Posted on 04/27/2005 12:49:56 PM PDT by natelivingston
If there was any doubt that my fellow Democrats with white skin, the notorious white liberal, is the most intolerant creature on the planet, all you have to do is check one of their most popular daily blogs, the Daily Kos, to see how they operate. After I posted the column below, Daily Kos ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN the site and banned me from posting there. Keep in mind, I didn't use profanity. All I did was disagree with their opinion on Air America Radio. Also keep in mind that Daily Kos himself called for a boycott of Time Magazine after they published a cover story on Ann Coulter last week.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
One reason for Air America's failure is their systematic exclusion of African American voices from the airwaves and alienation of a huge potential audience. (Right now 92% of Air America's weekday on air personalities are white liberals. Only one, Mark Riley, is Black. If you include weekend personalities, 90.5 % are white liberals, and only two -- Riley and Kyle Jason -- are Black.)
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Another reason for Air America’s failure is their inability to put forward a positive agenda or explain what liberals (falsely misnamed “progressives” by Air America) stand for. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Air America was designed to give conservatives and Republicans ammunition to attack Democrats and make us look like fools. Just today, Democrat-hater Matt Drudge posted a story that the U.S. Secret Service is investigating Air America and Randi Rhodes for allegedly airing a skit on Monday evening that featured threats to kill President Bush (source)
Before I get too far ahead of myself, let's deal with a few facts.
AIR AMERICA RADIO IS FAILING
Some of you will undoubtedly want me to PROVE that Air America is failing. No problem. According to Anderson's column:
Wait a second, you say, didn't I read that Air America has expanded to more than 50 markets? That's true, but let's put things in perspective: Conservative pundit and former Reagan official William J. Bennett's morning talk show, launched at the same time as Air America, reaches nearly 124 markets, including 18 of the top 20, joining the growing ranks of successful right-of-center talk programs (Limbaugh is still the ratings leader, drawing more than 15 million listeners a week).And look at Air America's ratings: They're pitifully weak, even in places where you would think they'd be strong. WLIB, its flagship in New York City, has sunk to 24th in the metro area Arbitron ratings — worse than the all-Caribbean format it replaced, notes the Radio Blogger. In the liberal meccas of San Francisco and Los Angeles, Air America is doing lousier still. (Note:You can also check out the Arbitron numbers here.)
Facts are hard for some folks to deal with, especially when they don't support their preconceived notions. For example, I wrote a diary a few days ago called "Another Black View On Air America: Clear Channel Lite" and quoted an article by Justin Felux who observed:
In New York, Air America's programming will be featured on WLIB-1190 AM, which is owned by the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation (ICBC). Prior to the partnership with Air America, WLIB had been serving New York's black community for decades. It was an outlet for black activists and featured unique "Afrocentric" programming. The CEO of the ICBC, Percy Sutton, tells his listeners that the new move "gives us an opportunity to impact on the world outside of our own community." Many in the black community disagree. According to black activist Elombe Brath, "We have people here already who know radio, who can do shows. And they want to come in with a program from other people trying to talk to black people in New York City? (WLIB) is just a station that has been stripped of what it's supposed to be! ... In reality what the station needs is to have some people who know the community and can speak to its needs."In response, one angry Daily Kos reader latched on to Felux's mention of WLIB's broadcasting of cricket games and scores and decided to make a joke of it. In one particularly hostile comment, this loser claimed that WLIB's ratings were "through the floor" before being taken over by Air America and shouted that the radio station was taken over and the format changed because "the cricket doesn't rate!" But the facts show that WLIB was doing better broadcasting cricket games than they are broadcasting the likes of boring Al Franken, Jerry Springer, and Randi Rhodes. If WLIB's ratings were "through the floor" before Air America took over, they must be somewhere around Hell now.In recent years WLIB has mostly featured Caribbean programming. Carl Tyndale, a listener for more than 17 years, was upset with the takeover: "Where are we going to find Caribbean music now? This station had so much information. They would broadcast cricket games and news from back home. Other stations don't do that. I don't think there is going to be many black issues with the new format, and there will be less Caribbean callers because people won't feel at home. That is where people tune in to get something from home." Tracey-McCallum, a Jamaican listener, was equally discouraged. "Their programming was quite good and offered quite a bit of Caribbean news; so that one source now is no longer available to us," she said.
WHY AIR AMERICA IS FAILING
Anderson suggests 4 reasons why Air America is failing: (1) liberals have a difficult time translating their ideas into talk radio language, (2) liberal shows aren't funny, (3) liberals don't need talk radio because they've already got the old "liberal" media, and (4) the potential audience for Air America is basically limited to white liberals.
