(Rachel) Maddow rechannels energy at Air America (drops evening radio show)

[brooklynite]

Source: NY Daily News

Even as her television star rises, Rachel Maddow is keeping a toe in her radio roots at the progressive network Air America.

During the election last year, Maddow established herself as one of the big three at MSNBC, which had its best run ever, with her show following Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann.

But she was a charter host on Air America in March 2004, so she and the radio network have now figured out a way to give her an ongoing presence there.

She has dropped her daily evening show on Air America, but will "provide content" for an hour-long morning program, largely built on her MSNBC show of the previous evening.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/02/03/2009-02-03_maddow_rechannels_energy_at_air_america.html

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Bummer for us, but good for Rachel...

I'll miss her evening show. :(

[Horse with no Name]

2. Yet Air America shit on Rachel

by cutting her show down and moving it around--in fact, she was on 4 or 5 hours in the morning and they buried her for 3 hours at night.
Most of us here KNEW she was "the golden child". Who would ever imagine a "progressive" radio station dumping on an educated, brilliant, beautiful, progressive woman who embodied everything we stand for.. Gotta wonder who was making THAT decision.
This is long in a list of reasons that I quit listening to AAR.

[thesquanderer]

3. beautiful?

re: "Who would ever imagine a "progressive" radio station dumping on an educated, brilliant, beautiful, progressive woman"

I don't think looks count for much on a radio program...!

[certainot]

13. inner beauty! she's got it

o

[hlthe2b]

4. So many similarities to the AAR mismanagement history.....

Many of us have experienced it--the competent get shunted aside by the incompetents (who manage the place and make all decisions)....


:eyes:

[ClusterFreak]

5. Sounds like radio in general...

Everywhere I ever worked in that business I could recite a chapter and verse on mismanagement and incompetence.

[hlthe2b]

6. Sounds increasingly like MOST work places....

Peter Principle... some things rarely change...

[beowolf741]

22. Maybe it was Rachel's Idea?

I recall hearing/reading/seeing, I'm not sure, her saying she wanted more of her life to herself and her significant other. I'm guessing it is a lot of work to do one show a day. Two shows a day could be more than she wanted. Yep here it is http://tinyurl.com/cvj8uw. Click on that link to find an article in the Daily News where she says "something had to give" so she could have a life.

I'm happy for her and I think it will be a good thing. Three hours of Ron Reagan, son of the GOP's all holy President Ronald Reagan, ain't bad in my book either.

[Ranting_Wacko]

7. Wow. Between this and Thom Hartman moving...

... to a new distributor, that's pretty much it for AAR, isn't it?

[nyc 4 Biden]

8. Boo!

I love to listen to her in the evening ans then turn on the tube and see her again.

[maseman]

9. Actually AAR likes Rachel

I know thi from fact. When her morning show was blown out (because it was awful with those other two hosts) they needed to re-work the whole thing. AAR was starting to have some financial problems. If you remember they then teamed up with The Young Turks. But Bill Press was on so many of the progressive stations that AAR really didn't have much ability to get on affiliates.

They gave her shot in evenings for two hours and later expanded to three hours. They don't do that for people who they don't like.

[DeeDeeNY]

10. One of Rachel's cohosts on that first morning show was Liz Winstead

the brilliant creator of the Daily Show.
But I guess not everyone works well on radio.

[coffeenap]

11. I also loved hearing Chuck D--I learned so much from his discussions

with Rachel and Lizz. Yes, Rachel is amazing--one of my favorite public figures-but in the beginning their morning show felt like a breath of real progressive fresh air.

[maseman]

18. Correct

Some people have genius writing skills or creation talent but it doesn't translate into a good talk show host. For example Maureen Dowd is MUCH better at writing than when she is on TV. Ugg.

[dkf]

12. I was worried about her because she often looks really tired.

You can tell when she operates on little sleep because of the dark circles under her eyes.

[certainot]

14. progressive radio growth of utmost importance- it means less limbaugh &sons

which is the main reason we're in this mess- 20 years of GOP-coordinated UNCONTESTED repetition from 1000 stations to an often captive audience the size of the one that voted for obama.

get sam seder or mike malloy back on --- not lionel!

[bunkerbuster1]

15. I know this is no longer Latest Breaking, but just wanted to reply...

We at DU really need to have a proper "send-off," of sorts, for her radio work at AAR if this is, in fact, her last efforts at airing such a broadcast (and I can attest from listening that it's just not really needed if you watch her TV machine program).

Hers was just about my favorite AAR program (after Morning Sedition), and its departure deserves more than a seven-post thread, methings.

More from me later...

[Hugin]

16. I agree... If it weren't for them I'm not sure what frame of mind (if any) I'd be in today.

By hook or by crook I've been a listener of their programs since they first went on the air... (Spring of 2004... IIRC) and I listened consistently when I could... In the mornings over a too-strong cup of coffee or evenings while eating a stack of Taco-Bell 'food'.

They have been like family to me in dark times.

You see, to me it was more about the people than AAR.

Thanks so much... Rachel, Lizz, Chuck-D, Marc, Mark, Janeane, Sam, Randi, Mike, Al, Marty, Cenk, Ben and all of the others who contributed skits, character voices, commentary or sound effects. (Sadly, this list is far from exhaustive.)

Yes, it's in transistion... But, Progressive Radio is in good hands with Thom Hartmann, the continuing efforts of Mike Malloy and others.

[bunkerbuster1]

17. Progressive radio is doing fine. I'm not really worried about it.

I'm not one of those who bemoans the lack of availability of the product, so much, on the broadcast bands for a variety of reasons (mostly to do with simple territory and timing--they got there first, and it's basically a dying media anyway; also, liberals just aren't as accustomed at this point as are conservatives to have braying asses on the radio telling them what to think.)

We have lots of good stuff to listen to now. Break Room Live is brilliant. David Bender's Sunday show is a nice wrap-up. I'm sure Thom is going to do well, as will the Nova-M crew.

I just want to do a new thread about Dr. Maddow though, and give her fabulous radio work its due. It'll have to wait till tomorrow at the earliest.

[alittletotheleft]

19. Look how the rightwinger are cheering

My rightie "friend" send me this link: Liberal talk radio dies in DC today. They are really enjoying this. Bastards

[Political Heretic]

20. I recommend programming line up on NovaM radio over Air America

http://novamradio.com

Stephanie Miller
Thom Hartmann
Randi Rhodes
Jeff Farias
Mike Malloy

[marshall]

21. Doing her best to keep a semblance of the 'fairness doctrine' alive

They need to recruit more talent like her.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

23. Minneapolis-St. Paul station *just* started her show during evening commute...

Blast! I think we got a month in the 5-6 p.m. slot, following Thom Hartmann. Good listening on my way home.

On the plus side, I am hearing more people I know talk about her and Olberman's television shows in casual conversation. People are tuning in to those shows and turning their friends on to them as well (YouTube helps as well).

[rhett o rick]

24. I knew we would lose her to corporate media. I wish her well and maybe she won't

change. I been with her from the beginning on Air America. Sad to see her leave. And rebroadcasting her MSNBC show isn't the same.