Step One: Ditch the conservative formula.
Step two: Give us something to think about.

As you know, Air America Radio has filed for bankruptcy. And now it seems Al Franken is planning on leaving Air America Radio. Is progressive radio falling flat? And if so, why?

I have a good idea why.

We lefties aren't content hearing someone tell us something we already know. Especially if the people telling us what we already know are making no attempt to add humor/insight/creativity into the mix.

Consider the following radio hosts:

Rhodes. Seder. Garofalo.
Limbaugh. Hannity. O'Reilly.

What do all these radio talk show personalities have in common? Easy - you already know they're going to say before they say it.

How do the first three differ from the second three? Again, the answer is easy: ratings.

In order to entertain a liberal, you've got to be creative. Not so for the right-wing moonbats. Give 'em Sean Hannity. No intellectual stimulation required.

One of the biggest reasons right wing radio has flourished over the past decade is because it is so easy to do. Put a guy on a mic, have him tell his audience what they want to hear. Stick it on a cheap (read, a.m.) radio station. Comfort food for the soul.

It doesn't take a great deal of money or creativity to occupy the conservative mind:

• World Wrestling Federation.


• A two-millennium-old story about a dude's wife turning into a pillar of salt.


• Bass fishing.

But we lefties don't get the same kick out of mindless predictability. Teach me something. Show me a new way of looking at cartoons. Or anthropology. Or hell, just make me laugh.

In fact, the best formula for success in the world of left-leaning political discourse -- at least in recent years -- has been humor. Stewart and Colbert on TV; Stephanie Miller on the radio, for example.

This is not to say we're not a serious bunch. But humor can be a vehicle for more serious material. Consider Mark Twain. Rent Chaplin's The Great Dictator. Or just watch Keith Olbermann for a while.

When he was on, Al Franken could be pretty damn funny himself. And original. But he was fairly temperamental, and too often his show would get predictable. And boring. Not Hannity boring, mind you, but definitely not the type of thing I'd prefer over Radiohead, or an unedited Boondocks episode.

I couldn't tell you the first thing about running a radio station. But I knows what I likes. And hearing someone tell me what I already know, or preach to me what I already believe, gets old. Fast.

I'm no conservative. Give me something to think about.

..!..



Believe it or not, AFN (the DoD's radio network) airs Ed Schultz daily, right before Limbaugh's show. I got to hear good ol' boy Ed a few times when I was deployed this summer.