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Are SALEM RADIO NETWORK and RUSH LIMBAUGH being targeted by Speaker of the House NANCY PELOSI and Reps. STENY HOYER (D-MD) and DENNIS KUCINICH (D-OH) as the three push the return of the Fairness Doctrine to the front burner? "THE WASHINGTON PROWLER," a column in the AMERICAN SPECTATOR, reported in an online article today (5/14) that a PELOSI senior adviser told the magazine, "First, [Democrats] failed on the radio airwaves with AIR AMERICA, no one wanted to listen. Conservative radio is a huge threat and political advantage for Republicans and we have had to find a way to limit it....

KQDS/Duluth drops liberal talk Listeners in the Twin Ports got a rude awakening this morning when they turned on the radio expecting to hear Sam Seder, but instead heard golden oldies. In a surprise move, KQDS in Duluth-Superior, which had been airing Ed Schultz and programs from Air America Radio for the past year and a half, has dropped liberal talk for oldies music...There was one rumor claiming that oldies was only temporary, and that a FOX 'News'-style conservative talk format would be the permanent format, but nothing else out there would give credibility to this rumor... As for the...

If you're a progressive researcher, red flashing lights will go on in your brain and a siren will go off as you read one key word in the following and not just for the usual reasons: It appears that Air America, the liberal talk-radio network, won't be on the air much longer in Dallas-Fort Worth. Guadalupe Radio Network, a Midland-based Catholic broadcasting company, has announced on its Web site that it will take over two Dallas-Fort Worth stations as of Oct. 1: KXEB/910 AM, which is Air America's Dallas-Fort Worth station, and KJON/850 AM. Guadalupe Radio will broadcast in English...

MIKE MALLOY FIRED BY AIR AMERICA RADIO There will be no Mike Malloy program on Air America Radio as we have been terminated as of 8/30/06. We are as shocked as you are, especially since as recently as last Tuesday we were told we had the go-ahead to announce our return to NY airwaves and that our contract was "on the way." We are told it's a financial decision. More details to follow as we hear them ourselves. Members of the press can contact malloyproducer@aol.com to schedule interviews.

According to a poster claiming to be his wife.... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2485066 Quote This is not a published news article, but I think it qualifies as LBN. This is Kathy Bay Malloy and we just got news that as of this minute we've been terminated by Air America Radio. We don't have all the details yet, but got a tip from someone who'd seen the new network lineup that we weren't included after all. We just had that confirmed by one of the suits a few minutes ago. We're told that its a financial decision. Thank you so much for your ongoing...

The indictment of state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez is the tip of a massive corruption probe into taxpayer-funded programs, including the scandal-scarred youth group that lent $875,000 to launch liberal radio network Air America, The Post has learned. Federal prosecutors and the city Department of Investigation are zeroing in on ties between the West Bronx Neighborhood Association - which Gonzalez is accused of using as his piggy bank - and the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club and its affiliate, Pathways for Youth. The Co-op City-based Gloria Wise, with an annual budget of $10 million, was one of the largest social-service...

sorry for the vanity but I am unable to link the article due to copyright restrictions. According to the Burlington (VT) Free Press, the local Air America station WVAA 1390 is switching to sports as of this Monday (WCAT). The Air America programming will move to WTWK 1070...which is daytime only. Yes, in "progressive" Vermont, they found that ESPN makes more money than Al Franken and are putting him on a lesser signal (at least it's daytime only...) Another loss for AAR... a sign o' the times.

The "revolution of talk radio" and "Homer: The Sports Animal" are trading places. Clear Channel Cincinnati, which owns eight stations locally, announced Friday it is swapping the dial positions of its liberal talk and sports talk stations. Effective July 7, the liberal talker, which carries Jerry Springer's 9 a.m.-noon "Springer on the Radio," will move from WCKY-AM (1530) to the significantly less powerful WSAI-AM (1360). Homer, meanwhile is moving from WSAI to the WCKY frequency. For tri-state fans of each station, the move doesn't mean much except having to perhaps reset some car radio buttons. But it is significant in...

