Sludge: Democratic investment group planning to start liberal radio

[jenk]

REPORT: Democratic investment group planning to start liberal radio network close to purchasing radio stations in five major cities... Developing...

http://www.drudgereport.com

[Changenow]

1. Maybe it's true, I certainly hope so, but since Sludge

is the source there is no way to know. It might be fiction, it might not be. We'll have to wait.

[goforit]

2. May it play nothing but Dixie Chicks, Nelson and Striesand music!

Goooooooo..........LIBRALS!!!!!!!!!!!

[jenk]

3. key is MAJOR CITIES

I live about 30 minutes from NY up here in Northeast Jersey. We get the heavily repug 770am. I'd love a liberal alternative.

[BuckeFushe]

8. me too

Been listening to Lynn Samuels on Sirius Left 145

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&cid=1018209032790

(free btw, scroll down, only have to register) on Sat and Sun mornings. What a breath of fresh air. And you can still call in.:=)

[loudnclear]

9. The key is 'major' and 'rural' cities

The folks in the hinterlands need an alternative to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. That's all the "news" they get.

[Cush]

4. about time

they should have done this right after the 2000 election.

[cthrumatrix]

5. they need equal time on major media....people need to hear both sides

they are being brainwashed with CNN/FOX ... forget about the newsprint.

[Silverhair]

7. But you still have to get the audience to tune in.

Thee have been tries at liberal talk radio before. They died for lack of listeners.

[seventhson]

12. Not quite accurate. The audience is THERE

thje way the promoters have put it (including Franken who discussed it on Cspan last week) is that hate radio permeatesthe airwaves and that "liberal" shows get sandwiched or wedged in between fundies and limpballses.

The new formate will be ALL progressive programming all the time so that people who WANT Franken or Garafalo can FIND that.

I know I tune into comedy central at 11 every night KNOWING Jon will be there.

Wew form habits of lkistening.

Most of us have the habit of turning the radio OFF when we here Limpo the Blimpo.

But when there is actual commentary news and comedy coming from the left it will be VERY attractive.

The fundies and fascists are doing all they can to kill tyhis idea.

We need to support it COMPLETELY so it will survive.

Support the products advertised and support the concept. Wear the bumper stickers on our cars. CALL in. Tell our friends.

TALK about it HERE.

It will work.

[seventhson]

13. we should all apply

[ClassWarrior]

23. They died, IMHO...

...for lack of imagination. I absolutely love Mario Cuomo and would vote for him for president in a heartbeat, but I can see how three hours of the guy would scare away listeners by the droves.

Done right and given a chance to succeed, liberal programming can be wildly popular.

[seventhson]

6. It's very real

The major players include Al Franken, Janeane Garafalo, and an original creator of the Daily Show. Not all are nailed down contractually yet and are in talks.

The original plan was markets in ten major cities, but I think it has scaled back for practical reasons.

The primary mover now is the former technical director for the DNC and the Drobny's (Sheldon and Anita, Democratic philanthropists who are friends with the Gores and Clintons) have taken a back seat role after selling most of their stake. They were motivated by Mike Malloy to take the concept national. Maybe that is where Malloy is going.

I have been following this for some time.

It is very real. The primary manager was on MacNeil NewsHour in October and said they want to do 24 hour progressive talk format starting in January 2004 -- but it is evolving.

I think it is going to be incredible. Imagine drive time with Al Franken and Janeane Garafalo and a Jon Stewart spin.


WHAAAAHHH????!!!???

I can't wait.

[loudnclear]

10. I hope they go Sirius or Xmsr...the hinterlands need this

They can only get Rush and Hannity thanks to Murdoch.

