Limbaugh and Schultz are both talkshow hosts, and they both shout and boom, but that's where the similarities stop. Or at least I hope so. For Limbaugh is the arch-wingnut, the man who popularized the hating of liberals and the blaming of feminazis for all the ills of this country, the man who made it politically correct to have such opinions and to express them, loudly. Ed Schultz is a recent convert to liberalism from Wingnuttia. Or at least I hope so. He could be a mercenary rather than a real soldier in the Liberal Front. Well, at least right now he shouts and hollers on our side.
The radio talkshows have been part of the conservative Wingnuttia for at least a decade, and the conventional wisdom has been that liberal talkshows don't sell. Conventional wisdom may be wrong here: Air America Radio, the new liberal radio network, is not doing badly. A Vermont radio station is even getting rid of Rush Limbaugh to fit Air America in:
WKVT-AM 1490 in Brattleboro will replace four of its weekday syndicated conservative talk shows on Jan. 17 with programs from the fledgling liberal radio network Air America, which launched in March.
The station will be the second in Vermont to broadcast Air America programs, which include shows hosted by comedian Al Franken and actress Jeanne Garofalo.
The Brattleboro area is highly liberal in its political beliefs and the Air America shows will be a better fit for the station's listeners than the conservative programs hosted by Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly, said WKVT program director Peter Case.
"We're calling this a right-to-left switch," he said. "For many years, our programming leaned to the right, but Brattleboro is a very liberal area and our lineup had to reflect that."
They are also starting to broadcast the Ed Schultz Show.
Talk radio must be an acquired taste because I have a lot of trouble acquiring it; far too much musing without any obvious structure, far too many shouts and bellows and not enough interesting interviewees. But I still listen to Air America whenever I get a chance, and it is nice not to have to curse the radio all the time as I usually do. If only they could get rid of those annoying ads for penis hardeners and herbs which make you smart and slim! I can recite all of them from memory.
If you haven't checked out Air America, you should. Even if your area doesn't have them on radio you can listen over the internet.
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Link to the Vermont story via Media Matters for America.