*** Exclusive To The Radio Equalizer - Part One ****** Updated With Breaking News Below *** It has long been reasonable to characterize Air America Radio as having an every man- for- himself work environment, where the name of the game is to see who grab the most cash before the whole mess finally comes crashing down. Add to the mix a nearly- constant stream of financial support from Real Networks honcho Rob Glaser and billionaire currency raider George Soros and the greedy temptation to push for obscene salaries, perks and benefits simply becomes too great to resist. Central to...

Have some liberals finally had enough of Al Franken & Friends? While Stuart Smalley's defenders continue to pound your Radio Equalizer for relentlessly exposing the truth about this partisan talk network, some of its harshest critics actually come from the left! In the past week alone, "progressive" mega-blog Daily Kos has featured two anti-Air America Radio rants, the latest with reader comments similar to these sentiments: An earlier diary here has a lot of comments I agree with, including especially that Air America is too much top-down. Trying to build an instant radio network from a studio in New York...

Local progressive talk format to launch August 31st. Radio Business Report: Quote: Randy gets a New York stick Former Clear Channel Radio CEO Randy Michaels is set to return to operating a major market radio station. RBR has learned that Michaels will take over programming of WLIB-AM New York when Air America Radio's current LMA expires August 31st. The station will continue to have a Progressive Talk format, but Michaels will replace Air America's network programming with a series of new local talk shows with a liberal bent. Michael's deal with licensee Inner City Broadcasting won't be an LMA, but...

Self-described liberal and feminist professor of culture and media studies Camille Paglia is not a fan of Al Franken, Air America Radio, Terry Gross or NPR. She said the following in an interview with the Madison, WI Capital Times newspaper: Al Franken: "Good lord! I want to fall asleep. Narcolepsy." * Air America: It isn't even broadcast in Philadelphia because of low ratings. "It's even slower than NPR. Like a record being played at the wrong speed." * Terry Gross: "Oh god. Awful. I never listen to her show." Gross broadcasts "Fresh Air" from a studio a couple of blocks...

As certain as the presence of a dozen Dunkin' Donuts outlets in every New England town, today's second Air America Radio on-air anniversary is sure to bring mainstream media accolades from every corner of the country. When looking at the network honestly, however, how can we conclude it's been anything other than a debacle? --- Ratings are in the toilet (another update soon on the way). --- Just to stay afloat, it requires constant cash infusions from Rob Glaser and George Soros. --- To sustain a bloated management and staff structure, company spending remains outrageous, with lavish salaries, perks and...

March 7, 2006 -- AIR America is close to losing its New York flagship station - knocking Al Franken and his liberal colleagues off the air on their second anniversary. The network has a two-year lease with WLIB (AM 1190) that is reportedly set to expire April 1 - and at least one reliable report says it is "extremely likely" the deal will not be renewed. Losing its New York outlet would be a serious blow to the fledgling liberal radio network. "Radio Equalizer" blogger Brian Maloney - who blew the whistle on questionable loans to the lefty network last...

With their unending devotion to Al Franken, why have so-called "progressives" chosen to paint themselves into a corner? For their followers, why must he be portrayed as eternally perfect? While also not free of flaws, one sustaining quality in the conservative movement has been a willingness to cut loose damaging characters (even if sometimes a bit late). Though the right cherishes individualism above nearly all else, only occasionally does it get caught up in the cult of personality. For any political faction, why is that a mistake? Because it must successfully advance values and ideas, rather than promote imperfect people...

As Sean Hannity is proving to Jerry Springer, a career boost can sometimes come from the most unlikely of circumstances. After all, why should the nation's number two-ranked talk host (by audience size, with Rush Limbaugh in first place) give one of Air America Radio's weakest performers the time of day? Because of Jerry's television fame? Even the liberal network's most diehard apologists seem lukewarm when it comes to supporting the syndicated television trashmeister. And we might add that Hannity has roughly 10 stations running his show for every one still saddled with the dreadful "Springer On The Radio". And...

