Al Franken signs up for Radio Show.
The liberal radio show hosted by Al Franken that we've been hearing about for a while appears to be close to becoming a reality as he has signed an agreement with Progress Media to do just that. Franken wants to be able to affect the outcome of the next presidential election, and a three hour daily radio show is the vehicle with which he hopes to accomplish that objective. AP-Yahoo:
Franken said his contract with Progress Media would last just one year, after which time both sides would reassess how things were going. He also said he very much wanted to do the show during a presidential election year."I'm interested in doing what I can to affect this election," Franken said. "I've thinking about what's the best use of my energies — I hope this is it."
So far they've only got one station - WNTD AM in Chicago - but Mark Walsh, CEO of Progress Media, said he expects to announce at least three other distribution deals in the coming weeks. And Katherine Lanpher of Minnesota Public Radio is going to join Franken on the show.
I've made observations before about Ed Schultz as host of a liberal talk radio show and about Mr. Franken in that role. If there is going to be a market for liberal talk radio then that time is now while there is so much Bush hatred in the air. From listening to the callers on C-SPAN's Washington Journal it's obvious that there are battalions of Bush bashers out there hungering for a way to vent their views. And Al Franken may be just the person to give them a way to do that.
Apparently, he plans to use interviews, calls from listeners and scripted comedy to fill the time, and that's a good idea. Even a motor mouth like Rush Limbaugh seems to tire after a couple of hours of gabbing. And Franken speaks with the cadence of a sheep counting insomniac, so he's going to need that comedy to help keep us entertained.
Franken has performed some mildly amusing comedy bits, specifically the Stuart Smalley routines on the Saturday Night Live shows from the old days. But, of late he seems to have fallen into the insult comic category. But his schtick of finding a word mistake and calling it a lie may not carry beyond his hard core audience.
And, the "Bush is dumb" jokes are getting a little bit old, too. But, maybe even Mr. Franken realizes that. A Q&A at MSNBC might have given us a glimpse:
Have you ever talked to President Bush?
Yes. He winked a lot; he winked at me. I liked him immediately. Then he winked at other people and I thought he was a little promiscuous with the winking. It was August of 1999. I was in Iowa to cover the Republican straw poll for the magazine George and at a little front-porch event at Indianola. It was the one time I met with him and he seemed kind of charming. I asked him a few questions. This was when the cocaine stuff was coming out and I said, "I don't care if you did it or not but since we are here, I have to ask if you have ever manufactured any crystal methamphetamine." And he laughed, but I'd hoped he would say no. He didn't deny it.
This is how rumors start.
No, but had he denied it, I could have asked him why he never gave a straight denial about the cocaine stuff. So, the one time we met he just completely outsmarted me. Just because he's not curious doesn't mean he's not smart. [emphasis added]
Prime time for a radio talk show would be from noon to 3 p.m. EST, opposite Rush Limbaugh's show. So, is Al Franken ready for prime time? We'll see.
Franken's only hope is to make the program really funny. I doubt that 1 person can do that for 3 hours a day 5 days a week.
Posted by: Redman | January 22, 2004 at 03:31 PM