10 August 2005

as far as the news project goes, a decision has to be made: do i try to be "fair & balanced" or do i just focus on the conservatives (for, unsurprisingly, one cannot fill out a broadcast day w/ just liberal hosts unless one listens to air america all day)? if one simply monitors the conservative shows, a list like this emerges:
12pm-rush limbaugh (wabc)
1pm-dayside w/ linda vester (fnc)
2pm-the radio factor w/ bill o'reilly (wor)
3pm-the sean hannity show (wabc)
4pm-the bob grant show (wor)
5pm-the big show w/ john gibson (fnc)
6pm-the mark levin show (wabc)
7pm-the michael savage show (wor)
8pm-the o'reilly factor (fnc)
9pm-the laura ingraham show (wabc)
10pm-scarborough country w/ joe scarborough (msnbc)
11pm-the situation w/ tucker carlson (msnbc)

i could lose ingraham and be quite happy about it: as attractive as she may or may not be, in a reversal of the old axiom, she has a great voice for silence. even if i lose her, i still might have a woman in the lineup, if juliet huddy is filling in for vester. ('dayside' is interesting, b/c it's the only one of these shows that has a (decidedly biased) studio audience.) also, does one really need to hear o'reilly twice? or is more important to get hannity twice (on his radio show and then on 'hannity & colmes'?)

the liberals i would like to cover are all on air america: jerry springer, al franken, randi rhodes, and the majority report. as for television broadcasts ... very little representation: chris matthews, allegedly, and keith olbermann on 'countdown,' which has taken up an amusingly anti-fox line. an alternative line-up:
11am: springer on the radio w/ jerry springer (wlib)
12pm: limbaugh
1pm: dayside
2pm: the al franken show (wlib)
3pm: hannity
4pm: the randi rhodes show (wlib)
5pm: grant
6pm: savage
7pm: the majority report w/ janeane garofalo & sam seder (wlib)
8pm: o'reilly
9pm: hannity & colmes (fnc)
10pm: scarborough
11pm: carlson
12am: countdown w/ keith olbermann (msnbc)
1am: hardball w/ chris matthews (msnbc)

in which i lose gibson (okay), ingraham (all right), and levin. i'd rather not lose levin, but unfortunately (?) he's only on for two hours a day.

decisions.

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