Last year, I was privileged to work with Brian Maloney of The Radio Equalizer on an ongoing blog investigative series about beleaguered Air America radio's finances. Brian has continued to dig and dig deep on the story. He has a new report here and will discuss it tonight on The O'Reilly Factor. Brian asks: "Did Al Franken's outrageous salary demands hamper Air America's ability to repay the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club in 2005?" Excerpt: During the same mid-to-late 2004 period when Air America parent Piquant LLC was quietly considering how to resolve the still-undisclosed scandal, Franken was demanding...

(When discussion of Air America possibly coming to Nashville came up): NOT SO SILENT BOB wrote: I'll say what I've heard about Air America. I have heard that the only reason Clear Channel invested in it was to protect their powerful conservative news/talk stations. There is a conspiracy theory (and a darn good one) out there that says that if/when Air America fails, the Democratic Party is aiming to completely shut down conservative talk radio in order to satisfy the McCain/Feingold Bill because conservative talk radio would act as nothing more than a campaign device for Republicans, and the Democrats...

If you thought the point of a major daily paper was to report news, not make headlines, then recent events at the Washington Post may seem a bit odd. First, the strange new fascination with adding reporters to the airwaves continues, where "Washington Post Radio", covered here previously, apparently finds some newsroom staffers with stars in their eyes. Especially brilliant points from Dave Hughes at DCRTV: Posties Prepare To Be Radio Stars - 1/21 - DCRTV hears that a number of Washington Posties are running around the newspaper's downtown DC HQ preparing themselves for their new radio careers ....................snip..................

From the Billings Outpost, here's an Al Franken quote to quite possibly top them all: Quote of the week “Right now, money is being stolen, and that is killing our soldiers. That makes me furious. I’m very sad about where my country is going, and I love my country.” - Author/comedian Al Franken, talking about the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority in a live Air America radio program broadcast last Friday in Missoula. Quote of the week? How about year, at least? ..............................snip...................

Whether it's something in New York City's tap water or the moon's current phase, the Radio Equalizer isn't sure, but some kind of foot-in-mouth disease is afflicting its radio hosts. First, it was Don Imus over the weekend, who complained of cocaine dealers who were too slow to supply more drugs, back when he was an addict. What a grave injustice. Now, Al Franken sinks to his own fresh low in a new Playboy interview, according to the New York Daily News. Will feminists be able to remain silent this time? Rachel Maddow, are you paying attention? Get a load...

Sure enough, the holidays brought only a temporary reprieve from the mainstream media's strange and endless fascination with Al Franken, where fluffy coverage is routine. Isn't it more of an affliction for these reporters, like a Frankenflu? And what an especially astounding example of Frankenfluff we have today, coming from the Chicago Tribune's Nina Metz. Get a load of these brutal, probing questions on the contents of his soon-to-be-vacated New York City flat, from "The Truth (and a Joke) About Al Franken's Apartment": .......snip........

Could February's Vanity Fair interview finally result in crusty curmudgeon Don Imus's undoing? Just days after the New York Post revealed he spent a chunk of it trashing his fellow MSNBC hosts, other excerpts emerging today paint an even uglier picture of radio and cable's most notorious rambling weirdo. To top it off, the AP reports today that Imus kicked his cocaine habit not due to the horrible damage it inflicts on addicts and their loved ones, but because drug dealers were too slow to show up with more junk! .........................snip...........................

For Air America Radio, it's officially fade-to-black in the Valley of the Sun. Roll the end credits, please. After months of speculation and an ownership change, KXXT-AM's fate is finally clear: its future lies in religious programming, not liberal talk radio. Could a format flip be any more dramatic? Especially strange were the station's continued assertions they weren't sure what would happen, even as hosts on conservative competitor KFYI-AM repeatedly declared it ready for the dust bin.......... ................snip......................

The new owners of KXXT, religious broadcasters Communicom, are dumping liberal talk from KXXT by the end of January according to what's been said on air. There are already online petitions to Communicom, but it seems to me they'd be better off trying to convince another station to carry the format.

