Right-wing listeners got a shock Monday night when they tuned in to hear their weekdaily dose of canned Bill O'Reilly (9-11p) on conservative robo-talker KTTH... only to catch hours of the reasoned, educated, and very liberal tones of Air America's Thom Hartmann.
Hartmann usually inhabits progressive station KPTK from 9a-12p, m-f.
Bonneville spokesperson, Stephanie Furer denies it was a rogue robot or a drunken or disgruntled board-op. "It was a glitch," she said. "It's fixed now."
We thought, hoped, prayed it was a sneaked-in format change to the left for the little right-wing station. Furer denied that, too. "It was a glitch," she said. "It's fixed now."
That much sense-- the kind that Hartmann judiciously dishes everyday-- didn't go over too well in the KTTH choir loft
BlatherWatch and the station were inundated with emails and calls last night and this morning.
(photo: KTTH GM Bixbo with Ms. Furer)
We dashed off an urgent e-mail to our best friend, PD Rod Arquette. He responded immediately with his usual silence (it was such a nice silence, as always, we couldn't get mad at Rod).
We called his office instead and talked to his friendly mouthpiece, Furer who told us that somehow, the station got a beams from the moonbatosphere instead of the wingnutosphere. "It was a glitch," she said. "It's fixed now."
I've never heard of a glitch like this happening before. Everyone knows glitch is the one size fits all answer for everything. Police glitched and shot that poor fellow twenty times. Enough bullshit what really happened?
Posted by: AuthenticAndrew | January 06, 2009 at 01:57 PM
I heard this last night, spilled my Nyquil and wrote Michael. I too hoped that we might be hearing the birth of a new progressive station in Seattle. I don't listen to KPTK very much (too many terrible commercials and PSAs) but I had forgotten what a fine talk host Hartmann is. He is like Maddow, he assumes his listeners are intelligent, and handles respectfully those guests and listeners who disagree with him.
Posted by: Phil | January 06, 2009 at 02:28 PM
Awhile back, a podcast from KKGN of Peter B. COllins turned out to be Mike Savage! Sometimes it does happen. KKGN is owned by Clear Channel, probably got the feeds mixed up.
Posted by: EvergreenRailfan | January 06, 2009 at 03:52 PM
ha ha! yesterday Thom pwned himself on air by disconnecting himself and leaving the guest caller on:
* ......thom?....*
Hey KPTK, how about less advertising? especially some of the schlocky shit you have been pushing like evercleanse and John Comuda? Kinda thins out the progressive message eh?
Posted by: mark | January 06, 2009 at 05:55 PM
When Lee Callaghan does her Eco-minute, I switch to FM or to KOMO. The worst is the take off on Elvis music with words about the environment. gack.
I wonder if Thom won anybody over?
Posted by: sparky | January 06, 2009 at 07:06 PM
THIS IS OFF-TOPIC and for that I apologize but I have to vent.
o21ther "Too Beuatiful to live " haters have posted about this with vitriol in other places and i've never made much of it but every time im driving around, with scan on the radio this happens ... tonight i come onto 710 kiro as luke burbnak is talking about the fascination 13 year old boys have with porn ... this is getting par for hte course, like i said others have said more than i about it elsewhere, but he sometimes will also be found talking about his body hair relative to adolescents, his voice relative to adolescents, his teenage sexual experiences and so forth and i'm sorry but its really gross
im making no insinuation but am simply saying if you talk about a topic like this with such regularity and seemign fascination it gets REALLY creepy
im tempted to write a letter of complaint to this stephanie furer; is this part of his appeal on-air? ive never heard anything like this and i dont mean it in a good way - at all
im no prude i just think i have a sense of i dont know ... repulsiveness to discussions about teen sexual experiences and physical development by adults as "entertainment"
sorry again for off topic but it was really too much
Posted by: dismayed | January 06, 2009 at 08:57 PM
Sounds gross....I dont listen so, Im not sure, but isnt the appeal that he talks about things that are supposed to be of interest to the 12-20 set? I think if I was a kid, I would be insulted.
Posted by: sparky | January 06, 2009 at 09:55 PM
It's a weak response, but not impossible.
Most talk companies are using the same brand/model satellite receiver. They're all pointed at the same satellite. If the receivers are fully authorized, you can dial around the different companies as easily as changing the channel on your TV set. Computers can be plugged into the receivers, to change channels automatically.
Every station that runs a talk show, sports or news network, or some music syndications has at least one of these receivers... if not several.
Getting the wrong channel set up isn't as hard as you might think. Letting it stay on the air for more than 30 seconds is the real "glitch"
Posted by: George | January 07, 2009 at 08:21 AM
Well, the rightwingers might as well get used to listening to rational liberals for the next 8 years!
Posted by: David Tatelman | January 07, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Whoa! A conservative who really enjoys listening to the likes of Thom and Schrambo? Why? Because they are human too and of course they have good ideas. Those on both sides with political myopia need help to recognize their own signs and symptoms. INTROSPECTIVE PEOPLE! Long live intelligent debate! Bring it on!
-K
Posted by: K. Orengali | January 08, 2009 at 09:46 AM
yeah,intelligent debate like Thom's belief that 911 was an inside job, the buildings were wired for demolition. Oh, and there's the way he blames all of our woes on "25 years of Reganomics", gee wasn't Clinton in there for about 8 of those years? Didn't the Democrats control congress from 1954 to 1995?
Don't get me started, he's about as open to intelligent debate as Michael Savage but an even bigger wiener.
Posted by: Brian | January 08, 2009 at 03:36 PM
yeah,intelligent debate like Thom's belief that 911 was an inside job, the buildings were wired for demolition. Oh, and there's the way he blames all of our woes on "25 years of Reganomics", gee wasn't Clinton in there for about 8 of those years? Didn't the Democrats control congress from 1954 to 1995?
Don't get me started, he's about as open to intelligent debate as Michael Savage but an even bigger wiener.
Posted by: Brian | January 08, 2009 at 03:36 PM