Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Main => Everything Else => Topic started by: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 02:46:48 am

Title: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 02:46:48 am: HBO is set to air a behind the scenes look at the launching of liberal radio network AIR AMERICA.

The DRUDGE REPORT has obtained a director's cut of LEFT OF THE DIAL, a grossly entertaining docu-drama of life on the other side of the AIR AMERICA microphone.

The doubts. The lies. The bounced checks. The heartbreak.

The viewer is taken upclose to witness the ugly business of media ambition. (http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3aa.htm)

March 31st? I may have to FreeVo this!
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: mr.Curmudgeon on March 24, 2005, 12:47:09 pm: Sounds like the birth of any media entity. I'd like to see it.

To me, it's heartwarming that such a rag-tag group has been able to weather the constant pummeling of the Right-wing media giants.

Good thing Air America made it through those rough times, as they continue to grow; entering new markets at an ever increasing rate; it seems like they are here to stay.

Remember, even Rush started small.

mrC
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 05:53:45 pm: Throwing that bunch at the world and you see them as "rag tag"?

You must have rose colored corneas! ;D

If by small you mean the three largest markets in the U.S., then yes, Rush did start small....with far more than three, but not even close to the attention guaranteed to be generated, and he built himself up without the millions pumped into this lead zeppelin by folks who NEED this to succeed.

Nice try at an analogy. What's next, comparing Big Wheels to F1 racecars?
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: Zero_Hour on March 24, 2005, 06:13:34 pm: Actually, Rush did start out small.

He pulled two stints in Pittsburgh in the early 70's - He used the on-air name of Jeff Christie.

He took some time off from radio in the late 70's and returned to broadcasting around 85 or so.

He got into hot water in Kansas City, allegedly for inserting his opinion into his newscasts - and was fired. Then off to Sacramento CA, to replace Morton Downy Jr. - Within 12 months there he was very highly rated, and that is what led to his nationaly syndicated show.

17 years or so to get to national syndication is not hitting it big overnight.

As for Air America - to say that the landscape of broadcasting has dramatically changed since the late 1980's would be like saying the surface of the sun is pretty warm. It would be nearly impossible for any individual broadcaster to do today what Rush did then without a big sackful of money. Considering that AA is packaging multiple shows, it would only increase the funding required to get it off the ground.

-As for my opinions on either outlet as a source of information? Let's just say that I don't particularly care for talk radio. ;)
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 06:36:47 pm: Don't forget he did Royals broadcasts too.

Yeah, I know he started small, I just find it funny as all get out that MrC considers starting a show on the 3 biggest markets in the nation and the hoopla surrounding that launch as "small" and can use phrases like "rag tag" without any sense of irony whatsoever.

It does happen that people start small like that, and the launch Err America got is anything BUT typical. There are current shows out there that are on their way to becoming perhaps as big that had similar starts. Comparing Err America's start to Rush's or any of the other similarly growing shows is like comparing apples to peat bogs.

I listen to Rush about 10% now. They put Clark Howard on, who I enjoy immensely, and anytime Rush has a sit-in host, unless it's Mark Belling, it's an automatic switching of the dial. Rush is slowly becoming less aware of the repetition of things he is doing that have no broadcast worth, such as the laughing (for excessive lengths, in my mind) with no explanation, and when the explanation is given, it's might give a chuckle, but not to the extent he goes. Meh.....either he'll realize it and change, or he'll slowly start to fade.

Zero, what do you use to inform yourself? I know radio isn't for everyone, but informing oneself is always achieved by some means - I'm looking forward to how you do it :)
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: Zero_Hour on March 24, 2005, 07:19:44 pm: Hmmm How do I inform myself.....

Ok, well first the disclaimer:

I hold a B.A. in Communications (emphasis iin video production - that's one degree that should definitely be a B.S. ;) ) As a result I can't watch TV or listen to the radio without screaming at it.

As a rule, I try to find multiple outlets for anything that I have interest in, and fortunately the interweb is chock full of outlets. Some are good, some are bad, some are just completely off the wall. For me I personally prefer the written word better than broadcast, simply because there is usually an opportunity for depth that broadcast media gave up on a loing time ago. I try to sample from blogs, News Wires, Local Media, National and International sources as well. If a story is a particular hotbutton - I always make a point to find out what both sides are saying. Whenever possible I try to find source documentaion that is being commented on. I'm not going to deny that I have my own personal bias for issues, but sitting through one too many rhetoric classes made me realize that to speak effectively on a subject you better know the opposing position as well, if not better than your own.

If I had to sum it up in a word, that word would be google.
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 08:13:55 pm: Zero, everything you said was wrong, and it's just the commie in you wanting to spread your commie love all over the world ;) ;D

Good to hear your methods.

I make up my mind, and find facts to justify everything. If I can't find facts, I'll accept rumors and blatant lies. Whatever it takes in my slow march to rule the world. ::)
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: Zero_Hour on March 24, 2005, 08:34:38 pm: Damn,

I've been exposed :P
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: mr.Curmudgeon on March 24, 2005, 08:49:14 pm: Quote from: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 06:36:47 pm
I just find it funny as all get out that MrC considers starting a show on the 3 biggest markets in the nation and the hoopla surrounding that launch as "small" and can use phrases like "rag tag" without any sense of irony whatsoever.

I was being sarcastic. Just not enough I guess. I was spoofing the initial right-wing critiques. When AAR was starting up, the right echo chamber (Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, Drudge) constantly tried to undermine it's progress by disseminating stories about their lack of professionalism (I heard either O'Reilly or Hannity refer to AirAmerica as "rag tag", I get those two mixed up on the radio), demean their "small" market hold, and predict their failure within months. They constantly pointed to Rush in an attempt to demonstrate how far AAR was from the model of "success" and viability. They laughed when the funding fiasco happened.

