Letter to Laura Flanders Air America...

Hi there Laura Flanders. Please listen to this constructive criticism....

Quit saying "mmmmmmmm" when a guest says something. It means nothing. Its very very annoying. Its most annoying when a guest is talking about war atrocities and you say 'mmmmmm', instead of "That is a horror. or some RELEVANT comment. It make you sound either aloof or not aware of the gravity of what was just said.

Secondly... My god shut up. You talk all over the guest. Put words in their mouths and talk all over an issue so the listener has no clue where -you- actually stand. The idea is to expose the guest and support him or her....(or argue with if appropriate) Quit being so blase!!

Its all so BBC and NPR! We want PARTISAN DEMOCRAT VIEWPOINT!!! You never, ever do more than obliquely hint you are a Democrat or liberal for that matter. (even tho I know you are) Quit pretending to be a journalist! If we wanted tit for tat we would tune in the BBC or NPR!

You are getting better but need to work on your radio skills regarding this format.

Your accent makes us think you are not an American. That you have no stake in what is going on here. You! need to expose your own point of view and stop being such a moderator! BECOME MORE RABID! Remind the listener WHY we listen to Air America!

Your fan,

You may have a point.

I will relay this message to her via telepathy.

Hi again Laura Flanders,

I posted my prior letter on DemocraticUnderground.com and one person thought I was a little tough on you and I was, so I wanted to try to give you some more positive type criticism.

You really shine when you let your formality down and let your hair down, like you are doing right now with this singer guest....

If you could show us your true thoughts and emotions I think the show would improve.

I guess the whole "mmmmmmmm" thing is just something I thought you might like to be more aware of.

:thumbsup:

that's what I heard a socialist v.p. nominee keep saying on alan colmes radio show last night.

That woman could not give an answer that was good or coherent to save her life. She keep babbling on about pointless and meaningless crap.

"Quit saying 'mmmmmmmm' when a guest says something. It means nothing. Its very very annoying."

"My god shut up."

"Quit pretending to be a journalist!"

"Your accent makes us think you are not an American."

If I were the recipient of such an e-mail, I'd take it as a personal insult.

sorry everyone is a critic.. I'm a tough one

She brings nothing to the table.

Laura Flanders is an experienced radio and print journalist with more professionalism in her thumbnail than any of Air America's johnny-come-latelies have in their whole bodies.

The woman hosts an informative and thought-provoking show. If all you want is entertainment, go to the fucking movies! :grr:

She gets great guests, topics and poops all over them. I'm sorry I find her lacking....I think she's getting better. I like the rest of the lineup.

one show I suffered through she had two seperate callers "debate" each other... but neither caller could hear what the other person was saying. IT WAS TERRIBLE! Even after it was obvious her idea sucked she kept it up.

Anpother time she had Ellsburg on EVERY time she introduced him on air... she spent maybe THREE MINUTES telling us his life story. And then asked crappy questions and got next to no information out of him.

She is incompetent.

Incompetent is a tough word. Do I think 10,000 people would die to have a show on Air America? YES.... Of those 10,000, at least 4,000 would be better than Laura Flanders.


Its no accident that throughout American Broadcast history, people with Midwestern accents have dominated radio and TV. Its an accent that sounds neutral and is not "loaded". Because of TV and alot of things, people associate a personality with certain accent. Unless the accent works with the format (like Randi Rhodes)it can be a distraction.

when the ?W Revue was featured on her show. gave everyone plenty of time to talk. never tried to dominate the conversation. I thought that she and her team were totally professional.

her show is NOT about being RABID. 24/7 of RABID is a losing strategy. hook them with whatever hooks them and give them a rich, varied line-up.

does ANYONE totally LOVE everything on AAR? doubt it.

Randi Rhodes, Mike Malloy, Katherine Lanpher, and Laura Flanders. They all provide a nice balance to the amateurish on-air work of the actors, comics and musicians who inexplicably comprise the majority of that network's announcing staff.

With all the talented professionals who've lost their on-air jobs due to deregulation and consolidation (Thanks, Clinton!), I find it hard to believe that Air America couldn't have found and recruited a lot more hosts who understand what works and what doesn't when you're in front of a live microphone. But I guess celebrity status is far more important than having a fuckin' clue.

Hi again Laura Flanders,

I posted my prior letter on DemocraticUnderground.com and one person thought I was a little tough on you and I was, so I wanted to try to give you some more positive type criticism.

You really shine when you let your formality down and let your hair down, like you are doing right now with this singer guest....

If you could show us your true thoughts and emotions I think the show would improve.

I guess the whole "mmmmmmmm" thing is just something I thought you might like to be more aware of.

I wish the uppity stars would take a few lessons from the folks who actually know what they are doing. I like them all, but, folks, you're NOT on camera. This is a whole different ballgame.

never noticed the mmmmmmmmmmm's. I get tired of everybody screaming at each other all the time. She's quiet and polite. I like it and her.

That show where she had people talking to one another via the phone was hindered by the bad telephone setup......not because of her. She's done it since then and it really is enjoyable. Really.

the singer and broadcaster Michael Flanders, and her mother had an American mother and British father (the journalist Claud Cockburn - she is related to the journalist brothers Patrick, Andrew and Alexander Cockburn).

So it's not surprising she doesn't sound American - it's possible she's not, as far as nationality goes. Her sister Stephanie works for the BBC (she used to work in the Clinton Administration, and then for the New York Times); you can hear her accent on this report. I'd call it British, with a hint of transatlantic.

whatever