Did Lizz Winstead get fired from Air America last night???

I found this on Google groups:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/blue-states/browse_thread/thread/41dc6ca9c6ccea68/5ae110b149833b29?q=%22randi+rhodes%22&_done=%2Fgroups%3Fq%3D%22randi+rhodes%22%26start%3D0%26scoring%3Dd%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26&_doneTitle=Back+to+Search&&d#5ae110b149833b29



# Strange News from Air America Radio
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Milton Brewster Mar 3, 9:07 am show options

From: "Milton Brewster" <mil...@sonic.net> - Find messages by this author
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005 09:07:51 -0800
Local: Thurs, Mar 3 2005 9:07 am
Subject: # Strange News from Air America Radio
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Last night, Lizz Winstadt was apparently fired from "Unfiltered,"
the AAR morning show that only a few stations carry. This is very
abrupt.


More rumors swirl -- Janeane Garafolo is on the edge (she's been
very stressed lately anyway), and hosts Jerry Springer and Stephanie
Swift (?) are rumored to be coming on board. ... and Randi Rhodes
might be cut back to three hours -- the single worst decision that
AAR has made all year, if true.


If any of these rumors are true, then I am profoundly unimpressed
with the new CEO, who seems to be embodying all the worst that the
record industry has to offer us, and none of the best. I am
definitely in Lizz Winstadt's camp. Lizz was chief writer on "the
Daily Show" before coming to AAR.


I have been listening to AAR less and less lately. Al Franken almost
lost me over his ho-hum reaction to the election debacle. I never
was a big fan of "Majority Report." Randi kept me tuned in, though,
and I happen to like the Marks Maron and Reilly in the morning.

puleeeeeeze? Gossip? :shrug:

carry AAR. I forget now what they put instead of Unfiltered, but that is what the article means by "only a few stations".

Actually, I wish they would keep what they have and add original programming 24/7, no "best of" or repeats, except for major holidays like Xmas and T-giving.

She's a (rather cute) porn star!



This person means Stephanie Miller.

We've got the WAVE OF THE FUTURE! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

but I also like Bernie Ward. I wish he could come on AAR. Even if it's just on a weekend day like with Laura Flanders (I like her really well too).

i virtually cold turkey'd franken after the election. he just didnt seem to get it.

ive been listening less and less to our local aar.

our local affiliate is a clear channel station and they screw up the lineup anyway. randi is not live, they carry ed shultz and now springer and i dont care for either.

i like the marks a lot. im a huge fan of mike malloy. i liked unfiltered and it was drive time but now its springer uggghhhh. when the marks are off i listen to my ipod or local sports.

We don't get Unfiltered, Majority Report, or Malloy on our new local station in Reno. When Lizz was on, those were my three favorite shows, and theoretically still are. Schultz isn't something I like, but I can see how they might think he will play better in middle America. There is no logic at all in even associating with Springer. Just stupid. The Marks are on just way too early for me to ever catch. I am pretty sure they are on the local station. Lionel is also on our local station. I like him, but he was on weekends on another station, so I think this means he will be pulled from that one, and it also means we get him instead of Sam Seider.

I agree I don't like that Al keeps trying to play too hard center, being friendly with some Republicans, ignoring election problems, and being pro-Lieberman.

And honestly, I can see him reaching a lot of... how should I put this politely?... Um... "Denizens of mobile housing who enjoy engaging in relations with their relations." In other words, I think Republicans would tune in to his show.

and I mentioned this some time ago on DU I felt Unfiltered would go under based on discrimination. Unfiltered has not been heard on Air America here in Phoenix for several months. I'm sorry if you don't like what I have to say, but I think Dems are trying to distance themselves from our gay population. Unfair? Yes. The Dems want the red states and they will kick anyone in the butt to gain an audience. I'm upset, but saw this coming.

Rachel is still on the air(on the official AAR feed). I'm assuming that Unfiltered is going to get the axe for something else though, and there will probably be some kind of shake-up.

Please don't let it be Springer.

No bio on Lizz. No mention of her name either.

http://www.airamericaradio.com/shows/unfiltered/bio.asp

"Last night, Lizz Winstadt was apparently fired from "Unfiltered," "

Na-na na-na-na na na na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye
Hey hey-hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye

:)

Yes. Fire the Gawd Awful and hire real talent. Taking off unfiltered would be a good start.

why don't you like Unfiltered?

Geez, I am a senior should I be kicked off DU because of my age? Oh, forgot to mention I am a member of AARP also! Should I go too and die?

"Geez, I am a senior should I be kicked off DU because of my age? Oh, forgot to mention I am a member of AARP also! Should I go too and die?"

Seems like a bit of an over-reaction there.

You're a senior, but using a teenage retort in a debate?

Interesting.

most respected people on this board.