[lfairban]

11. Is this what he is talking about?

Click on "Listen" in the lower right corner.

http://www.anshellmedia.com/anshell_home.htm

(Note: Does not work in Mozilla, try the RealOne Media Browser or IE )

[seventhson]

14. Yes, it is

and it looks way cooooool

[Nay]

15. It is critical that the investment group be willing and able to fund it

for years, if necessary, just like the repubs did with their RW stations. If we get it up and running and then say, "well, it's gotta have enough paid ads to keep going by itself," we are screwed. We have to FORGET about being "commercially viable" for a long while and keep our eyes on the prize -- the prize being a permanent liberal voice in the nation.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

16. preaching to the choir

it will air in 'major cities' aka already democratic strongholds. we need an alternative out here in the heartland and down in the south. liberals need to quit wrting off these areas. w.v. didn't go bush overnight for no reason. when the rw owns the airwaves, even a strong union state will start sliding republican.

get these shows on in ohio, north carolina, and other places. we need something to go up against clearchannel's 24/7 gop ad of beck/limbaugh/hanniity/reagan/james/drudge

[ikojo]

18. "Major Cities" are not necessarily Democratic or

progressive strongholds. Even if that were true, it's important to remember that radio signals reach beyond the borders of the cities. KMOX in St Louis broadcasts Oxyrush everyday and they have a 50,000 watt signal that can reach into Texas late at night.
I have gotten signal from Cleveland, Ohio at night here in St Louis as well as signal from Denver.
I hope the investors are committed to funding this for years and don't treat it as many TV shows are treated, meaning if it isn't a hit in months the project will be abandoned.
RW hate radio did not happen overnight and neither did the prominence of the hardcore right in pug politics. It took years, decades of work on the part of the committed right. It started in 1964 with Barry Goldwater's Young Americans for Freedom and went from there to Nixon's Silent Majority onto the Christian Right affiliating itself with the pugs during the 1980 election.
Progressives need to get involved at the ground level and at the precinct level if there is to be change. It does not start at the top but from below. Follow the example of the Christian Right and become the foot soldiers of the party. Be a thorn. The pugs dare not alienate the CR because they get out the votes on election day.

[xray s]

19. Most excellent post!

Hard work pays off. Good job! :hi:

[maggrwaggr]

17. We need TV, not radio

but I'll take whatever I can get at this point. :)

[Randi_Listener]

20. Kick the can.

They've been kicking this idea around now for about 6 months. Either shit or get the fuck off the pot.

[AlGore-08.com]

27. You can't just open up a radio station in 24 hours

You have to get a license from the Federal Government, which doesn't exactly move at warp speed at the best of times.

[Gman]

21. and slimeball Drudge publishes her telephone number

knowing full well they'll receive death threats because of his website.

[gmoney]

22. Michael Moore sez: Radio? Why not Morse Code?

Broadcast radio, no... Satellite radio, maybe... Internet radio, yes...

The money it will take to set up a radio network would buy a LOT of streaming server bandwidth, which offers the advantage of being able to "time shift" programs to whenever I can listen to them, allow for easier listening in offices, etc. You do lose the "drive time" audience though, and those people who stumble onto the programming. It would also be a "higher profile" launch, rather than just another website.

Or even cable TV seems obvious to me. If we can have a cable channel for auto racing, food, or four different animal channels, why not liberal politics? Maybe TV has higher production costs so they're staying away from it...but with recognizable TV performers like Franken, Garafalo, etc. on the team, radio seems like a waste.

Apart from these things requiring time and effort to establish, I think the reason this is taking FOREVER to launch is they want to make sure it's sustainable at least through the election. If they know their seed money will pay for six months on the air, they'll start June 15. If it starts in January and dies in July, that will only fuel the right wingers to make the "point" that liberal voices don't speak for "real" Americans.

Too bad Mrs. Kroc didn't bequeath her $200 Million to establish this media outlet.

[schultzee]

24. tune into ieamericaradio.com and meria.net, and kpft.org and

get progressive and in the case of KPFK serious left radio. All of them are great.

[schultzee]

25. thats kpfk.org. serious radio of mass dissent.

[dusty64]

26. Now if we could

only get a news channel on television and a few good newspapers.
Sounds like a great start though.