In papers filed Dec. 5 in King Co. Superior Court, and obtained by BlatherWatch, KIRO talk host Mike Webb (9p-1a) was charged with the crime of Fraudulent Insurance Claim in an alleged $5982 scam against a car insurance company. According to the Court's Superform, Michael Kenneth Webb, 50, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host and a Virgo, is also the subject in an investigation of forgery. The papers were gleaned from public court records. Charges were generated after an accident June 28 involving Webb in his black 2000 Lexus GS-3 and his alleged subsequent dealings with GEICO. A Certification For Determination...

Think the debate over Tookie Williams ended with his execution? Guess again. Issuing a public challenge, The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable’s Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Jasmyne Cannick have accused KFI's John and Ken of racism. They insist proof is found in the pair's supposed reluctance to insist a white man on death row be quickly put to death: The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable’s Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Jasmyne Cannick have issued a public challenge to controversial radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of the John and Ken Show of AM 640 KFI (Los Angeles) to prove that...

While we gear up for our next major pieces, here's a roundup of the latest fodder: --- Did Al Franken really mock a disabled Vietnam Vet during a recent Asheville radio interview? BoreAmerica has the details, we'd like to hear the audio of this interview, if the host could please make it available. BoreAmerica also believes Janeane Garofalo has a promising future doing public service announcements, especially for booster seats. --- Lots of tension at ABC Radio, as worried staffers ponder who will be taking over some of America's largest talk radio stations (KGO, KSFO, WLS, WBAP, WABC, WMAL and...

Isn't nonstop fawning press coverage wonderful? Other than entrenched, well-connected liberals like Al Franken, of course, who exactly would have an idea of how that feels? For the Radio Equalizer, the toughest task is weeding through it, otherwise we'd cover nothing but Frankenfluff (a term we coined to describe the particular level of positive press Al routinely enjoys). Even this mainstream media lovefest can have pitfalls for unsuspecting recipients, however. Why? Because it eventually leads to carelessness and overconfidence. Particularly during recent television interviews, we've already seen that in Franken, who can't seem to understand why anyone wouldn't find the...

Pleasing activist groups bent on revenge, San Francisco's Board Of Supervisors is now lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to pull the license of Bill O'Reilly's San Francisco affiliate KNEW-AM, according to Bay Area radio columnist Brad Kava. The move, in the form of an official city resolution, comes after the FOX News Channel host's recent controversial comments about San Francisco's increasingly extreme stances on issues such as military recruitment. Last month, East Bay-based protestors from a group called the Youth Media Council picketed Clear Channel Radio's (KNEW's owner) San Francisco studios, demanding conservative shows be removed from the airwaves. Sure...

Repeating unsubstantiated conspiracy theories often enough may win over some outside their tiny circle, liberal talk radio proponents are learning. Ed Schultz thought he had a deal to broadcast to U.S. soldiers, but the Pentagon now says otherwise.For more than two days, fans of Fargo-based lib talker Ed Schultz have celebrated their would-be "victory" over the military-industrial complex that supposedly conspired to keep his program off of Armed Forces Radio. From our 18 October report: Possibly in response to a Democrat-led push for greater ideological programming "balance" on global military broadcasts, the Ed Schultz show was, in theory at least,...

More AirAmeriSpam. Just email; I have not heard them do this on the air. Some excerpts (full text below): Happy Halloween from Air America. It’s Halloween and the right-wing is terrified…of you. ... This sounds like Tom Betz'post: "Limbaugh/Premier Radio smelling of fear?" They recycle some of the same Arbitron talking points. Then add a new bit about Franken's book selling better than Ann Coulter'a book. Then we get into fear tactics related to the latest Supreme Court nomination: ------------------------- ...if confirmed Alito could well change the balance of the high court for a generation to come. We at Air...

David Lombino's much-anticipated New York Sun piece on former Air America Exec/Clinton Administration official David Goodfriend has now been published, with interesting insights. Continuing a pattern where current and former network officials look to protect their interests against potential criminal and civil liabilities, it's the ultimate in corporate CYA. When it comes to fallout over the apparent transfer of $875,000 in taxpayer funds from an inner-city community center to the liberal radio network, nobody seems to want to take responsibility. Goodfriend here is quick to pin the blame on everyone around him, particularly former college friend Evan Montvel-Cohen.