It's beneath you to bait a teenager.

of Chuck D.

What reason do you think the show is not being picked up by Air America Radio affillitates?

I don't get your senior citizen/AARP comparison at all.

the air if he's good or not? And the reasons the show isn't picked up are probably fairly complex. Here in Minnesota they want to have some local voices on....most radio markets tend to like local programming as opposed to a netwrok feed.

I usually go with XM or streaming, but I can see the logic in going local--as long as we're at it, I can see the need as well; the repukes lost 13 seats in the MN house and now only have a two seat majority, our governor is a complete pile of refuse, and needs a to be critiqued. We have a local columnist on for a few hours of what would be Morning Sedition and he just goes after Tim Pawlenty hammer and tongs. I still prefer Marc and Mark, but you've gotta give some credit to Nick Coleman--after all he really put a bug up the ass of those wing-nuts over at PowerLine Blog.

At this point all we've got is uniformed speculation and personal opinion.

radiopower.org via iTunes.

Guy James would be great too. AAR should carry his Saturday show instead of repeating mediocre shows. Guy successfully battles RW nutjobs in the heart of Florida's LizardLand every Saturday 7 EST.

At http://www.WhiteRoseSociety.org

He's great. I'd never heard of him until I came to DU, but I listen to his show on the internet now. He does what no one else on AAR does now. He lets callers talk and he spanks the rightwing callers. Randi Rhodes doesn't let anyone talk at all, and Al Franken let's them walk all over him in the name of manners. I love Franken's show alot, but he isn't very good at confrontation.

He's right after Bernie. He reads my email all the time and let's me smack RWers around. :D

Are you a member of the "Ray Taliaferro Think Tank?" ;)

Ray has been fighting the good fight since the 60s. AAR would be LUCKY if he agreed to let them carry his show.

even the sho that's on in the wee hours of the morning "EST" is good. Almost made me want to move to SF...almost.

late at night when I worked the graveyard shift. We sometimes get KGO late at night out here in Orange County. He's pretty good!

He rocks, the man deserves a show on AAR.

He changed times, I listen to Laura Flanders instead.

So do men own the airwaves?

They would love this.

par and can't hack it? There are many (most all) right wingers who have tried and failed they were eventually replaced with people that were successful. AAR is running a business and if they are carrying dead weight they need to act like a business and get rid of it.

Man, that sucks. I loved all those little stations that were on the air before all the radio consolidation. We had REAL DIVERSITY.

I quit Air America Radio since they pulled that corporate STUNT. The people deserve an explanation.

Otherwise we are just a "more socially aware" form of CORPORATE AMERICA. I bet AAR dumbs down too ... this sickens me.

Profit NOT Justice is our God now.

At http://www.WhiteRoseSociety.org/

We do not have the luxury of creating a "Limbaugh-like figurehead" overnight. It took many years for him to achieve the celebrity he has now. Franken/Garofalo were a celeb draw for the start-up, but they are not intrinsically "radio people". AAR would be wise to ADD more and more "less well known" radio people from the progressive population. They need a broad base, not just a few celebs.

I do not listen that often anymore because every time I DO tune it, it's a REPEAT.. That's a NO-NO in radio, as far as I am concerned; especially when there really ARE lots of people who could be on the air LIVE..

Radio should be a LIVE format...always!!

AAR also needs to be a platform for our legislators. God knows they have no other outlet. Every republican in DC knows that any time they want air time, all they have to do is pick up the phone, and every right wing radio person, and of course Fox News will give them all the time they want. That's what AAR needs to be...They should also always be open to labor and environmental advocates.

We don't need "just another talk radio station"..we need one that is there to put OUR ideas out to the unwashed masses...and to do it in an entertaining and factual way..

AAR CAN do that...if they really want to:)

is just freaking GREAT. Her show is so entertaining. I love Ed Schultz too. He does not screen his calls.

I listen to her instead of Unfiltered when I have internet. She is as outspoken as Randi and her sidekick does great impersonations, especially of Smirk. Very partisan, very pointed.

I wish they'd get her, Bernie Ward, and Ray T. And Guy James for the weekend.

Earlier this week, someone posted on DU that Malloy would never again sub-host for Randi because there were complaints about him, and that Randi didn't like something he said on the air.

I emailed Malloy about it. He said it was all untrue.

From now on, I don't believe anything unless it comes directly from the person who is the subject of the rumor, or from AAR official channels.

Randi and Mike have a lot of respect for each other, being long-time radio people unlike the Minnesota Mafia that seemed to be running AAR in the early days.

In fact, given that Lizz was arguably the lynchpin of that clique (that included Franken and Katherine Lamphier) and some things Randi has said on air that seemed to indicate a bit of tension between her and that group (although not Franken so much anymore), what this does reflect is a bit of a power shift. There are more and more radio people at AAR - and that includes Maddow, Malloy, even Mark Riley - and the talent that seems to be able to adapt their skills for radio (Seder and Marc Maron, who I think deserves MANY more props than he's gotten) - and that can only be good news.