All of Anderson's theories deserve attention and maybe some of you reading this will choose to write diaries about them. All I'll say on points 1, 2, and 3 is that I agree with #2 and disagree with #1 and 3. Point #4 deserves greater attention.
According to Anderson's article...
• Fragmentation of the potential audience. Political consultant Dick Morris explains: "Large percentages of liberals are black and Hispanic, and they now have their own specialized entertainment radio outlets, which they aren't likely to leave for liberal talk radio." The potential audience for Air America or similar ventures is thus pretty small — white liberals, basically. And they've already got NPR.Good old Dick Morris. Now there's an expert on Blacks and Hispanics! OK. Quit laughing and get serious. Dick Morris is just wrong. First, Blacks and Hispanics may have our own radio outlets but for the most part they aren't talk radio outlets, they are music stations. There is no national "black" equivalent to Air America or the conservative radio networks. So when Blacks or Hispanics want to listen to talk radio, their choices are limited to white conservative talk or white liberal talk. That is, unless they live in a city with local/regional "black" talk radio (i.e. WAOK-Atlanta, WVON-Chicago, WDBZ-Cincinnati, KCOH-Houston, WHAT-Philadelphia, WOL-Washington, DC). The point is: Blacks don't have our own specialized national "black" talk radio outlet. Our choices for national talk radio are limited to white conservative talk and white liberal talk.
The geniuses at Air America are too stubborn, lazy, or racist (you decide) to compete for Black and Hispanic listeners and would rather agree with Dick Morris that their potential audience is basically white liberals. This hasn't worked. But why should that convince Air America to try something different?
AIR AMERICA SHOULD DIVERSIFY THEIR ON-AIR STAFF
Between Monday - Friday, Air America has 14 on-air hosts or co-hosts. They are listed below.
Black
- Mark Riley - CO-host of "Morning Sedition".
Whites
- Rachel Maddow - Hosts "The Rachel Maddow Show". - Marc Maron - Co-hosts "Morning Sedition". - Jerry Springer - Hosts "Springer on The Radio". - Jene Galvin - Co-hosts "Springer on The Radio". - Stephanie Tyler - Co-hosts "Springer on The Radio". - Megan Hills - Co-hosts "Springer on The Radio". - Paul Mason - Co-hosts "Springer on The Radio". - Al Franken - Co-hosts "The Al Franken Show". - Katherine Lanpher- Co-hosts "The Al Franken Show". - Randi Rhodes - Hosts "The Randi Rhodes Show". - Janeane Garofalo - Co-hosts "The Majority Report". - Sam Seder - Co-hosts "The Majority Report". - Mike Malloy - Hosts "The Mike Malloy Show".
Total By Race
Black: 1 (7%) Whites: 13 (93%)
Some critics will say that the above list isn't fair because Air America has another Black, Kyle Jason, on air on the weekend. Alrighty. I've included Air America's weekend staff below.
Black
- Kyle Jason
Whites
- Robert F. Kennedy - Mike Papantino - Marty Kaplan - Laura Flanders - Betsy Rosenberg - Steve Earle
Total By Race
Blacks: 2 (9.5%) Whites: 19 (90.5%)
The defenders of white supremacy will suggest that since whites make up 90.5% of the U.S. population, they should also make up 90.5% of the hosts on Air America. But, waitaminute, whites don't make up 90.5% of the population, now do they? (source)
And whites certainly don't make up 90.5% of the Democratic Party, do they?. Whites are 90.5% of the liberals or progressives in America. So why has Air America chosen to make 90.5% of their talk show hosts white?
Air America has a great opportunity to gain Black listeners by diversifying their lineup and giving Black listeners more choices.
The second thing Dick Morris fails to acknowledge is that Blacks aren't loyal to Black radio. Anyone who has ever studied the effect of integration on Black radio knows that Blacks will leave their own "specialized entertainment radio outlets" for something new, if the new offering appeals to them. Liberals who claim to love Air America, or even the thought of a liberal radio network, should get over their desire to defend white supremacy and white privilege and get busy encouraging Air America to diversify the daily lineup, for their own good.
AIR AMERICA CAN FIND QUALIFIED AFRICAN AMERICAN TALK SHOW HOSTS
Black Democrats like me are used to hearing conservative Republicans make excuses for overlooking qualified African Americans. But lately, on the issue of inclusion and power sharing, conservative Republicans have been leaving white liberal Democrats in the dust.
It's not just positions like the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, just look at nationally-syndicated Black talk show hosts and you'll find that most of them are conservatives (i.e. Larry Elder, Ken Hamblin (The Black Avenger"), Jesse Lee Peterson, and Armstrong Williams). Still, there are two nationally-syndicated liberal/moderate talk show hosts, American Urban Radio Network's Bev Smith and National Public Radio's Ed Gordon. While both of them would do a fantastic job at Air America Radio, the network hasn't done anything to recruit them.
