I almost drove off the road on many occasions, laughing too hard to even function.

I was devastated when it went off the air. Serious loss issues!

[xfundy]

57. Mastication Theatre.

With Al, eating his lunch. Wish we had a thousand more like him in gubmint.

[TexasProgresive]

62. I subscribed to Sirius radio for Air America

Then Sirius got ESPN and dropped Air America. Sirius went down hill dropping several other channels I liked leaving only one "progressive" channel that featured Lynn Samuels (ugh) and I forget this guy who was mostly sarcasm with a barely leftist slant. Bill Press and Big Ed were good when I got to listen.

The final straw for me with Sirius was a new Reich wing channel called Patriot - as if liberals and progressives are not patriots. I finally got it through XM-Sirius to stop emailing me offers to come back. Now that I've put that in writing the emails will probably start up again.

[Chorophyll]

65. I loved it. Damn.

I have no desire to go back to 2004, because it was a really dark time, but I wish Air America had survived.

[fadedrose]

67. How about Exopolitics?

It used to come out of Air America, Tempe, AZ.

It may still be on somewhere . . .

It was on Saturday nights...

[Capt. Obvious]

70. Who could forget Franken and Chuck D

[annabanana]

73. I listened non-stop to reggae music in NY for DAYS in anticipation.

I just couldn't WAIT to hear things on the air that I knew, just KNEW I wasn't alone in thinking and believing. It was such a relief. I had wondered for years where all the people that I knew all through college had gone.

Surely the hippies had not ALL sold out, right?

I got the t-shirt and the tote bag too.

[Habibi]

78. I remember it. I wanted to love it.

But I can't stand listening to commercial radio.

[doc03]

79. Yes I couldn't get it at home but when ever I was in Columbus I listened on a

station there. It was better than the Sirius left channel.

[Mnpaul]

80. Little has changed in Mn

Stephanie is still on. Ed Schultz is still on, Thom Hartmann is still on. Malloy is still on. Norm Goldman now has his own show. Franken has moved on to the Senate and we have a kick butt local guy (The Morning Grind with Matt McNeil) on before Stephanie.

[valerief]

82. I loved listening to Marc Maron during my morning drive

and Randi and Rachel on the ride home.

[49jim]

83. I had an XM Radio

installed in my Jeep in 2004 so i could listen to Al Frankin. I enjoyed all the other shows. We don't get good FM reception in Oswego NY and AM was all RW. I remember trying to explain this new satellight radio thing to friends…..they weren't sure it was going to last.

[RoccoR5955]

84. Do you remember Morning Sedition?

With Mark Maron? There was a good alternative to Morning Edition!

I miss it so!