Free Republic

Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer found that on his Sunday public-radio show with socialist professor Cornel West, PBS host Tavis Smiley thumped Obama chief of staff Valerie Jarrett for an apparently rude speech at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in New Orleans on  June 23. She came to describe Obama's "genuine love for black people," which Smiley thought was ridiculous since Obama did not show up. Several NABJ vets did complain to blogger Richard Prince about Jarrett reading a list of Obama accomplishments: "Why not just send a [campaign] video?" one said. "That was out of line," said...

Laura Ingraham's Radio Absence Creates Speculation After an unexplained radio absence and a cryptic message from one of her producers, speculation is building that syndicated radio talker Laura Ingraham may have at least temporarily stepped away from her program. It has been carried on hundreds of stations across the country. Worried listeners have already begun to email your Radio Equalizer, while attempts to confirm her possible departure from the Talk Radio Network- distributed show are met with a peculiar silence. Will Laura return at some point, or has she already moved on? When yours truly contacted a number of people...

Regardless of how one might feel about Savage, that's a terrific talk radio topic: should a career politician's past sins be cleansed because of a cancer diagnosis? Kennedy killed a young woman with his car. Has that now been erased from history? Certainly, tactful boundaries ought to exist when it comes to discussion of a US Senator with cancer. Between the mainstream media lionization of Kennedy and talk radio's new fear of even mentioning his name, however, Savage's points deserve urgent public attention.

For several days, your Radio Equalizer has been intrigued by a conversation that took place between Bill O'Reilly and syndicated radio talker Laura Ingraham on July 18th's O'Reilly Factor. When asked whether so- called "smear websites" serve to intimidate the opposition by bullying them right off the 'net, Ingraham took issue with O'Reilly, maintaining that a strong backbone is needed to enter the political fray. Today, however, a redesigned hate site truly seems to bolster O'Reilly's case. More on that in a moment.

*** Exclusive To The Radio Equalizer *** Has Janeane Garofalo's liberal talk show been declared FUBAR by Air America Radio? With one source indicating (via hard copy information) that it may leave the airwaves as soon as tonight, it appears very likely that the self- loathing and acerbic talker / actress / Hollywood political hothead may already have done her last show.

*** 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...

For talk radio hosts seeking fresh fodder, it was just what the doctor ordered: yet another flap involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), son of the notorious Teddy (D-Chappaquidick). Call it talk's instant battery recharge. How could anyone resist this one? Late Thursday, news spread like wildfire that Rep. Kennedy had been involved in his second car accident in just the past two weeks, this time at 3am, near the Capitol. Unlike his father's infamous 1969 wreck, there were no fatalities this time. One striking similarity, however: in all three crashes, based on available details, favoritism allegations seem to have substantial...

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...

.....Will Air America's chicanery pay off?--------------------------------------------------------Posted: February 17, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Is it a dirty scam to elect Democrats to office using inappropriate means, or an innocent effort to discuss progressive viewpoints over the radio? You be the judge. Featured on the website for the liberal radio network Air America Radio is an effort called "Fighting Dems" that targets Republican candidates for office. The idea of openly campaigning for Democrats is the raison d'etre of Air America Radio, which on a daily basis carries the water of Democrat politicians and liberal political causes alike. What really...

All Access confirms Malloy will not be getting cleared in New York but not because of ABC's "The Satellite Sisters." Inner City Broadcasting, owner of WLIB, is reclaiming Malloy's hours and will be broadcasting Caribbean music. WLIB had a full-time Caribbean format (with somewhat better numbers)prior to AAR's launch and has continued to broadcast Caribbean programming during the overnight hours (AAR has leased the station from 5 am to 12 midnight). The third hour of Mallow's show has never been cleared in New York. So, far the Satellite Sisters weekday show airs only on XM Radio (12 pm to 3...

Until yesterday, US Senate confirmation hearings for Sam Alito's Supreme Court nomination didn't appear to be providing talk radio with an especially compelling topic, aside from the occasional sound bite of Sen. Ted Kennedy's jerky antics. Clearly, public interest lies somewhere between previous grillings of John Roberts (boring) and Clarence Thomas (edge of your seat excitement). Wednesday, however, as tears emerged from an overwhelmed Mrs. Alito, everything changed. Suddenly, Democrats who had clearly overplayed a very weak hand against the judge were exposed as mere garden-variety bullies. Now, thanks to Teddy and his desperate friends, talk radio and the blogosphere...

