By Janelle Henderson
Talk radio is ubiquitously known for being right-winged. However, on March 31, 2004, Air America Radio launched and took a jab at the Republican talk radio monopoly with its anti-Bush, pro-liberal stance. Now, to celebrate Air America Radio’s one-year anniversary, HBO Documentaries presents “Left of the Dial,” a documentary produced and directed by Patrick Farrelly and Kate O’Callaghan chronicling the highs and lows of the network, from its launch until the re-election of President Bush.
With shows hosted by author-comedian Al Franken, actress Janeane Garofalo, boisterous radio veteran Randi Rhodes and rapper Chuck D, Air America Radio had a hopeful outlook at its launch. Despite all the initial optimism, there was great criticism from Republican radio personalities, like Bill O’Reilly, who was quoted by MSNBC as saying, “This whole liberal network scheme is just plain stupid. These pinheads backing the venture will lose millions of dollars because the propaganda network is simply tedious and tedious doesn’t sell.”
After a great first show, with Michael Moore and Al Gore on “The Al Franken Show” and an indelible shouting match between Randi Rhodes and Ralph Nader on “The Randi Rhodes Show,” the hosts showed that they were not in fact tedious and did indeed bring originality to the genre. However, they had no idea of the problems soon to arise: two weeks after their initial launch, the network faced its first financial burdens.
Programming in two of the network’s chief markets, Los Angeles and Chicago, was cancelled due to a lack of funds. The network was hit once again as funds said to be present by former chairman and personal investor Evan Cohen were unavailable and staff members were not paid. Under new management, headed by former acting CEO Doug Kreeger, Air America attempted to stay afloat by seeking new investors and using the bad press to their advantage — and it worked. They managed to live payroll to payroll long enough to deliver the results of the 2004 presidential election.
The documentary was sharp, dramatic, and above all intriguing. Between the panic attacks of Mark Maron, co-host of Morning Sedition, and the yelling of Randi Rhodes, I didn’t know whether to sit in awe or laugh. It was both fascinating and empowering to watch people with a decisive message speak their minds in this forum, not allowing their radio inexperience or the financial and management issues of the network hinder them from their goal.
As the staff sat and watched the re-election of President Bush on Nov. 2, and recounted the errors of the Democratic Party the following day, they left their audience with resounding advice: we can use our frustration to spur change. So students, whether we’re having heated debates about the misfortune of an increasingly Republican America, affirmative action, or rising tuition costs, we should follow the message of this brilliant documentary.
The documentary premiered on March 31, but will be replayed several times on HBO-East and HBO2-East, the next date being April 15 at 3:45 a.m. See http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/leftofthedial for complete program scheduling.
