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It can't be heartening to Nancy Skinner, the liberal talker who took Randi Rhodes' time slot, that KTLK-AM is airing commercials with this headline. The clear message is, Nancy, we'll air your show, but the second Randi Rhodes comes back on the air, you're either out of here, or relegated to a time-shifted, wee hours time slot.
Randi Rhodes' radio show left the air back in February, either as the result of--or the cause of--Nova M Radio's dissolution. News has been sparse, practically non-existent. We all get that Nova M is gone. But nobody knows the details, or at least they are not being public about it.
I've been a listener of Randi Rhodes since mid-2004, when I was looking for The Al Franken Show. It took me a while to cotton to her New York honk, but once I got past that, I was an unabashed fan. Randi was always the highlight of my listening day. But she's been gone for months now, with no real explanation.
I'm a little pissed off that there has been no official word about her disappearance. All we have is rampant speculation, and hearsay. But the funny thing is, even though I'm irritated that nobody from Randi's camp letting us know what's going on, if she came back tomorrow, I'd be there. Back to #1 fan status. Don't believe the crap you might hear from detractors. Randi's the real deal, and is the best progressive/liberal talk-show host there is.
Rachel Maddow is terrific, and I'm glad she got her TV show. I'm no fan of Ed Shultz, but I'm glad he got a TV forum too. But neither can take the place of Randi Rhodes. I'm frankly surprised we haven't gotten some sort of trickle of information, even a hint, from Stephanie Miller, or from anywhere else. How long will stations like KTLK wait? Nancy Skinner is surely not burning up the airwaves. She's--at least lately--barely listenable*. But, Randi, please give us some indication of what's going on!
*UPDATE: As Nancy Skinner herself has actually commented on this blog (under a different blog post), I find it necessary to point out that I have nothing personal against her, I just took issue with her style this week. I'm quite sure she's a nice lady. It is easy to forget when writing a blog like this that I'm talking about actual people. I will try to frame my critiques in slightly less personal terms going forward. . .
I was one of Randi's biggest fans, but her rudeness to listeners and guests who disagreed with her (and even some of those who agreed with her) was getting to be a bit much. The Bush administration is gone, and with it went the need for vitriol. Nancy Skinner is more in tune with the age of Obama. It's time to start talking to each other again. Nancy is polite to her guests and her callers -- even if she disagrees with them. We don't like it when the other side spews hatred and screams and shouts. Why should we stoop to their level? It's a new day, and Nancy fits in better with it. I appreciate her thoughtfulness and willingness to talk to everyone. She trying to change hearts and minds on the other side and in the middle, and you can't do that by calling people names and screaming at them.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, to a large extent. Randi could on occasion be rude, but I don't think it escalated. Maybe you just started noticing it more. Still, compare her to someone like Mark Levin, and it's no contest.
ReplyDeleteThe Bush Administration may be gone, but their crimes still taint us. We can't get lazy or soft, and Randi helps keep the important issues in the forefront.
Nancy Skinner is my least favorite left-wing talker. She's terrible with timing breaks, she lets that damned Pink song (which I used to like) run to almost its complete length three times per day. But this "let's let them get away with torture, fighting it is too hard" attitude grates, and makes me mad. Randi would never do that.
Nancy may be nice but I too find her unlistenable.
ReplyDeleteI miss Randi but I think it's extraordinarily rude of her not to said a single thing about her status.
She used to brag about how she'd started a whole business after leaving Air America, WOW, wasn't she amazing, she had saved the jobs of everyone who worked with her. She could not shut up about what a raging success she was.
And yet, a single contract dispute was enough to put her off the air for, apparently, all eternity.
So Randi.... where's your AMAZING business acumen now?
I miss Randi terribly and hopes that she returns soon. No one can inform, educate and entertain like Rhandi.
ReplyDeleteThe folks who are pissed off at Randi because she hasn't made some huge statement, or blogged some site, or called in with her story to another progressive host should really cut the woman some slack. They're behaving as if she's nothing but a 2-dimensional character, not allowed to have a life to herself, and has some kind of obligation to her fans to do what THEY want her to do. I miss her, definitely - there's no one out there who does more thorough research for her shows, and she never, ever presumes to tell her audience to believe what she says - that they should check it out themselves. She's got more integrity than anyone out on the airwaves - but she's also a human being who might just want to take a freaking break. I can't wait to hear her again, but until then, Randi, chill, watch C-SPAN and the mindless Project Runway-style drivel she shamefully enjoys (as do I), go shopping, and have fun with the new love in your life. We'll be here when you're ready.
ReplyDeleteDear James,
ReplyDeleteBravo for an excellent post! Last week she was insulting Janeane Garafalo (and Keith Olbermann, for agreeing with her), and now it's Rachel Maddow. She is a corporatist shill and a republican apologist. I find it humorous that she scolded you on getting the facts right and credibility. She doesn't even know how to spell Peggy Noonan's last name! Last week I sent her a letter of complaint, as she was misrepresenting Janeane's comments; well, she went off on me, insulting me and cherry-picking my comments, to make me sound like a "crazed liberal."
You are generous, to be concerned about being too snarky or bitchy--because she certainly is not. I've heard her get down-right nasty---just defending her show and positions. I think she knows that she's not fooling too many people....I just hope that Randi comes back, and when she does, this hack gets sent back to Faux News; I believe Hannity has an opening for the "opposing liberal view." She'd be perfect.
"The folks who are pissed off at Randi. . ."
ReplyDeleteNobody's saying that Randi shouldn't have a life. I hope she's getting lots of naked time with her boyfriend, was it Howard? But there has been so little info for her fans, so little indication that she's even still breathing, it just feels like we could be thrown a bone.
If you go to therandirhodesshow.com, you'll find the same message that has been there since this began. A small edit, an addendum. . .SOMETHING would be nice.
Counting down to May 11th!! Welcome back Randi!! You've been missed by many!
ReplyDeleteHow funny that I read this blog earlier today, and now tonight there's news, finally, that she's coming back!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/23/randi-rhodes-to-return-to_n_190850.html