blatherWatch

Talk radio: do you have the stones to admit you were punked?

Can right-wing tools like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Dori Monson, Michael Medved, Glenn Beck even acknowledge that their so-called war coverage and commentary has been so severely compromised?

What are we talking about?

Sunday's New York Times took a little of the complex out of the military-industrial complex with David Barstow's lengthy, detailed exposure of how Bush and Rumsfeld's Pentagon used retired generals to serve as "objective" media military analysts while actually carrying administration's rosy interpretations of a failing war effort to talk radio, cable blab-shows and thenews outlets they work for.

(For an interactive overview, click here. Read the whole piece here.)

Even more despicable is how these alleged military heroes we've seen every day since 9-11 on teevee or on the radio have used the influence and access gained by playing in this farce.

These are the fat-assed militarists who accused the rest of us of dispatriotism, cut-and-run mentality, and not supporting the troops. In these documents we see all that patriotically correct self-righteousness is actually a collection of bullet-points they picked up from a Secretary of the Defense losing a war he never should have got into.

Heavy hundred 2008: local boys make good

It's that time of year when all heads turn toward The Oscars™ to the Heavy Hundred awards where Talkers Magazine, the self-proclaimed "Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media," ranks the "100 most important hosts" every year.

As usual we're underwhelmed.

It's a quirky list; made to promote the magazine's influence in the industry; and to sell syndicators those gnarly full page ads to plump up the fragile egos of those perpetually needy talk hosts. It's dominated by conservatives, naturally.

What are the criteria? You've gotta be working plus, as the august editors always say, their "painstaking compilation" is based on courage, effort, impact, longevity  potential, ratings, recognition, revenue, service, talent and uniqueness.

In other words, they pull it out of their ass.

Technorati Tags: Heavy Hundred, talk radio, Talker's Magazine

How much juice does talk radio have anymore? Can talk hosts crown or defeat a candidate? Can they kill or green light legislation based on talk say-so alone?

Dean Barnett, a conservative writer and frequent guest host for Hugh Hewitt writes in the conservative Weekly Standard about the clout of talk radio. 

He's dealing with it after last week's shouting on the right that despite near "universal animosity in the talk radio community," John McCain has done well in early primaries.

Michael Medved declared talk radio "the big loser" in South Carolina; calling it "a medium that has unmistakably collapsed in terms of impact, influence and credibility because of its hysterical and one-dimensional involvement in the GOP nomination fight."

It's an election year like no other, and that's not even close to saying it all.

Michael Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) is supporting John MCain. That, in itself, would've been political headlines a year ago, but in this year of years with a Republican field a potter's field of broken dreams (if you'll allow us to whip up an inane batter of metaphors...) nothing surprises.

Medved wrote on his Townhall.com blog Saturday that the South Carolina losers weren't the losers--

The big loser in South Carolina was, in fact, talk radio: a medium that has unmistakably collapsed in terms of impact, influence and credibility because of its hysterical and one-dimensional involvement in the GOP nomination fight.

(photo: Rev. Ken Hutcherson with (state's) rights activist, Gov.George Wallace)

In America, if a man puts something into another man, it had better be a bullet. ~Bill Maher

Rev. Ken Hutcherson on the Michael Medved Show (KTTH m-f 12-3p) said Tuesday that the Rabbi Daniel Lapin told him to fear not, the Hebrew language has no word for tolerance- that things therefore, were either right or wrong, bad or good. In other words, tolerance is not biblical.

(We're not that good on the Bible, but we didn't need a rabbinical scholar to tell us how intolerant the Rab and Rev are).

Hutcherson, a black, evangelical megachurch pastor who's fundraising schtick is fag-baiting and threatening guilt-ridden white corporations, slaked his mighty thirst for self-promotion once more.

Should we just shut up and watch as local programming is whittled away?

In a year, we've lost Ron Reagan, Bryan Suits, and Frank Shiers-- 20 hours of local issues-and-politics-talk programming.

Added to the money dayparts: Glenn Beck, Dr. Laura, and Phil Hendrie. Do they hate us?

Dennis Kelly Fisher's Program Director at KOMO and KVI told the P-I's Bill Virgin last year that talk  is "still the most popular format in America. ... Stations have to find a great balancing act between keeping existing listeners and attracting new ones," he said. "That's not easy."

Any pretense of political objectivity and non partisanship of Seattle's Discovery Institute is now forever blown.

Neocomic Bush apologist Michael Medved's long term, on-air fellation of the creationist think tank has finally paid off.

The nationally syndicated talk host who appears on some 200 stations Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) will join DI as a Senior Fellow, it was announced Friday.