They're not laughing anymore.

Plus I was poking fun because I imagined you gleefully parroting this story from DRUDGE (whose probably bathing in his own drool watching the film himself) because anything that could possibly make Air America look bad it the "bees knees" in your book. ("Lies" "Doubts" "ambition" "ugly") etc...

I really want to see this HBO special too, though. It's only more publicity for Air America, doesn't matter how they're portrayed really. They can use the exposure. Be sure to FreeVo it and show it to everyone you know. No such thing as bad press in this country anymore.

mrC
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 09:02:49 pm: Quote from: mr.Curmudgeon on March 24, 2005, 08:49:14 pm

Quote from: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 06:36:47 pm
I just find it funny as all get out that MrC considers starting a show on the 3 biggest markets in the nation and the hoopla surrounding that launch as "small" and can use phrases like "rag tag" without any sense of irony whatsoever.

I was being sarcastic. Just not enough I guess. I was spoofing the initial right-wing critiques. When AAR was starting up, the right echo chamber (Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, Drudge) constantly tried to undermine it's progress by disseminating stories about their lack of professionalism (I heard either O'Reilly or Hannity refer to AirAmerica as "rag tag", I get those two mixed up on the radio), demean their "small" market hold, and predict their failure within months. They constantly pointed to Rush in an attempt to demonstrate how far AAR was from the model of "success" and viability. They laughed when the funding fiasco happened.

They're not laughing anymore.

Plus I was poking fun because I imagined you gleefully parroting this story from DRUDGE (whose probably bathing in his own drool watching the film himself) because anything that could possibly make Air America look bad it the "bees knees" in your book. ("Lies" "Doubts" "ambition" "ugly") etc...

I really want to see this HBO special too, though. It's only more publicity for Air America, doesn't matter how they're portrayed really. They can use the exposure. Be sure to FreeVo it and show it to everyone you know. No such thing as bad press in this country anymore.

mrC[/size]

BAIT AND SWITCH BAIT AND SWITCH! SOMEBODY ALERT THE AUTHORITIES!
[/s][/u][/i][/b]

From the story, I'm wondering if this isn't a bit contrived. "They asked us to turn the cameras off. We told them we did, but we didn't". Dontcha think they'd want to have a viewing and would have to sign off on what's put out there?

I think Frontline (was that who did the story?) did a pretty good story on Rush, but wish some more things had been gone into. Guess I'll have to get the ol' super8 out ;)
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: shmokes on March 25, 2005, 07:37:43 pm: Quote from: DrewKaree on March 24, 2005, 06:36:47 pm
Zero, what do you use to inform yourself? I know radio isn't for everyone, but informing oneself is always achieved by some means - I'm looking forward to how you do it :)

LOL.....I love that you refer to what Rush does for a living as informing. Good one. If you simply mean informing in the strictest sense, as in disseminating information, well....I suppose. But then I suppose I could say I inform myself by reading restaurant menus.

edit: oh yeah....and you wouldn't have to order HBO "just" to see this. You'd also get Deadwood, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sex and the City (reruns now, of course, but unedited unlike TNT), Da Ali G Show and.......just for you......

Real Time With Bill Maher!!!

Seriously, though, it's the best programming on television. And you can just not watch when Bil Maher is on.
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: mr.Curmudgeon on March 25, 2005, 07:50:10 pm: Quote from: shmokes on March 25, 2005, 07:37:43 pm
Seriously, though, it's the best programming on television. And you can just not watch when Bil Maher is on.

Maher is all pro-Bush on Iraq though, so he's not totally up to speed on his liberal talking points.

mrC
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: shmokes on March 25, 2005, 08:11:00 pm: Really? I didn't know that. No matter, though. I think Bill Maher is fun to watch cos he's got a great sense of humor, but I consider him entertainment rather than a good information source. In a way, kind of like Rush Limbaugh, except intelligent.
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: DrewKaree on March 26, 2005, 12:05:27 am: Quote from: shmokes on March 25, 2005, 07:37:43 pm

LOL.....I love that you refer to what Rush does for a living as informing. Good one. If you simply mean informing in the strictest sense, as in disseminating information, well....I suppose. But then I suppose I could say I inform myself by reading restaurant menus.

I love how you think me telling you listening to him about 10% of the time equates to how I inform myself. The guy's an entertainer, pure and simple. Politics is what he uses, but to inform yourself via Rush, you'd have to pay to access his website, which millions do, earning him piles of cash. If figuring out how to get millions of people to listen to you on a daily basis makes him a dunce compared to Bill Maher, so be it.

That must make you smarter than Bill Maher! You've got a smaller audience than even he does! Go shmokes! U-RAH-RAH! SIS-BOOM-BAH!

Bill Maher used to be funny. He still is once in a while. The problem comes when he opens his mouth. The guy isn't pro-Bush on Iraq, he just isn't afraid to admit the possibility he could be right. For THAT, I respect him more than Al Franken. Which doesn't say much.
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: shmokes on March 29, 2005, 11:24:28 pm: Quote from: DrewKaree on March 26, 2005, 12:05:27 am
That must make you smarter than Bill Maher! You've got a smaller audience than even he does! Go shmokes! U-RAH-RAH! SIS-BOOM-BAH!

Ah...but you speak prematurely. Saint has shown me the site stats. Bill Maher and I are currently neck-and-neck, and things are looking up for me since Saint gave me that title under my avatar.
Title: Re: I may have to order HBO just to see this!
Post by: DrewKaree on March 30, 2005, 01:10:17 am: And let me guess, you didn't send AAAAAAAANY lobbyists to saint to try to tip the scales in your favor, right ::)

;)