WHAT ABOUT OPRAH?
Less than a month ago, Air America Radio decided to pull the plug on their "Unfiltered" show, which featured an African American co-host Chuck D. Air America replaced the show with Jerry Springer.
Whatever you think about Jerry, the man is rich! And he is isn't hosting the show for lack of anything to do, the man is busy hosting the "Jerry Springer Show" on TV.
If Springer is willing to do radio, and Martha Stewart is willing to do a radio show for Sirius Satellite Radio (source), why wouldn't Oprah Winfrey want to expand her Harpo media business from television, movies, and magazines to radio? My guess is that she just might be. But Air America has to reach out to her.
And even if Oprah isn't interested, Air America would be wise to reach out to some other people of color and diversify the daily lineup. If they don't listen to reason, it's only a matter of time before Air [white] America will fail, leaving liberals to complain that we weren't given a fair chance, when the truth is we had a great opportunity and blew it.
I seem to recall Daily Kos tore Donna Brazille a new one...
Excellent post
That's good advice for Air America. Good thing you were censored by them - I'd hate to see them do something smart for once.
Yes,because she uttered the blasphemous words "We lost the election" rather than the DU mantra "We was robbed"
Really? He ripped her about what? White libs I know can't stand people who won't say everything they do is fantastic.
Can I point out the obvious fact that you cannot (reliably) tell someone's race or color by listening to them on the radio?
Unless they tell you every three minutes.
I can hear the libs and lefts sputtering....but but but, we own the black vote, don't we?
Let's be real. Yes, you can tell a person's race by hearing their voice on the radio. Not always, but much of the time. And not only by the tone of their voice, but by the topics they chose and the guests they book.
Even for a white liberal, to shut the website down over a comment you disagree with seems a bit drastic to me.
Poor old Brian C. Anderson ~ all he knows is whining and complaining ~ limosine liberals don't care about people of color, they only care about keeping them on the plantation and voting for the lunatic left. *sigh*
Sorry ~ limousine.
What's going on with Moulitsos personally? Doesn't he run Daily Kos?
Man I have been banned from KOS for several months now. Good to see some more of us.
Very interesting. Air America's on-air personalities are 7 percent minorities. Another type of liberal closed shop are newspapers. About 20 years ago, the publishers' association adopted a goal of 25 percent minority representation in news rooms by 2000. They didn't come close to reaching that goal so they pushed the target back to 2025.
But they'll criticize any and every one else for lack of diversity.
I wonder what the minority representation is on the big liberal foundations, Ford, Pew, etc.?
Herein lies the reason many liberals are becoming conservative...
And therein lies the biggest problem with the liberal agenda. We conservatives don't listen to Rush, Hannity, etc because they are white, nor do we listen to Elder, Hamblin, etc just to include black hosts. We listen to them because they are entertaining and because they include the news and opinions that are absent from the liberal mainstream media.
But in the PC liberal world, they have to have black hosts just to meet some kind of quota. Yet another reason why they will fail. Personally, I have to agree with Boortz. Err America needs to succeed, otherwise the "tolerant, free-speech loving" liberals will stop at nothing to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. The definately misnamed Fairness Doctrine which will end up censoring conservative speech or destroying talk radio altogether.
Good post. That Arbitron link is worthwhile by itself -- I see that the SF station (KQKE) which has been running it for maybe a year is just ahead of the all-Mexican station and a little further ahead of the AM simulcast of one of the FM oldies stations.
A few quibbles with the article itself (not with the poster): Geez, let it go with the Diversity Uber Alles already. A percieved shortage of mandated classes in the Err America stable is not the problem. The general format is. And the format of pretty much any show and any host is more or less these four points: Bush is a criminal, Bush is a dope, Bush is a liar, and people who aren't commies and socialists are dummies.
It's really cough-up-your-coffee unbelievable that their "ideas" are so hard to, what, use as the basis of speeches and/or conversations?
Yep. He runs Daily Kos. He's the same guy who last week wrote that Time Magazine should be boycotted by liberals because they had systematically shut out liberal voices. WTF?!? He actually said this!!! Of course, he had nothing to substantiate his claim, but when have facts meant anything to white libs? Contrast that with my opinion on Air America, based on documented facts and it's clear to see Moulitsos is ok with activism that he agrees with against liberal institutions but not ok with activism that he doesn't agree with.
