When one gets the news that Randi Rhodes suspended from her Air America talk show for calling Hillary Clinton a “Big F—— Whore”, a number of questions come to mind. The first is, Air America still exists?
Ms. Rhodes apparently did not make the observation about Senator Clinton on the air, but rather in a standup routine in San Francisco at a local club that was sponsored by the local Air America affiliate. Randi Rhodes also had some unprintable things to say about Geraldine Ferraro and former New Jersey first lady Dina McGreevey.
The incident did not generate any controversy until a snippet of the routine hit YouTube. Air America Chairman Charlie Kireker suspended Randi Rhodes, issuing the following statement:
“Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco.
“Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our hosts.”
One suspects that this may be a new policy. Air America hosts have often made abusive, ad hominem remarks about conservatives and Republicans, such as George W. Bush. Kireker, by the way, is described as a Democratic Party activist with ties to the Clintons.
According to Brian Maloney over at the Radio Equalizer, Ms. Rhodes will not be returning to her show any time soon. In a way this follows the pattern followed by other media personalities who get into trouble saying horrible things in public. First the suspension, then the really long suspension, then the firing. One suspects, since Air America is still somewhat cash strapped (no change there), there will be no apology tour followed, in several months, by a comeback.
Liberal talk radio has been a somewhat struggling phenomenon since its inception. It started when various former politicians such as former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and former Colorado Senator Gary Hart were given shows as a attempt to provide a liberal alternative to Rush Limbaugh. These early attempts failed due to a paucity of listeners and, frankly, on air talent that was talentless.
Air America is the latest attempt at putting liberals on the air, having been started in 2004. As with previous attempts, Air America has suffered from a lack of listeners, difficulties getting into major markets, and content that has been, to say the least, unentertaining. Air America has been through one bankruptcy proceeding and a funding scandal that involved the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Liberal radio talk with survive so long as there are financial backers willing to put money in it. So far it has not been able to achieve that kind of market dominance or profit enjoyed by conservative talk radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and others. History shows that liberal talk radio is unlikely to get those things, mainly because it hasn’t managed to find a way to deliver political content in an entertaining fashion.
One solution proposed by some liberals has been, in essence, a way to if one cannot beat them, to ban them. Proposals have been floated in the Congress to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, that would force a “balance” in political and other controversial content. Critics have suggested that this would have the effect of driving conservative talk radio off the air, since program directors will not want to endure the hassle of balancing content.
And that, of course, will be the point.
Sources: Air America’s Randi Rhodes suspended, David Hinkley, New York Daily News, April 3rd 2008
Whoreable Insults,Brian Maloney, The Radio Equalizer, April 3rd, 2008
The (un)Fairness Doctrine: An Assault on Free Speech on the Airways, Mark R. Whittington, Associated Content, April 26th, 2007
Air America, Wikipedia
