OPINION & EDITORIAL
Progressive talk radio deserves better
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Also by Charles Parsons:
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by Charles Parsons
Friday, September 9, 2005
When Air America started broadcasting, it was heralded as a much-needed response to the unintelligible drivel being spewed from right-wing talk-radio hosts like convicted Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy and former Iran-Contra intermediary Oliver North. Liberal talk radio, it was promised, would bring reasoned discussion to the airwaves, absent of hyperbole and open to the free exchange of ideas.
Just over a year later, it seems the promise of reasoned debate has been routed by the hordes of angry liberal ideologues. Instead of an exchange of ideas, these ideologues tend toward the rhetorical, swatting at conservative arguments as if they were flies buzzing but never making a point.
Madison's own Air America affiliate, The Mic 92.1 FM, showcases the interesting paradox that is liberal talk radio. On the one hand are Al Franken and Ed Schultz, who have no problems admitting legitimate sources of disagreement between liberals and conservatives. They will look at the whole of an issue while bringing the listener slowly toward their own viewpoint, even if they admit its weaknesses or sources of disagreement.
Then there are hosts like Randi Rhodes and Stephanie Miller.
Mesdames Rhodes and Miller epitomize the problem with the vast majority of liberal talk-radio hosts. Like the first little pig, they build their arguments out of straw, piling hyperbole on top of witticism, only to find their house crash in at the breath of logic.
What is the necessity to reference the "Bush crime family" every five minutes? While it may seem amusing, it invariably alienates those who may be on the fence, while galvanizing those on the right. Supporters of such rhetoric argue that fiery language will excite the base, yet when the base claims to be intelligent and rational, how can such language help?
The truth is that hosts like Mesdames Rhodes and Miller have no interest in truth — at least not truth in the strictest sense of the word. They are interested only in being right. In an almost stereotypical fashion, they cannot understand those who may disagree with them and in turn lash out, barely hiding their contempt of even the most thoughtful on the right side of the aisle.
Yet in acting out, they damage their own cause and benefit their detractors. The hypocrisy of claiming that the right is full of hate, that it only wants to be morally superior and wants to impose its views on the whole of America while simultaneously attacking conservative callers for expressing their view is obvious enough to make it onto G.O.P. direct mailings. The arrogance of claiming that the right doesn't value anything but Judeo-Christian teachings while viciously attacking anyone suspected of the horrible crime of "religion" is horribly apparent.
That liberal talk-show hosts like Mesdames Rhodes and Miller and others can't see that they have become exactly what Air America was founded to combat is comic. That there are those who argue that a "progressive Rush Limbaugh" is exactly what the left needs is tragic.
It is legitimate to be angry at the Bush administration and the Republican Party. It is valid to feel that we are being lied to, that our future is being sold up the river and that the federal government has been largely indifferent to domestic problems. It is even perfectly reasonable to be angry and emotional when considering the last five years.
The mission of Air America and like-minded talk stations has been to provide a viable venue to discuss progressive views and debate issues. It was never supposed to be the liberal cousin of Rush Limbaugh.
Being progressive means looking forward. It means keeping an open mind and addressing each issue with intellect and understanding. While stations like The Mic 92.1 FM may claim otherwise, Ms. Rhodes and Ms. Miller are anything but progressive. They are simply liberal reactionaries, looking at the past with venom in the voice.
Madison deserves better. The progressives and liberals of the United States deserve better. Our ideas deserve better.
Charles Parsons (cparsons@badgerherald.com) is the editorial page editor and a senior majoring in literature.
Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 1:29am):
Apparently listeners agree: the Mic fell from around a 4 to around a 1 in market share in just a few months.
Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 6:26am):
Nobody wants to listen to commercial liberal talk radio for two reasons:
1. They're not entertaining.
2. There's already other plenty of other liberal media outlets, such as virtually every newspaper, CNN, cB.S. News and the other networks, and public radio. It's basic economics- there's simply too much existing supply and not enough extra demand for another liberal media outlet.
Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 8:45am):
Good article Charles... I'm an Independent, middle of the road kind of guy. Air America is an "entertainment" show rather than news. Agree with your assessment of the show's personalities... calling people "Zombies" that don't agree with you...tsk..tsk... you just lost my vote.
Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 9:44am):
OK you are a bit off, "The Bush crime family" being spouted every 5 minutes comes from Mike Malloy's evening show and not from Miller or Rhodes. That man is a raving lunatic.
Stephanie Miller is not technically part of Air America. She is syndicated and the local Madison Air America affiliate chose to pick up her show.
Miller's show mainly uses humor. They use clips from the likes of O'Reilly, Limbaugh and Hannity to show how they lie and twist the truth. So I guess in that respect, yeah, she does want to be right. But come on, the hypocrisy from those right wingnuts is pretty funny, albeit sad, and her show's humor is a good thing to wake up to each morning. Have you actually listened to it??
As for Randi Rhodes, she does fall into the area of your complaints. She's shrill and too bitter for my tastes.
The Mic may not be perfectly fine-tuned but it still has a pretty solid line up....and thankfully none of the awful local hosts that WTDY and WIBA use.
Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 11:49am):
Having someone like Franken who does look at the issue as a whole and looks at things in a logical manner is one more person than the conservative stations have looking at manners in such a way. Unfortunately for talk radio to work you need to have a pomopous ideological jerk to draw the crowds. If they seriously want to draw some of the market that conservative radio draws then these are the unfortunate neccessities. When neo con radio started nobody thought it would work because it was so angry and illogical. Well its taken over the radio so if it takes yelling and screaming to draw the average american person then bring it on.
Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 2:01pm):
Chris, I agree...to a point. NPR (and state affliates like WPR and MPR) is designed to have calm, rational and factual discussions of current events and politics...air america wasn't designed to be anything more than the same breathless, over the top hyperbole as traditional talk radio, except from the left's point of view. The are less intellectual combatants then they are counterparts.
Anonymous (September 10, 2005 @ 3:59am):
The "Bush crime family" phrase started with Mike Malloy, but has since infected other shows as well, including both Miller and Rhodes. Of course, Malloy is in the same category.
Anonymous (September 10, 2005 @ 8:17am):
Two nice things about obnoxious radio personalities:
1. Just like TV, you can always change to another station
2. You don't have to look at their ugly faces
RADIO KILLED THE VIDEO STAR, NOT VICE VERSA!!!!
Anonymous (September 10, 2005 @ 9:55am):
Do you think Air America will ever pay for stealing money from the poor little kids?
Anonymous (September 25, 2005 @ 5:35pm):
You made an argument without pointing out any specific evidence, just generalizations. It would be more credible if you had some specific evidence to why al franken and ed shultz are better than randi rhodes and stephanie miller, or why the latter two are worse.