Listen to what I'm saying, not what you want to hear. I'm NOT saying they should have Black hosts to meet a quota, I'm saying they are failing because they don't have the most qualified spokespeople on the air, and some of those people are Black. Do you get it now?
Of course, if you don't want to see Air America succeed, then you should be happy about the lineup.
"Man I have been banned from KOS for several months now. Good to see some more of us."
Whats a KOS? I remember KAOS from the tv show "Get Smart" (wasn't 99 gorgeous!), but have not heard of a KOS.
Guess I need to get out more often...
Sounds like you're a little less surprised this week than you were last week to discover the simmering intolerance and racism of your fellow Democrats. This is good, you're making progress.
The action by the Daily Kos is simply another example of the intolerance of the Left. They are a collection of petty dictators. They can't stand anyone who disagrees with them. From their perspective,disagreement with these self-named "progressives" indicates bad breeding, stupidity, and an evil nature. Anderson got banned because he didn't parrot the Daily Kos line. Would-be totalitarians.
Reason #5 why liberal talk radio will not succeed: Liberals are incapable of promoting their agenda without lying or using weasel words. Any Rush listener could tear apart their thinly veiled attempts at stealing our money and our rights in two minutes.
You make an excellent point. Most black Americans are already living on the liberal plantation, so there's nothing to be gained by hiring minority radio hosts.
Conservatives, on the other hand, have made a sincere effort to reach out to minorities. The difference is that conservatives want minorities to achieve through education and hard work, while liberals promise (but never deliver) free handouts at the expense of tax-paying conservatives.
Why work for it when you can get it for free?
I was listening to them regularly for a while last year to see what was up. Al Franken is pretty depressing for libs, very monotone. Randy Roads is insane, calling for crazy things like our troops going to Canada, calling our troops war criminals, but saying it is Bushes fault.
I recommend you sample Randy from 3-6pm if you like to hear libs rant. I loved the show the day Kerry conceded the election. It was like Christmas for me.
AA knows their white listeners will switch off if the programming gets to "ethnic."
ping
BTW, they are going to HATE you.
You are not supposed to speak out like this.
Liberal bigotry ping...
Looks like you're just not cut out to be an ideologue. :-)
There has aways been a giant gap between white dems and blacks on the same side. The whites say, "You guys have your little caucus and do your little thing, then we'll swing the white Big Ticket guys around to your churches and we'll eat your barbecue and hug your ahnties and even pronounce "ahnt" right, and then you guys will go down and punch the "D" button. 'Kay?"
I've never myself been a member of a political party -- I choose to think for myself and come to each issue with logic. So I'm not going to be like everyone else and beseech you to join our merry conservative band, but I do have to wonder out loud how you can tolerate being in the same party as that racist former Klan recruiter Robert Byrd.
Don't forget Walter E. Williams. He doesn't have a show, but he does an excellent job filling in for Rush from time to time.
I've always maintained that the white liberal is the most vicious, two faced, despicable beast on the planet wrecking havoc wherever they go.
But when you harrass our liberal, Democrat Mayor to the point that you get thrown in jail, what can I say but GREAT JOB!!
Liberal vs. liberal is always a good thing.
How refreshing. I hope you post here a good long time. Who knows, you may even "embrace the horror" and vote republican in 2008.
"AA knows their white listeners will switch off if the programming gets to "ethnic.""
BINGO.
DailyKos is down, at moment. However, it went like this: Donna Brazile wrote a love poem for/to Howard Dean. Mark (DailyKos) was furious that Donna was writing love poems instead of bringing in voters and/or a voter roster of supporters. The ugly side of DailyKos was on full display.
The reason "liberals" despise Christians? Christians have God sitting on the inner thrones of the temple of their souls -- but liberals have themselves sitting on that throne, and they feel threatened and furious that anyone would dare challenge their own superiority by suggesting they challenge God.
And in response to your post -- this is why they cannot tolerate "dissent" or even "disagreement" of any sort and from anyone.
"Liberals" exist in the Kingdom of Self. How dare anyone challenge that "self" with a God.
You see, if the liberals were more honest, they would openly admit their belief in themselves as a "god". But this would muddy the political waters. If they were to be honest about their belief in themselves as a "god", in all fairness they'd have to be respectful of the God that others believe in and worship. So, they do the next step; twist Scripture. In their own worldview, it's a political thing.. this twisting and misuse of Scripture: They see it as undercutting their opposition.
There's an inherent meanness to liberal "humor". As in... they MEAN to hurt others. And their laughter, after they've made such comments, is mean. As in... "look what I just did to another person, and I don't feel bad about it; I feel good; I hurt that person and I meant to."
You are correct. Their laughter is the same laughter you hear from the playground bully's buddies as he torments someone 1/2 his size.
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