Making a Left at the Mike

New Radio Network To Take Liberal Leap

By Howard Kurtz

NEW YORK -- With her slipper-clad feet on the chair and her knees pressed up against her chest, Lizz Winstead is performing for an imaginary microphone.

"Dick Cheney is a man of the people -- the people who run the energy industries," she says.

"The administration is pushing a 'No Medic Alert' bracelet for some people. If they don't have health insurance, you'll know not to help them."

In 10 days, the co-creator of "The Daily Show" will be doing her shtick for a real audience. And her success in devising an entertaining but nakedly liberal program will help determine whether the country's newest radio network achieves liftoff or implodes on the launch pad.

Even with such celebrity hosts as Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, Air America Network faces daunting odds: a vast talk radio empire in which millions of conservative listeners are passionately loyal to the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Is there really a market for say-it-loud, say-it-proud liberal radio? Are there enough Bush-bashing, Cheney-chiding, Fox-hating lefties out there -- or at least folks willing to laugh along with left-wing humorists -- to support Winstead and her compatriots?

(snip)

Limbaugh, she allows, "is highly entertaining. He has emotion, highs, lows, passion. But so did Hitler."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11079-2004Mar20.html

enough Bush-bashing, Cheney-chiding, Fox-hating lefties to make liberal radio a success. It's been so long since there was something on the radio of interest to me other than the traffic reports.

I don't care what the products are -- denture cream, herpes ointment, Enzyte, Yanni CDs, pre-need funeral arrangements -- I'm going to support their sponsors. But I hope they've got some cool sponsors lined up. I really don't want to have to go to Duane Reade and buy Enzyte. At least the denture cream I figure I can use as a grout substitute.

Damn, I wished they'd have moved up their premiere. I really wanted to hear Randi go on a rant, replay clips, bitch-slap the wingnut callers, etc.

Maybe she or Franken or one of them can get Clarke on as a guess. I have a feeling he's not going to back-down. I think Paul O' Neill did back down a bit when the Rove machine threatened him after 60 Minutes.

all i ask is that they remember to advertise a lot and give plenty of warning to listeners of when is their opening hours. also that they don't shift schedule times all over the place getting people lost, like they do so often with TV programs that are suddenly becoming popular.

because there's still those of us who are not (and some do not want to) sign up with the NY Times, Washington Post, et al. can we have someone post the dates/times/locations of this and other upcoming left-talk shows? we wanna be kept in the loop too. :)