For Seattle's Mike Webb, calling for President Bush's "execution" had no effect on his position. In fact, his show was subsequently expanded by an hour. Nor did his on-air hope that Ronald Reagan had "really suffered" before his death make any difference. While it's hard to imagine conservatives getting away with similar rhetoric, somehow one of America's most extreme, hate-filled radio programs managed to remain on a major radio station in Seattle for years, despite marginal ratings performance. To find something similar on the extreme right, one would have to look to shortwave radio broadcasts. Mike Webb was to the...

(Severino Press Release Omits Controversies) With newly syndicated "libertarian/libertine" (read: anti-Bush quasi-liberal) host Jay Severin (real name: Jimmy Severino) still leading the pack, many controversies emanate from just a small number of questionable personalities. Even after exposes by the Boston-area news media on Sag Harbor, New York-based Severin's wild claims of winning a Pulitzer Prize for "online journalism" and other highly questionable assertions, CBS still went ahead with plans to take him national. What does that say about how very little has changed at the network since Rathergate? Teaming up with sister firm Westwood One, a highly misleading press release...

Despite new management assertions to the contrary, two KVI/Seattle talk show hosts believe a July court ruling now prevents them from discussing a key November statewide ballot initiative on the airwaves. In a stunning decision, a Thurston County, Washington judge forced organizers of Initiative 912 to report, as in-kind campaign contributions, favorable comments made by KVI hosts Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson. Backers of I-912, which seeks to repeal a statewide gas tax hike, were required to place a dollar value on talk radio's supportive statements....(snip) ....Despite the August sackings of its key participants, one of sports talk's most peculiar...

INSIDE AIR AMERICA: AL FRANKEN'S LYING LIES By Michelle Malkin   ·   September 07, 2005 02:22 AM Inside Air America: Al Franken's Lying Lies Part of an ongoing investigative blog series by Brian Maloney and Michelle Malkin Sept. 7, 2005 (Part II of this installment is at The Radio Equalizer) *** Take a close look at this signature. It belongs to Air America host and crusader for truth Al Franken. It is contained in a legal document we have obtained that exposes the Grand Canyon-sized chasm between what Al Franken says and what Al Franken does. On July 27, our blogs...

(Catch me Sunday, 9pm EDT on WRKO/Boston's "Pundit Review". Go to WRKO for streaming.) When it comes to fighting for "social justice", liberals sure can be selective. Take this interview with Al Franken in the new issue of The Progressive, "a leading voice for peace and social justice since 1909". Air America scandal, what's that? Every question is served Larry King-softball style. Maybe Franken really is a funny guy after all, claiming here he's actually not especially liberal! With unpleasant realities like $875,000 in taxpayer funds intended for an inner-city community center allegedly diverted to Air America Radio, The Progressive...

By Michelle Malkin · August 18, 2005 02:48 PM Part II is up at The Radio Equalizer. Brian Maloney and I take a close look at the financial plans of Sheldon and Anita Drobny, the deep-pocketed, far left Illinois Democrat couple who dreamed up Air America and have been involved in its many strange and dubious business reorganizations. The key questions that curious radio industry veterans, financial observers, skeptical investors, and business reporters should be asking Air America: What is Nova M? And why now?

On July 21, 2005, a standing room-only crowd of Democrats filled a Highland Park, Illinois, public library conference room to hear two local businesspeople talk about their company and its future plans. The attraction? These weren't your everyday corporate suits: it featured Sheldon and Anita Drobny, who last year put Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo on their upstart liberal Air America talk radio network. Hearing about their "success" was surely appealing. To Democrat activists, these were bona fide celebrities. Sheldon, a Venture Capitalist, CPA and former IRS agent, spoke first, according to the 10th District Democrats Newsletter:

KSFO/San Francisco talk host Melanie Morgan's group Move America Forward is organizing a counterevent, to take on Cindy Sheehan's Crawford circus, that has Rhodes so excited: Next week Move America Forward will be leading a caravan to Crawford, Texas - to present an alternative voice to that of Cindy Sheehan, who has become the heroine of the "Blame America First" crowd. The Move America Forward's caravan (the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour) will consist of family members who have loved ones fighting in the war against terrorism - stationed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The truth is that...