"Michael Medved is an intellectual entrepreneur, a political and cultural polymath with great insights, judgment and wit," said Discovery Institute president Bruce Chapman.

8p: Kirby Wilbur and Ken Schram will Tuesday night for special comprehensive analysis of the local election. Using the combined resources of AM570 KVI, Fox News Radio and KOMO 1000 News, they'll provide election results and anaylsis.

8p: Dave Ross, Dori Monson, Tony Miner and the 710 KIRO News Team will bring you all the election results, and special comprehensive analysis. (Oops! where's David Goldstein, one of the most influential voices in state politics, and also on the KIRO payroll? Oh, that's right, Dori Monson, the self-described the King of Seattle Talk Radio doesn't deign speak to Goldy, and besides, we don't hear enough of Dori on KIRO).

Join Michael Medved after the Sonics vs. Sacramento Kings game for "And the winner is…" a one hour election results wrap-up, your phone calls.

There will be no special coverage on KUOW, or KPTK.

 

First the Republican presidential front runners couldn't find the time to go to a PBS debate at a all-black college; then Billo Reilly was pleasantly surprised that black people didn't scream "Motherfucker!" while ordering ice tea in one of "their" restaurants; and now Michael Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) is defending slavery!

Keith Olbermann bestowed the honor, Monday, of "Worst Person In The World" on the wily Mercer Island neocon and Judeo-Christian values-hustler.

Michael, Michael, Michael has written a Townhall.com column identifying some "Inconvenient Truths" about slavery, such as #6: THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT TODAY'S AFRICAN-AMERICANS WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF THEIR ANCESTORS HAD REMAINED BEHIND IN AFRICA.

~ Dave Ross's (KIRO m-f, 12-3p) musical intrusion on the live Michael Medved Show (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) Thursday was some very funny radio. Seems Ross was in the studio next door recording a jingle to the tune of "Home On the Range" for Ron Upshaw's (of Ron & Don) blackberry jam. For some reason, the pre-recorded noodling of a Floyd Cramerish piano and Dave's mellifluous baritone singing about blackberry seeds' colonic cleansing properties floated over the national right-wing speechifying by Medved, who, ever the trooper, ever the critic, acknowledged the music, briefly critiqued it (two thumbs down), and went on. It was funny, and enjoyed by all. Dunno (nor care) why Upshaw is selling jam, or why Dave is flacking it. Dori Monson was not involved for once.

~ Happy Puce Friday, the decorators' day off!

~ BlatherWatch is banned in China (also KIRO!) We told you we were cool- we got the word from our blog server just last week. We thought it was only subversive blogs like David Goldstein's (KIRO Sat. Sun., 7-10p) Horses Ass.org who got that distinction from the Chinese commies. We're also banned on Dori Monson's KIRO- the word has come down: we're never to appear over their airwaves, nor is our name ever to be uttered on-air. We are the Blog That None Dare Speak Its Name- but the one everyone reads!

Talk radio: more than a dial tone

How much juice does talk radio have anymore? Can talk hosts crown or defeat a candidate? Can they kill or green light legislation based on talk say-so alone?

Dean Barnett, a conservative writer and frequent guest host for Hugh Hewitt writes in the conservative Weekly Standard about the clout of talk radio. 

He's dealing with it after last week's shouting on the right that despite near "universal animosity in the talk radio community," John McCain has done well in early primaries.

Michael Medved declared talk radio "the big loser" in South Carolina; calling it "a medium that has unmistakably collapsed in terms of impact, influence and credibility because of its hysterical and one-dimensional involvement in the GOP nomination fight."

Michael Medved: talk radio is the big loser

It's an election year like no other, and that's not even close to saying it all.

Michael Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) is supporting John MCain. That, in itself, would've been political headlines a year ago, but in this year of years with a Republican field a potter's field of broken dreams (if you'll allow us to whip up an inane batter of metaphors...) nothing surprises.

Medved wrote on his Townhall.com blog Saturday that the South Carolina losers weren't the losers--

The big loser in South Carolina was, in fact, talk radio: a medium that has unmistakably collapsed in terms of impact, influence and credibility because of its hysterical and one-dimensional involvement in the GOP nomination fight.

Rev. Ken Hutcherson on the medved show

(photo: Rev. Ken Hutcherson with (state's) rights activist, Gov.George Wallace)

In America, if a man puts something into another man, it had better be a bullet. ~Bill Maher

Rev. Ken Hutcherson on the Michael Medved Show (KTTH m-f 12-3p) said Tuesday that the Rabbi Daniel Lapin told him to fear not, the Hebrew language has no word for tolerance- that things therefore, were either right or wrong, bad or good. In other words, tolerance is not biblical.