I'd like to see Thom Hartman get a chance, maybe on weekends ... Joe Conason, who seems to be a natural ... and if you really want to get some wild P.R., why not hire MORNING SEDITION favorite Mick Foley, he formerly of the World Wrestling Federation? The guy's been funny, he IS a liberal, and he'd bring a different demographic to be sure.

All in all, just some shakedown in the lineup in what we have to remember is an EXTREMELY volatile buisness. Everyone calm down.

OH, should add, the above is SARCASM.

People are pulling so much shit out of their butts, it's stinking up the place.

& I love how some people have such nasty things to say about the program - does that mean they were sitting there listening, gritting their teeth the whole time?

and Randi Rhodes might be cut back to three hours -- the single worst decision that AAR has made all year, if true.

Gee, does this guy know that Randi just had MAJOR surgery and may not be able to go four hours because of it?!

Plus, as has been pointed out on other threads, Springer is being syndicated by Clear Channel, so the likelihood he could be "added" is negated. I don't know about Stephanie Miller's contract status, though.

But it is interesting that Sam Seder (spelling!) has been doing a lot of heavy-duty work subbing for Randi, and he's getting better. So if Garofalo decides to step away (because she's too big a name to get canned and has a following), he's poised to continue ... and now that Rachel Maddow doesn't have a partner ...

But I don't weep as much for UNFILTERED as others have been. Too many other options on SIRIUS, from semi-decent NPR shows Diane Rehm and Brian Lehrer to Alex Bennett on their left talk stream. Even NFL Radio just for a break.

A lot of similar stuff about Winsted was being discussed on Randi's message board, under the thread "lizz Winsted?" in the forum "Heard on the Radio".

Tim Allan, producer of Randi's show posted the following:

Today, 04:44 PM Post #39
Nothing is true, except that Lizz doesn't work
for AAR anymore. Please let people know I said so.

TA

she's two for two so far...

No details.

I also do NOT like Ed Schultz. And particularly do NOT like Ed Schultz in the Noon-to-3:00 slot he's on the air in L.A.

And I will NOT be interested in Jerry Springer. And sometimes in the evenings, they have sporting events on the air on AAR in the L.A. Market???!!!! And they don't carry the AAR news here...just a locally done news report, which doesn't have the same liberal bias I've come to know and love from AAR news.

It's billed as a progressive station, but I fear (in many of the regional markets) they're once again beginning to give it a title "progressive" that will have less and less to do with what we hear on it. Remember, Clear Channel IS the owner.

see a pattern here??? AAR need MORE female voices not fewer!!!!

While Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and all the other cast of males are still fly fishing in Aspen??

Nope. Cant say that I see a resemblance at all.

may have decided NOT to renew her contract?

I haven't seen anyone postulating that possibility.......

I'm not meaning to slam any posters here, but if Ms. Winstead wants to talk about it, she will. If she doesn't, she won't.

I'll miss her a lot.

I can also rip my AAR sticker off my car and choose not to listen to a CORPORATE and secretive station that thinks it's not responsible to answer to it's listeners.

I think that they owe us ... we are their original fan base.

But it's a private company and owes no explanation of its inner workings to anyone, especially those that are of a personal nature of an employee.

of regulation and SMALL radio stations. Probably won't happen but I can dream. Thanks for giving me the other side. Hope they enjoy their Privacy.

Randi's show is the same length.

Lizz is the only one leaving us.

Sam and Janeane are staying together

The Al Franken Show is staying together.

STOP THIS SHIT. IT's DESTRUCTIVE.

...people who listened to the show want to know! I liked her Minnesota accent :-)

...can't help but wonder if that had something to do with Lizz Winstead's leaving...

and I can't say that I'm disappointed to hear that news. His response to the election has been enlightening to us.

Randi should be cut to 10 minutes until she learns the rules of basic courtesy. I stopped listening to her because she never lets her callers get 10 words in before she talks over them. Why have callers? Why the hell does anyone even call her show?

Replace Sam Seider with Lizz Winstead. The results are in: Sam Seider cannot do radio.

Then teach Franken's producer how to do the guest's theme songs coming out of the break, instead of grinding the show to an embarrassing halt every time a regular guest comes on.

Free advice. Think about it.

I think Sam is great , he has blossomed
while filling in for Randi IMHO.

But AAR cannot depend on Sam as a source of 1/4 or 1/5 (?) of their broadcast income.

Perhaps they can send him to some kind of broadcast or public speaking school. They can't keep treating this as some kind of a weekend project, or it will become just that.

BTW: Janeane rules and Sam is taking her down. It's become the overriding theme of the show.

AAR program.