Liberal Seattle news-talk station KIRO and conservative sister KTTH-AM finally have the word from the National Labor Relations Board: they're no longer working in a union shop. And it all came down to one disputed ballot, cast by syndicated talk show host Michael Medved. After a contentious battle led by overnight KIRO talk host Lou Pate, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was decertified at KIRO and KTTH. Making the fight especially weird: another one of KIRO's evening talk hosts, left-wing extremist Mike Webb, loudly supported the anti-union campaign. Meanwhile, a few conservatives in the building at...

Helen Glover of Portsmouth (RI), a contestant on Survivor: Thailand in 2002, will host her own talk show on WHJJ, 920-AM, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., replacing syndicated host Jerry Springer. Glover, a former swim instructor for the Navy, starts on Tuesday. "Right now, I'm excited and nervous," Glover said in a phone interview yesterday. "I'm like a horse in the starting gate." Glover was among several local candidates who auditioned for WHJJ after John DePetro left last year to take a job with WRKO in Boston. But WHJJ decided to go with a syndicated lineup from liberal talk...

What's next for Air America's programming and personalities, after a week of blogospheric pummeling and self-destructive corporate behavior? Many have asked that question in recent days, wondering if Franken & Co. could actually face real consequences. Not just legally, but in terms of public image, as they take self-inflicted beating after beating. A fresh example of success from St. Louis, however, proves Air America's real fate may be in your hands.

Watching Air America Radio thoroughly destroy its credibility is like last night's burning Airbus jet in Toronto: it's hard to take your eyes away from a full-fledged disaster. At least everybody escaped from the plane's wreckage, who knows what will ultimately happen at Air America's headquarters? The network's claim that all that's stopping it from repaying nearly $900,000 (boy, does that number continue to grow) it owes the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club is an official direction from New York's Department Of Investigation (DOI), is blown to bits by a fresh New York Post report.

We're continuing to press the matter of Air America's $480,000 in (possibly unreturned) taxpayer funds obtained in a highly questionable manner. Meanwhile, more ratings releases today shed a great deal of light on the network's future. Unlike its conservative counterpart, liberal talk is destined to be simply a regional, niche format that works in a few cities and fails elsewhere. That's become clear. While right-leaning talk also appeals to a segment of the population, it's big (even with recent ratings troubles) and successful nationwide, almost without geographic exception. Ratings released today for Seattle, Portland and Denver put the finishing touches...

What does it take for an award-receiving talk show host to empty a room full of radio industry leaders and supporters? Air America host and alleged comedian Al Franken managed to do just that over the weekend, with a long and rambling speech that had both liberals and conservatives, bolting from the facility.

Looks like another Air America-style station has signed on, only it's _not_ Air America...WTOU 1350 in Akron, OH has changed to "Radio Free Ohio" running progressive talkers like Lionel, Stephanie Miller, and Thom Hartmann. NO Air America (Frankenfraud, etc.) Another station in town, the poor-signal WJMP, runs that. (The format flip was preceded by the cryptic radiofreeohio.org website that caught some nationwide notice. Pirate radio, only it's isn't.) So a weakly performing station that had run Fox Sports Radio now has "progressive talk". Moonbats in Chrissie Hynde's hometown are rejoicing. "Bring it on, I hope the Muslims win! Let's bring...

Isn't it amazing to watch one liberal after another, lining up to take on conservative talk radio, even as the latest "progressive" offerings are busy falling apart? There's something about a mindset that can really believe, despite any experience hosting talk shows, they can do what all the other liberals couldn't. Reverend Al Sharpton's the latest to take the plunge, with immediate questions about his viability, or real future prospects

(latest radio ratings in Boston): WBZ holds first place with a 7.3. Conservative talker WRKO up slightly, from a 4.1 to a 4.3, for sixth place overall. Conservative WTKK-FM turns in a flat performance and ranks 10th. Air America's two Boston stations disappear from the radar screen, that's right, they are no-shows. Blame the signal quality all you want, but they were getting at least some ratings before. Even major free publicity from the Boston Globe didn't help one bit. Can't wait to hear the lame excuses. Bet the Globers won't be dwelling on this news.

