Montel Williams to host Air America radio show

[Robbien]

Source: MSNBC

Veteran TV personality Montel Williams has signed a deal to host a new flagship talk show on Air America, the struggling radio network that comedian and would-be U.S. Senator Al Franken helped launch in 2004 as a voice for the political left.

Under his multi-year agreement, Williams, 52, will debut the new program, "Montel Across America," on April 6, and the show will air weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern time on affiliate stations nationwide, the network said on Thursday.

The bald-headed TV celebrity and author will become perhaps the best-known name on the network's on-air roster, which already includes MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, columnist Arianna Huffington, Robert Kennedy Jr., and Ron Reagan, the liberal son of conservative Republican icon and late former President Ronald Reagan.

. . .

Air America, which has struggled under a succession of management changes and financial woes since its inception, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2007. An investment group led by New York real estate mogul Stephen Green bought it for about $4.25 million the following year, and the new owners are working to rebuild the enterprise.

"Our new owner is committed to growing the business, and certainly we're looking for passionate communicators with strong opinions, and if they have a well-known name, that's not a bad thing either," said Bill Hess, head of programing.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29667458/

[Idealism]

1. Montel is an interesting guy

Played cards with him for a bit, funny man but not too smart...

[No Elephants]

12. I never thought he was funny.

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. Will this be Thom Hartmann's old slot? I like Montel, but not enough...

to go back to listening to AA.

[pfitz59]

6. Yeah Thom's slot...

I think the locals will keep Thom. I hope so...

[Ian David]

10. You gotta be fucking kidding me. n/t

[Ian David]

9. Oh god I hope not. n/t

[Tarheel_Dem]

20. I asked because I know Thom has either already left, or is leaving AAR...

which begs to question, why is Lionel still there? Lionel apparently has a fan base which sustains his show, but I just think he's awful.

[sansf]

3. Nothing left on AAR

When Sam Seder and Marc Maron move on from their web Breakroom Live project, I'll be done with Air America. In 2004 Al Franken, Maron (Morning Sedition), Sam and Janeane brought me back to political life. Those were great radio days. Seems no liberal money has gone to liberal radio, which is a shame. I would have supported the show sponsors but there were no good products or services to buy. Their ads were crap, probably still are.

[stlsaxman]

11. "Morning Sedition" was radio at it's finest. Seriously.

And yes, once BRL is over- AAR will have nothing for me. Like you, i TRIED to find some product that the commercials told me about so i could say "I heard about this on Morning Sedition!" but there was nothing i could find.

here's a link to a 24/7 stream on iTunes of Air America's Morning Sedition

http://seditionradio.com/

oh- and welcome to DU! :hi:

[lynnertic]

17. Thanks for the link. That was a great show. I'm sorry it was canceled.

[lynnertic]

16. AAR was blacklisted by advertisers during the * admin

[Donnachaidh]

18. so employing a shill for Big Pharma is going to change that?

This is disgusting.

[lynnertic]

24. Look at you put words in my mouth!!

My reply to the comment upthread was to explain why the commentor couldn't find any AAR advertisers to support back when they were looking for them.

F**k off.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

19. Morning Sedition was fantastic

That and Franken's show were always on in my office.

[onehandle]

4. Snore. nt

[upi402]

5. I thought he was a quasi Republican, pro-military and all

AAR needs to be kept alive. Where are the wealthy libs? No wonder the Republican'ts kick our lazy selfish sissy asses. They will be back soon.

[No Elephants]

13. I think you're right. Things like stem cell research and medical marijuana may have altered some of

his outlook, though. (In case it isn't obvious from my wording, I'm guessing.)

[ashling]

7. Maybe these guys will sponsor his show:

[Ian David]

8. Montel is a gullible moron, but his heart is in the right place. n/t

[crim son]

14. I don't dislike Montel.

His was one of the more bearable cheesy talk-shows, years ago. And he has MS, as I recall. None of this is relevant but well, an interesting choice.

[No Elephants]

15. Montel Williams may have the best known face on th station, but Montel Williams is not the best

known name on a station that employs a Kennedy and a Reagan. Unfortunate wording.

If Williams actually is a better known name than Kennedy and Reagan, then something is desperately wrong with Americans.

[brooklynite]

21. HAs anyone been invited to do an AA phone survey?

Got a call Friday when I was busy , and they haven't called back. Interesting to know what questions they're asking.

[CreekDog]

22. I don't see any evidence that he will be a good host of a political talk show on a liberal network

not a shred of evidence.

ridiculous.

doesn't it take hours of research to do a show everyday?

does a background hosting trash tv talk shows give you that? doubtful.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

23. brought to you my Mark Green, dumbest man alive

This man has singlehandedly wrecked AAR's lineup. we went from (Seder/Hartman/Randi/Maddow) to Montel and Ron "Alan Colmes" Kuby?
And let's not forget the train wreck that is "Clout," hosted by the most awkward guy they could possibly dig up.

bringing on the vile, self-righteous tabloid wreck that is Montel will only drive off more listeners. Did they not learn anything from Jerry Springer?

I used to listen to AAR religiously - these days, I rarely bother to turn it on.

I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Lionel were staying in the morning.

Here's a clue, Mark - hire someone who isn't one of your out-of-touch Boomer friends for a change.

[Algorem]

25. Montel Williams hawks worthless Obama coins

http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/01/02/montel-willaims-hawks-worthless-obama-coins/

Posted Jan 2nd 2009 12:06PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Commercials, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Montel WilliamsI always had mixed feelings about Montel Williams and his now-defunct talk show. Sure, the show had its sleazy moments, but overall, he seemed to proceed in a more dignified way than most of his daytime talk brethren. I also admired him for his very public battle with MS and his advocacy to raise awareness of the disease. It seemed like Montel was set to transition to a post-show career that was at the very least not going to be embarrassing.

Then I saw him on an ad promoting one of those awful coins that commemorate Barack Obama's inauguration. You know which ones I'm talking about: they take a real (or semi-real) coin, dip it in gold, paint Obama's image on it, and claim that they're "rare" keepsakes that "comemorate" his historic inauguration, and will increase in value. So you basically pay some joint ten bucks plus shipping and handling to get a dollar or half-dollar coin that's worth... a dollar or half-dollar.

Montel has not only been on short TV ads, but he's also been touting the coins on an infomercial-length ad as well.

So here's my question: Why would Montel do this? Is he that desperate for work? Apparently, he's been doing plenty of infomercials since his show went off the air, taking a share of the profits of products he's promoting. But this seems even sleazier than that. I don't see any evidence that he's donating his salary to any charity, so it looks like he's doing it for the money. Wow. Way to be selective, Montel.

[wildflower]

26. Montel turns the tables on Fox morning show

Remember this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co3Spcq6Uzs

He lost his job afterward: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/31/23326/1083/699/446791