Sunday, March 28, 2004

Air America: Ain't-we-all-rather-white radio

Next week Air America Radio goes live, billing itself as progressive radio for the millions who have been neglected by talk radio broadcasters today. By "progressive" they mean left of center, to which I find myself a bit puzzled by the charge that talk radio has neglected the left end of the spectrum considering NPR and Pacifica Radio (to name two) have been providing "left" based talk radio for quite some time now. But that's a discussion for another day. The thing that struck me as odd is how a radio network that prides itself on its progressive roots is so, well, white. Take a look at the opening day roster
  • Marc Maron

  • Sue Ellicott

  • Mark Riley

  • Lizz Winstead

  • Chuck D

  • Rachel Maddow

  • Al Franken

  • Katherine Lanpher

  • Randi Rhodes

  • Marty Kaplan

  • Janeane Garofalo

  • Sam Seder

Now that's one white ass list. Granted, Chuck D is there to add a little colour, but other than that this group seems as white as the driven snow (granted I did have to go a'googlin to figure out who a couple of the names I didn't recognize were so lets say my little list has an error of +/- 1 non-white person). Hardly what I would call a "progressive" mixture. Frankly, until there's a shakeup in their on-air talent I think Air America's tag line should be "Limousine Liberal Radio."