In case you haven’t heard, the final episode of the Sam Seder Show aired last Friday. I’ve been listening to Sam since very early in Air America’s history, and he has got to be the best talent that they’ve ever had. He’s smart and incisive and absolutely hilarious. The best part about his program was how he gave conservative callers just enough rope to hang themselves after bumping them to the front of the queue. It was truly glorious to hear the wind whistling through their ears after he destroyed them with their own cognitive dissonance.
But Sam did more than that. He was no small part in Ned Lamont’s primary victory in Connecticut, and indeed the 2006 Democratic as a whole. He brought the energy of the netroots to the airwaves, and helped to get the word out about candidates like Jim Webb who wouldn’t have stood a chance without a broad base of hardcore Democratic support. Sam had prominent folks on the air, as well as movie stars and recording artists. Sam also surrounded himself with great people. The banter between himself and the folks in the booth was often the best part of the show. And let’s not forget Janeane, who, apart from her spot-on (Senator) Katherine Harris impression, helped give Sam the experience that made him the juggernaut he is today.
Air America’s new management has decided to replace Sam with some guy who named himself Lionel. From what I’ve read, this guy is a lot less partisan, and somehow thinks that the government brought down the World Trade Center. And the short clips from his website make him sound like a munchkin.
The management at AAR claimed that their programming isn’t about ideology, but about radio. That’s the biggest bunch of bull I’ve ever heard. Air America was founded to counteract right wing radio. It is ideological radio! That Mark Green, the new big cheese at AAR, thinks it’s about radio just shows how he’s going to run it into the ground. In fact, Robert Kennedy Jr. said on air that he doesn’t know what the hell is wrong with Mark Green. If that counts for anything, I think this Lionel guy isn’t long for this world.
The only reason that AAR could possibly have for this decision is that they’re pursuing ad revenue. A lily-livered punk like Lionel is going to attract the vast middle-of-the-road more than Sam, and that’s a fact. And most of those folks won’t get their AAR fix from the Internet, but from broadcasts, where their ratings are actually counted.
So this is yet another case of the lowest common denominator destroying true greatness. Air America is trying to “mainstream” their programming so that the folks who can’t be bothered to hold an opinion aren’t scared off. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; thirteen-year-old girls and their SUV driving scaredy-cat mothers are destroying America.
Here’s to hoping that Sam gets on Nova M, who would get my $100/year subscription in a heartbeat if he signed on for a weekday show, or starts his own podcast. In a few weeks he’ll be doing a weekly Sunday show, which will probably be a free podcast, but I think that with all his new spare time and netroots connections it won’t be long before he starts his own podcast.
