After a huge swarm of criticism over the essential firing of Sam Seder from his daily talk show, coming from ordinary folks to well known bloggers like Atrios and Kos to the likes of Tim Robbins and Robert Kennedy Jr. (who wanted to know “what the hell is wrong”), Mark Green has issued this statement.
I want to thank all of you who took the time to contact us at Air America about the Sam Seder Show. It shows you care and are part of our extended Air America family, even if we can’t agree on every lineup judgment.A big part of this doesn’t jive with his previous statement. It appears he has pulled a 180 when it comes to whether AAR is ideological or not. At first he said that Air America was “about radio, not ideology.” This, as you can imagine, caught the ire of many of the fans. But in this statement he’s saying that AAR will continue to be “progressive.” I’m not sure how that can be possible when you move from an outspoken liberal to someone who refuses to call themselves one.I, too, think Sam is terrific and was eager to keep him on air. After we discussed various possibilities, I’m very happy that we agreed on a new show that’s really unlike anything else on radio (or television). The three hour program, as I wrote in my posted “Message” earlier week, will focus on “networks and netroots” — that is, a review of the Sunday political talkfests with mostly bloggers as commentators.
Please know that, consistent with my 35 year history as a dedicated progressive advocate and author, I’m devoted to keeping Air America as the leader in progressive talk and to taking it from the red to the black. Both.
I believe when we’re done with all our plans for the new Air America 2.0 — in terms on overall lineup, new platforms, better marketing, important collaborations (like our partnership with MoveOn this week broadcasting the “Virtual Town Hall on Iraq”) — you’ll be as optimistic as I am that Air America will both survive and thrive after a roller coaster past year.
Mark Green President Air America
I’ve been reading a lot of commentary about this decision, and my previous instincts were correct: This move is to attract new listeners. And those listeners aren’t hardcore lefties like me. They’re people who would rather talk about Imus or Anna Nicole or Britney Spears than the horrible things our government is doing. Liberal Talk Radio calls it “mass appeal,” but I call it “the lowest common denominator.”
It’s idiotic decisions like this that lead me to believe the advertising driven model isn’t long for this world. Great shows like Marc Maron and Mike Malloy and now Sam Seder aren’t the kind of things that are going to draw millions of listeners, at least not in the US. People here hate thinking, and smart humor with substance is never going to get the same ratings as football-in-the-groin humor. Maybe if we get our education system in shape, we’ll
But the problem is that there is a market for shows like Sam’s that can’t be served by traditional broadcast media. If you need to keep a 12,000 watt transmitter lit up in every market, you’ll never make a profit. That’s where things like podcasts and blogs come in. The cost of entry and of running a podcast is extremely low. For the price of a good mic and a bit of software, I could have a show that’s just as good as Sam’s. With Skype or TalkShoe I’d even be able to take callers, so Dewey wouldn’t be left out in the cold. Heck, we might even get Doug from Staten Island back on the air!
Posted by: Paul in Air America Politics Rant
