So, who knows?

New boss, old boss, etc.

I hadn’t heard that about Bishop wanting AAR to syndicate “Sammy and Army.” The very thought puts me on the verge of talking to Ralph on the big white phone.

I had almost forgotten about that dustup between Seder and Bishop, and I suppose putting Seder in there might have prompted Mr. Bishop to reduce the entire weekly AAR schedule down to two-thirds of the Rachel Maddow show. And remember when Rennie was twisting Air America’s arm to actually syndicate his "Sammy & Army" fiasco? Thankfully that never happened. But from the time Mike Malloy’s show was replaced locally by the Satellite Sisters progressive talk listeners in New York City just keep getting screwed, short-changed and ignored.

However, as far as good news… The Satellite Sisters are no longer on the radio anywhere! For that, I am thankful.

I don’t know what the deal is with Air America — why they would REFUSE a show to a guy with a built-in audience. Perhaps they’re all still Republican moles trying to prove that progressive talk radio doesn’t work. There’s no other explanation. Perhaps knowing that there wouldn’t be many outlets, and with Rennie Bishop detesting Sam the way he seems to because of the Armstrong Williams flap, they decided to put on someone who’d be guaranteed to keep the NY affiliate. At this point, the podcasts I listen to are both on NovaM — Randi Rhodes (who is much better now that she isn’t utterly, miserably unhappy) and Mike Malloy. And of course the old Morning Sedition shows, of which I think I have all.

Looking forward to reading more of your take on the state of progressive talk radio. They might be a book someday.

So as a further addendum to this post, I just wanted to add that after sampling Ron Kuby’s first official week on Air America I’m coming to some early conclusions. As before, I find Kuby likable and well-spoken, and his legal and political chops are impecable. However, he’s not grabbing me. And I’m at a loss to explain what "grabs me" as far as the sound of fury or of any particular talk show host. There’s a certain "music" to the thinking, vocabulary and larynx of certain talk hosts (Bob Lassiter and Neil Rogers come to mind) that matches my tastes, or beliefs or thinking patterns. Something. The subject deserves a full blog post, which I’m not prepared to write now. But as I said in the post, Maron always "grabs me." After having some time to think about it, I am pissed about Maron getting passed over.

I had a kinda strange experience last week. I was listening to Mike Malloy’s show online and I heard a promo for Randi Rhodes show, and despite how crazy she had drivin me for years. I wanted more energy like that in the afternoon. Maybe not that much… but Kuby is too "cool" to me. He does belong on the radio, on WABC or WOR perhaps. Just like so many people who have been shoved aside in the New York City talk scene– Richard Bey and Lynn Samuels come to mind. They all deserve a show, a spot, a place on the dial somewhere here. And Lionel as well, but probably not on Air America.

And Jill, as you said over at your blog– that Air America was becoming "a bunch of old local New York guys and a syndicated outlet for Thom Hartmann"– it’s more true than I ever imagined it could be. And then they have a shitty signal in the city, horrible dial placement (at the FAR right end), AND almost none of their shows even run on WWRL here. And another funny thing, on their video webcast last week, Maron and Seder were talking about how they both didn’t get the gig. And Seder mentioned his overwhelming support on the web. He said he thought it hurt his chances of getting the show.

You would think that Air America would have a financial interest in getting their programming onto more stations, and to a broader audience. And you would think they would want to keep air personalities who have a devout and loyal fan base. And most of all, you would think that Air America would want talk hosts who are as ardent and passionate as all the right wing nuts that Air America was founded to counter. However, one shouldn’t think too much, because whatever Air America is doing they don’t seem to care about thier audience, their mission, or their profit margin.

Maybe it’s a big tax write-off. And did I mention that Ron Kuby is boring.

Last weekend I had to do some work at home and was listening to the Sedition Radio stream all day Sunday. It is astounding, the sheer volume of crisp, funny comedy that show put out day after day after day during its 1-1/2 year run. Maron is an astounding talent, and while I’m sure he is, like Rhodes, no day at the beach to work with, he does radio well, he WANTS to get back on radio, and he comes with a ferociously loyal fan base (as does Seder, which is why the two of them would make a good team — Maron works better with a straight man/sidekick). It breaks my heart every day when I think of what Air America was and what bad management squandered.

I’d also throw into the mix (since most people aren’t familiar with her show at all, since it’s not networked) the liberal talk show host Lynn Cullen from Pittsburgh, PA. She usually has about a week’s worth of podcasts available (then they disappear) at any given time at her home station’s website (http://www.1360wptt.com/), or she can be found via RSS searches on the iTunes system and others.

I got to hear Lynn Samuels’ show recently when I had a rental car in another city with satellite radio. I was so appalled by her bludgeoning of Obama that I couldn’t listen very long, though of course I remember listening to her decades ago on New York radio.

I also find that “The Young Turks,” which existed briefly as an AAR program (I think!) before it spun itself off to an internet only variation on the original show, is highly entertaining and, for me, essential listening. Despite how laid-back, youngish and casual the whole format of the show is (almost amateurish one might say, with the audio quality and microphone balance/mix sounding worse than many people’s home podcasts), Cenk’s analysis is often right on the money, vivid, passionate and highly entertaining. I’ve grown to really value “the Young Turks” and even though the free version of the podcast is only available for one day, and is not the entire show (paid members have much more access), it’s still a podcast I will not miss.