OK Air America! It's time to shake up the place!

[trumad]

AA needs to get some Co-Pilots that know what the hell they're talking about. AND I mean the type of folks that even us DU'er sit and marvel at. Have you ever heard Will Pitt in an interview? The guy can knock down just about every bullshit argument that is thrown his way.

Anyone ever hear Scott Ritter? Atrios..(he has guest appearances) but the dude would be a serious addition to the team... KOS, Mark from Buzzflash, etc. And of course the formidable Mike Malloy. I listened to Mike and it was crystal clear that Mike read the blogs and DU. The guy was up-to-date informed.

Keep the current Celebs for attraction but team them up with first rate on the ball Liberals. It's pretty sad when an old shlep like me knows the details of the underworld of Politics better than the er Professionals on AA.

Time to shake it up and try some new blood.

[Catholic Sensation]

1. If anyone should be added, it should be Katrina Vanden Huevel

She's like the most commonly used liberal on the talk shows, and she is great whenever she's on anything (she won't let the right get a word edgewise).

Eric Alterman would be great too.

Keep the morning shows, the O'Franken Factor, drop Randi, add Eric Alterman from 3-6, drop what's news or whatever the shit is at 7, and have Katrina from 6-9, and have the majority report from 9-12

that would be great

[trumad]

4. That's what I am talking about except...

Put Katrina and Janeane together and get rid of Sam. Add someone strong with Al but me thinks you keep Randi.

[ObaMania]

5. I second that!

Katrina is great!

[BlueEyedSon]

13. YES!!!

[T Roosevelt]

2. There's an incredible pool of talent

It would be nice to hear more David Sirota-type segments, say with Will or Katrina...and Mike Malloy would make a great addition - he was more informed than anybody on AAR, except maybe Randi...

[Hornito]

3. Boy, do I agree with this!! One can only handle Randi's

"SHUT UP!" so many times, before it destroys her message, and degrades the seriousness with which AA should be approaching its subjects.

They need a major overhaul, and the people you listed would be perfect. I would also include Thom Hartman in this mix too. There's no reason AA can't be a media powerhouse, but their current approach isn't going to get them there.

I love Al, and he has a great show, but I would pair him with someone really nuanced on the issues. Let Al add to the levity, and his parter to the factual content on the issues of the day.

I REALLY want to see them succeed.....

[trumad]

6. Hire Ambassador Joe Wilson...

and so on and so forth....

[trumad]

8. Heres the deal...

Liberal radio shows failed in the past because they were boring...SO they decided with AA to spice it up and be entertaining. That's cool... So like I said, keep the main host entertaining but use the Co-Pilot for the brains.

[Philostopher]

7. Alterman would probably make a nice balance with Franken.

He's whipsmart on camera, and he can be funny and say outrageous things, but he's also good at the complexities. Only problem is, he's one of the more respected left-side commentators and I'd hate for him to have to cut back on his writing!

[Zinfandel]

9. Not much one can do but keep sending AAR request for the great Mike Malloy

[LeahMira]

10. Definitely. Air America is a disappointment, so far.

Have you ever heard Will Pitt in an interview? The guy can knock down just about every bullshit argument that is thrown his way.

Yes, I've heard Will Pitt speak to an audience... a packed room BTW with SRO... and he is definitely outstanding.

Trouble is that with some of these folks... Will Pitt excepted... they can do a great job on the lecture circuit because they're basically presenting the same speech to a few dozen different groups. Asking some of them to come up with fresh material every day is asking a lot, and some aren't going to deliver. No reflection on those folks, but it's just a different sort of talent and interest.

Anyone who is an interviewer, which Franken et al certainly could manage, has to be willing to let their guest shine. They have to be ready with relevant comments to keep things moving along, but they have to keep a lot of their own passion out of it. As I see it, some of the Air America folks can't manage to put their own huge egos to rest for a few hours out of the day. Sorry, but after a week or so of that, no matter what rant they're on and no matter how right they happen to be, they're just boring.

[oc2002]

11. You sound like that cooking guy that say 'take it up another NOTCH'

heh.

[kaitykaity]

12. AAR needs more radio professionals,

less celebrity. Randi's the best thing about AAR because
she is a radio person, and she provokes a reaction in
people who listen--people either love her or hate her (like
a few on this board).

[trumad]

14. Exactly

but I do think it's important to have a well informed sidekick who can be there to nail the case shut.

[kaitykaity]

15. Randi's sidekick is nothing but annoying

with the giggles and imitating the noises
she makes (like "wow"). I like Tim. Tim's a
good guy. But he needs to go.

[DancingBear]

16. From one old shlep to another

I agree. The celebs, comedians, etc. currently on AA have a very limited grasp of the details of the "underworld', and one can only rant so many times (hey, I oughtta know :) ).

For those who missed it, Sam and Janine were embarrassingly bad, unprepared, amateurish, whatever you'd like to call it during their interview with Ed Koch last evening. Same holds for the morning folks - they're not prepared to do anything in-depth, and that's what we need. They can't make proper segue-ways from the serious to the comedic, and they do not know when to separate the two.

By teeming up a professional radio person with a celeb, you'd allow the celeb to act as the "color" person, while the professional did the play by play. While not as good as professionals across the board, it allows for growth, builds legitimacy, and maintains the little bit of show-biz that a growing entity like AA still needs.

Win/win, in my eyes.

[trumad]

17. I agree

Like the baseball broadcast booth... You always had a Vin Scully do the play by play and a Tim McCarver or Joe Morgan do the analysis. Why.. Vin was excellent at play by play and Joe or Tim (ex-baseball players) were experts of the game.

[Cornus]

18. Lots of great suggestions...

...for AAR on this thread. Let's hope TPTB at the station are listening (reading).