Annual Talk Host Rankings Revealed Liberal Talk Hosts MIA In New Industry Survey Fresh evidence of Air America's troubles has emerged in the latest issue of Talkers Magazine, an industry trade publication, which annually tracks the popularity of nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts. None of the liberal talk hosts in Air America's lineup, or those distributed by other companies made the 2005 Talkers list, which ranked the 30 largest programs by audience size. In addition, it surveyed the talk radio listenership and broke it down by group. We'll discuss that later in this piece. Added to recent mounting evidence...

The former management of Air America's Youngstown/Warren, OH affiliate, WANR/1570 Warren, OH, has officially wrestled back control of the station from the LMA group operating it as an AAR affiliate. The station changed format shortly after AAR's "Morning Sedition" today, and is now playing religious music and announcements. The station once ran a religious/Christian music format under the former manager who's leading the current group of investors. The same company owns oldies WEXC/107.1 in nearby Greenville, PA, and a Christian-oriented music format is expected to be installed there within days.

When this liberal talk radio network was launched on April 1, 2004, the liberal media were nearly beside themselves. CNN, Fox News, the broadcast networks, local television stations, all of them were falling over themselves to hype Air America as the Left's answer to conservative talk radio. I felt embarrassed for USA Today for being so giddy. Locally, the Boston Herald heralded Air America's entrance into the Boston talk radio arena with glee, as did the Globe. Someone had finally assembled a team of liberal celebrities, shoved them in front of microphones, and told them to magically become talk show...

PBS is a government subsidy for obnoxious, deep-pocketed progressives and a jobs program for liberal journalists. But the New York Times' story targeting Kenneth Tomlinson, the Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, suggests that the left is losing its grip on PBS and getting pretty worried about it. The Times story -- titled "Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Biases" -- reads like a press release from the office of Bill Moyers. In the first paragraph, the Times says that "some public broadcasting leaders" -- read entrenched liberals upset with Tomlinson for scrutinizing their long-unchallenged perks and...

Testy On-Air Exchange With Brian C. Anderson During a testy, but polite, interview with 'South Park Conservatives' author Brian C. Anderson, Air America host Al Franken asserted that radio ratings aren't available to the public! That apparently was Franken's way of deflecting unpleasant questions about Air America's recent poor performance. It was likely also to suggest that Anderson was using incorrect, or outright phony, data! I heard from Anderson a few minutes ago, he says the Radio Equalizer was cited as a source for ratings information (thought it seemed like a lot of liberals were crawling around here today). Anderson...

Five minutes with ...Stephanie Miller By Dean Johnson Syndicated talk show host Stephanie Miller will do tomorrow's and Friday's 9 a.m.-noon radio shows, heard locally on WXKS-AM (1430) and WKOX-AM (1200), from the WXKS-AM studios in Medford. Boston Herald: What's the biggest difference between doing live radio and stand-up comedy? Stephanie Miller: Nobody can throw anything at me on the radio; that's in the ``plus'' column. You also shouldn't wait too long on radio for a laugh, because it isn't coming. Herald: Did you have any role models or mentors when you started doing radio? Miller: Carol Burnett was sort...

Left of the Dial, which looks to be a 90-minute documentary that will deliver a glowing tribute to the left wing Air America radio talk show service, will debut Thursday night on HBO. The HBO Web site touted how "a group of investors set out to launch a liberal radio network that would challenge the dominance of America's airwaves by conservative talk radio." A synopsis of the documentary recounted how "in the days before launch, the energy picks up amidst a whirlwind of photo shoots, CNN sound bites, the creation of marketing/PR materials, and delivery of the hot-off-the-presses New York...

NEW YORK -- Danny Goldberg, a longtime music industry executive, took over as chief executive of Air America Radio on Thursday in the latest sign that the liberal talk radio network is gaining its footing after a rocky start. Goldberg, whose New York-based record label Artemis represents artists including Steve Earle and the late Warren Zevon, took over from acting CEO Doug Kreeger, who stepped aside in December but remains an advisor and board member for the company.