(We're not that good on the Bible, but we didn't need a rabbinical scholar to tell us how intolerant the Rab and Rev are).

Hutcherson, a black, evangelical megachurch pastor who's fundraising schtick is fag-baiting and threatening guilt-ridden white corporations, slaked his mighty thirst for self-promotion once more.

Talkritique: live & local talk radio... is it over?

Should we just shut up and watch as local programming is whittled away?

In a year, we've lost Ron Reagan, Bryan Suits, and Frank Shiers-- 20 hours of local issues-and-politics-talk programming.

Added to the money dayparts: Glenn Beck, Dr. Laura, and Phil Hendrie. Do they hate us?

Dennis Kelly Fisher's Program Director at KOMO and KVI told the P-I's Bill Virgin last year that talk  is "still the most popular format in America. ... Stations have to find a great balancing act between keeping existing listeners and attracting new ones," he said. "That's not easy."

Medved to join creationist discovery institute as senior fellow

Any pretense of political objectivity and non partisanship of Seattle's Discovery Institute is now forever blown.

Neocomic Bush apologist Michael Medved's long term, on-air fellation of the creationist think tank has finally paid off.

The nationally syndicated talk host who appears on some 200 stations Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) will join DI as a Senior Fellow, it was announced Friday.

"Michael Medved is an intellectual entrepreneur, a political and cultural polymath with great insights, judgment and wit," said Discovery Institute president Bruce Chapman.

Election night 2007 on the radie-yo

8p: Kirby Wilbur and Ken Schram will Tuesday night for special comprehensive analysis of the local election. Using the combined resources of AM570 KVI, Fox News Radio and KOMO 1000 News, they'll provide election results and anaylsis.

8p: Dave Ross, Dori Monson, Tony Miner and the 710 KIRO News Team will bring you all the election results, and special comprehensive analysis. (Oops! where's David Goldstein, one of the most influential voices in state politics, and also on the KIRO payroll? Oh, that's right, Dori Monson, the self-described the King of Seattle Talk Radio doesn't deign speak to Goldy, and besides, we don't hear enough of Dori on KIRO).

Join Michael Medved after the Sonics vs. Sacramento Kings game for "And the winner is…" a one hour election results wrap-up, your phone calls.

There will be no special coverage on KUOW, or KPTK.

 

Local boy makes worst

First the Republican presidential front runners couldn't find the time to go to a PBS debate at a all-black college; then Billo Reilly was pleasantly surprised that black people didn't scream "Motherfucker!" while ordering ice tea in one of "their" restaurants; and now Michael Medved (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) is defending slavery!

Keith Olbermann bestowed the honor, Monday, of "Worst Person In The World" on the wily Mercer Island neocon and Judeo-Christian values-hustler.

Michael, Michael, Michael has written a Townhall.com column identifying some "Inconvenient Truths" about slavery, such as #6: THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT TODAY'S AFRICAN-AMERICANS WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF THEIR ANCESTORS HAD REMAINED BEHIND IN AFRICA.

Puce friday oddems: home on the range; testicle lock box; sharkansky family values; lederhosen news you can use; a thong in our heart; words fail condi; dori, dori, dori

~ Dave Ross's (KIRO m-f, 12-3p) musical intrusion on the live Michael Medved Show (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) Thursday was some very funny radio. Seems Ross was in the studio next door recording a jingle to the tune of "Home On the Range" for Ron Upshaw's (of Ron & Don) blackberry jam. For some reason, the pre-recorded noodling of a Floyd Cramerish piano and Dave's mellifluous baritone singing about blackberry seeds' colonic cleansing properties floated over the national right-wing speechifying by Medved, who, ever the trooper, ever the critic, acknowledged the music, briefly critiqued it (two thumbs down), and went on. It was funny, and enjoyed by all. Dunno (nor care) why Upshaw is selling jam, or why Dave is flacking it. Dori Monson was not involved for once.

~ Happy Puce Friday, the decorators' day off!

~ BlatherWatch is banned in China (also KIRO!) We told you we were cool- we got the word from our blog server just last week. We thought it was only subversive blogs like David Goldstein's (KIRO Sat. Sun., 7-10p) Horses Ass.org who got that distinction from the Chinese commies. We're also banned on Dori Monson's KIRO- the word has come down: we're never to appear over their airwaves, nor is our name ever to be uttered on-air. We are the Blog That None Dare Speak Its Name- but the one everyone reads!