Al Franken Sees Liberal Radio As Soon As March (Yeah!)

[KittyWampus]

Franken Sees Liberal Radio In Spring

A nationwide all-liberal radio network where Al Franken would host a three-hour daily gabfest could hit airwaves as early as March, the author and comedian said yesterday.

Franken.. . said he's been in talks with a group of venture capitalists for several months. Their plan for the network is "pretty far along," ....

"We're playing around with names, but we won't make the announcement until it's the right time," he said. "We want it to be as big as 'We captured Saddam.'"

Franken would not reveal what other talent was associated with the project. He is not yet under contract to host a show.

But he said the time was right for an effort that analyzes daily news events with a strong liberal bias, because there is no strong counterpart to the nationally telecast opinions of commentators such as Rush Limbaugh.

"And if I do this radio show, I'm going to try to do it drug-free," he added, taking a crack at the Florida-based talker, who recently spent time in rehab being treated for an addiction to painkillers.

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/ny-etal3585716dec16,0,1153274.story?coll=ny-news-print

[Eric J in MN]

1. the start date is always three months away

First they said January, then February, now March.

[Sugarbleus]

2. DITTO yeah!

I just hope they put on professional talkshow personalities and not just joke around.
It takes a lot of hard work and tolerance to do a daily gig like talk radio. I want it to SUCCEED. Can't wait but I hope my area will be able to pick it up. All I can get is KGO SF (which has it's own liberal personalities) and a local conservative radio. <----GAK!

[MattNC]

3. i really hope

that they pick up Thom Hartmann. Although his focus on substance rather than rhetoric may turn some people off.

[Myra]

4. Oh! Mike Webb!

I highly recommend him, though I'd still want to keep
him on Seattle radio.

[militarymanusaf]

5. This sounds great!

I just hope that AFN broadcasts it to fellow military personnel overseas. They already broadcast Maharushie and O'Lielly (got the O'Lielly part from Al Franken's latest book).

[PSR40004]

6. This will be fun

I will be neat to hear Al everyday and I bet he can give rush a run for his money....

[Kamika]

7. man I hope EVERYONE will listen

Would hateit if they had low ratings, the republicans would never stop mention it

[NewJeffCT]

8. Colin McEnroe

They will pick up Colin McEnroe from Hartford - he's smart, funny and fairly liberal. A beacon of light in the dark wilderness of conservative radio.

We need people that can inform & entertain to get ratings.

As much as we hate Rush, he is a good showman for his audience.

[LuminousX]

9. Please, please have a show where the commentator reads

the most vile posts of Free Republic, whether or not they represent the zeitgeist of the board at the time.

[benburch]

10. Help ensure a real Liberal is on it!

Sign the petition!

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?xc1968u

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. I'd like to see Mike Malloy and Peter Werbe

added to the lineup.

[benburch]

17. Then Sign the Petition!

(Referenced above!)

[nhtfopo]

12. Just a question

Why do we need to buy a liberal station to do this? There are already liberal hosts where I live and they have worked hard to get their shows on multiple stations. If the hosts on this new network were going to be any good, they wouldn't need to buy a station to put their show on the air. They would get on stations because they can get ratings without owning the station. This just smells of disaster to me.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. ??

The hosts we are talking about are already on local stations. We just want to give folks across the country a chance at hearing them. And no, it's not particularly easy in this conservative climate where radio is concerned, esp in light of the fact that the bulk of radio is owned by only a couple of companies.

[nhtfopo]

18. Of course it's not easy.

Business isn't easy, especially anything where you're trying to sell advertising. Believe me, if we had someone who would be listened to with the loyalty of Rush they would be on all over the country. Station heads care ALOT more about advertising money than they do about partisan politics.

[YNGW]

13. Whoever the host is.....

...... they better be able to sell advertising or the whole things gonna sink like a rock.

[Killarney]

15. YES! I would love this! n/t

[KittyWampus]

16. Mid Morning Kick Cause This Radio Station Will KICK ASS

:kick:

[Qutzupalotl]

19. & one more kick

cuz i missed it the first time ;)

[matt53]

20. Why are our spokespeople all comedians?

What's up with comedians being the mouthpiece of the democratic party lately? i.e. Al Franken and Michael Moore (although he's getting more serious). Why can't any serious and respectable dems write popular books?

As great as the titles "Dude, Where's my country" and "Lies and Lying Liars" are, it kind of pegs democrats as members of the short-attention-span culture that need comedy in order to pay any attention to politics.

Political humor is great, don't get me wrong, but its not supposed a source of information. How did we let this happen?

[Lefty59]

21. Liberal Radio

Unfortunately, I do not believe that liberal radio will sell in the market place. Businesses will shy away from sponsoring shows on which they may be battered and taken to task.