Why is Al so dismissive of Katherine? It's rude. Is he topdogging her?

[omega minimo]

:smoke:

[don954]

1. Ive been finding him annoying lately, very board with him

possibly they need some fresh talent?

[ken_g]

2. Isn't tomorrow her last day? I don't think they get along anymore.

[NYCGirl]

4. Oct 7th is her last day. And if you saw the show on Sundance when

they announced she was leaving to write a book, you could see just how proud of her Al was. He was beaming.

[boardwalk]

7. Ya, I bet she was thinking about that soft PBS job she left 18 months ago

to work with her "buddy" Al.

I got the impression from almost day one that the job was not as was described to her when she agreed to do it.

[NYCGirl]

10. But you can see from the book deal that this move has been great for her.

[boardwalk]

12. A book deal on moving to New York from the Midwest?

That ought to tell a dozen copies or so. No, she is not leaving because she got a book deal. She has been looking to leave for a year or more now; even possibly a hosting spot back in the midwest.

AAR Minnesota was talking to her to replace Nick Coleman.

[NYCGirl]

16. Whether it sells 4 copies or 400,000, a book deal with a new imprint at

Time Warner is a VERY BIG DEAL.

Edited to add: It was offered to her from a piece she wrote in the New York Times.

[myrna minx]

20. She had a call in show on Minnesota Public Radio

that gave her the room to explore all facets of life from politics, arts, literature, science and cooking etc. . She also hosted a book club program called "talking volumes" that you could tell she throughly enjoyed. I think she misses how much room she had to explore what was going on in the world. I think she feels a little stifled being confined to politics alone. Just my 2 cents.

[newyawker99]

28. Hi boardwalk!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[omega minimo]

22. Good for him, too

:hug:

[LoZoccolo]

3. Does she still say to "scoot it along" or whatever?

You know, to callers who aren't getting to the point fast enough for her? I have only listened maybe two or three times way in the beginning, and found that annoying.

[boardwalk]

11. That is her job.

She was hired to keep the show moving because they feared Al and the guests would ramble on and that does not work on talk radio. If you get the wrong person on you need somebody to realize this is not working and to get the guy back on track.

[boardwalk]

5. Katherine quit Air America Radio and is leaving in just two weeks

http://shows.airamericaradio.com/alfrankenshow/

Katherine Lanpher's Departure
It is with great regret that we write to let you know that Katherine Lanpher will be leaving "The Al Franken Show." Katherine has received a book deal from a new imprint at Time Warner to write a memoir of her move to New York.

While we will miss Katherine every time Al fumbles an interview, mangles an introduction, or has to go to the bathroom in the middle of a segment, in other words, all the time, we are thrilled that she has this opportunity to use the talent that has sustained us at "The Al Franken Show" in a new and rewarding way.

Her deadline in mid-January is unusually aggressive and necessitates an almost immediate departure so that she can begin procrastinating in earnest. Katherine has been very generous in agreeing to work for another two weeks while we prepare as best we can for our Post-Katherine Era.

Her last broadcast as co-host will be on Friday, Oct. 7th. Her first broadcast as best-selling author should take place sometime next spring.

The Staff of The Al Franken Show

[NYCGirl]

8. That is so sweet. NT

[omega minimo]

18. Good for her. She is very gracious despite his ham-handedness

:applause: :toast:

[Rosco T.]

24. "Her first broadcast as best-selling author ..."

does this imply she may return after the book is done???

[NYCGirl]

25. Sure sounds like it, Rosco. NT

[realFedUp]

29. why is she really leaving?

He's going to need someone just like her to
keep him on track.

Maybe Stephanie Miller would help him out...
at least we wouldn't fall asleep.

[Connie_Corleone]

6. I stopped listening to him because he was annoying.

He rambles too much for me, and interrupts his guests too much to tell some stupid joke or story.

On edit: WHOOPS! Spelled guests wrong.

[driver8]

9. I agree. I don't like his show at all. I also hate when he says, "Hour

two of the Al Franken show starts...NOW."

That annoys the shit out of me.

It is too bad he is so annoying because he is very smart.

[Sugarcoated]

21. I love Al and dislike Katherine's style

He's improved alot over the past year. Katherine just asks moot questions sometimes, SHE'S the one that annoys me. I love Al's humor (most of the time). That's why God/the universe made chocolate and vanilla.

[sniffa]

13. he's topping from the bottom

[LisaM]

14. I liked his show when they had it on in the morning here (Seattle)

but they moved it to 3:00 p.m. (bumping Randi till later) and it's a horrible fit for that time of day, not to mention the 6 hour delay. So I switch to NPR at that point. There's been too much breaking news to brook a 6 hour time difference that time of day.

[onehandle]

15. Franken has the highest ratings.

As this thread becomes a bash Al thread, remember that AAR would not have survived its first year without him.

I love Al. I love Malloy. I love Randi. But if the network was Malloy-ish or Randi-ish all day long as many of you would prefer, it wouldn't exist.

[Connie_Corleone]

19. You're making assumptions about what we prefer.

None of us mentioned having the network Malloy-ish or Randi-ish.

[onehandle]

23. In my experience here, that is often the the case.

Al and/or Katherine bashers often prefer the bloodletting of some of the other shows.

[omega minimo]

26. Al can handle it

If we are out of line, his enormous ego will shield him

:evilgrin:

[no name no slogan]

17. No, Katherine is an annoying asshelmet

At least she's not on MPR anymore.

[Lex]

27. Who's replacing Katherine? I always liked her & found her professional

and sometimes very funny.

She was a good person to have in place for Al when he was first starting out.

Is there a replacement in line for her? Al needs a side-kick, imho.