LIBERAL TALK RADIO AND TV?

Al Franken talked about progressive talk radio at his book tour forum a few weeks ago. It's been bandied about that he would be hosting such a show soon, and he pretty much confirmed that.

Here's excerpts from an article on the subject, with a link to the whole article:

Are the U.S. Airwaves About to Lean to the Left?
By Simon Houpt, The Globe and Mail, Saturday 25 October 2003
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/102703J.shtml


Al Gore is reported to be exploring a purchase of Newsworld International, a U.S. cable channel formerly owned by CBC that currently airs news from Germany, the U.K., and Japan, along with CBC programs such as Hot Type and The National. During the Iraq war, many Americans turned to NWI, as it is known, for an alternative to the resolutely pro-American narrative followed by even the most skeptical U.S. broadcast networks.

Gore may be planning to offer an even stronger alternative. With Democratic fundraisers, he is exploring the possibility of purchasing NWI from Vivendi Universal SA, which just completed an agreement to merge with NBC and is looking to unload the channel. Although his partner in the venture, Joel Hyatt, refused comment on the matter, they are reported to be considering transforming the channel into either a left-wing alternative to FNC or a youth-oriented MTV-style news outlet that can tap into the inchoate liberal leanings of a large bloc of potential voters who don't usually go to the polls.

The television channel is only one element that could help shift the U.S. media landscape again.


Sheldon Drobny, a Chicago venture capitalist who calls the Clintons and Gores personal friends, says he will launch a liberal talk-radio network in January, in time to gain enough traction to affect next year's presidential election.

Stand-alone progressive talk-radio shows were attempted in the past but failed to catch fire like those hosted by right-wing firebrands Rush Limbaugh, G. Gordon Liddy and Oliver North, partly because they were out of place on stations dedicated to the conservative point of view.

Some industry analysts believe talk radio's belligerent spirit, like cable television news, simply isn't suited for a left-wing slant. Liberals are perceived to be too diverse of mind and not as passionately dogged as the more unified conservative audience. (Rush Limbaugh's listeners are known as "dittoheads" for their propensity to reflexively agree with the host.) But Drobny is convinced those assumptions are wrong. He's bet $10-million on proving that progressive talk radio can flourish.

Drobny isn't the only one who believes there's money to be made on the left. The media conglomerate Clear Channel Communications, which supported the Iraq war and is close with the Bush administration, is considering a launch of its own liberal talk network on some of its 1,200 radio stations across the U.S. Even Fox is now syndicating Alan Colmes, the mildly liberal co-host of the shoutfest Hannity & Colmes, to talk-radio stations.

He says his network will program 14 to 16 hours of talk a day, including three hours hosted by comedian-cum-political gadfly Al Franken, who incurred the wrath of FNC executives last summer when he attacked some of the channel's high-profile talent in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.