What is going on with Randi Rhodes today?

[dennis4868]

She is not making sense and not really talking about anything important all day long and there is someone in the background with a very annoying laugh....HE WONT STOP LAUGHING!

WE NEED MIKE MALLOY BACK!

[FlaGranny]

1. Did you miss the call from Rep Wexler

about the lawsuit? Lots of talk about voting machines. Some about the "Passion" movie. Some about the dealth penalty and some about abortion.

Edit: Sometimes she fools around and jokes around. Always has.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. True. Duers shouldn't over react ot one slow and uneventful show.

[kixot]

2. I know, it sux!!!

She's rambling on and on about this syndication gig, which is great, but all I hear is bitchin and that faery co-host needs to stfu and quit his quacking and goof-ass laughing, he's so getting on my nerves here. Great, she saw the frickin' passion, Id like to hear more about tomorrow's primary.

Don't mean to offend anyone, this show just sucks. God, I miss Mike Malloy.

[americanstranger]

5. Well, you offended me.

Tim Allan's a good guy. No need to call him a 'faery.'

I think she made a hell of a point about Mel's Big Jeebus movie, too.

You don't hear what you want to hear for a day, and her show 'sucks?' Pretty fickle if you ask me.

-as

[theHandpuppet]

17. Me too

Count me as another who didn't appreciate the "faery" comment.

[myomy]

4. See, she's human.

We're damn lucky to have her. Just watch her take off with the new syndication.

[metisnation]

6. THE K O A M

Stern is torching Bush and Company.

lol

[annagull]

7. I thought it was a great show

Deutch was fantastic, she talked about alot of issues today, but I like Randi because she knows how to have a laugh, and believe me, if we are going to compete nationally we need laughter---irony and humor are what the right wing lack, and it is what grabs listeners.

[onecitizen]

8. I didn't hear it today but.......

at the end of last week I detected some changes in her. Beating up on callers who were just trying to congratulate her I thought. Then I realized she is nervous about all this. I mean here she is going into syndication, having to move quickly and everything that goes with that and as I understand it, she's recently divorced. Then at the end of the show on Friday the truth came out. She is kind of scared(not sure that's the right word)or nervous about all this. And it's coming out on the airwaves right now. She'll settle down. The absolute worse thing we could do is bail on her now. She needs us. AND WE NEED HER! And she is really gonna need us when her show starts. So please everyone, keep listening and be sure to call when she syndicates, please.

I have listened for a very long time. I swear she will NOT disappoint you. She is intelligent, witty, and can out talk anybody. I know of no one who could win a debate with her.


There's alot of pressure on her to perform. Everyone is counting on her. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Give her just a bit of a slack this last week.

[dennis4868]

9. Now that the money is in the bank account...

and she has the liberal radio gig she has been nasty to her callers that have not deserved it. She has turned me off with her self promoting herself all the damn time by saying, "I am the only liberal on the radio." Well, at the time there was Mike Malloy....I think I would call him a liberal. She seems to be out for herself and does not care about her callers very much. With Malloy you knew he believed what he was saying (or yelling) and he was not selfish....he loved his callers. Maybe I am going through Mike Malloy withdrawl but Randi Rhodes is no Mike Malloy.

[americanstranger]

11. Dead wrong, pal.

If you listened, you'd know that Randi has always had nice things to say about Malloy.

If you paid attention, you'd notice that Randi has said every day that if it weren't for her listeners in WPB and on the internet, the syndication deal would not have happened.

You may not know that as part of her dead with Air America, she arranged to keep her show in WPB.

I guess going from having a radio show in one small market to seven of the biggest markets in the country is supposed to be something that wouldn't put anybody through a couple of changes.

Randi's a friend of mine, and you have no right to have said what you're saying about her. The woman loves her listeners.

You're just wrong on this.

-as

[dennis4868]

12. I never said that....

she says bad things about Malloy. I am just saying that she is no Mike Malloy IMHO and also I feel that since the her deal with Air America was final and the money in her bank account she has been somewhat nasty to her callers, even to those callers congratulating her. I am not sure why. In any even, I like Randi....she is smart and does not back down from the repubs!

[dennis4868]

10. That may be...

why she has turned down going on TV cable chows time after time.

[Gloria]

13. I'd be nervous too...she has to transform herself into a more national

host rather than a local host who happens to pull in listeners from around the country via the internet. At the same time, she'll still be in FL....and many of her local listeners will wonder why she's going to be "different"...it will be a tough transition...but she can do it.

She's basically the only host on the new Central Air who is a real radio personality and she's going to be competing against several RW hosts...Hannity nationwide, I think, and local hosts in NYC like Bob Grant if I'm not mistaken, who is a real creep.

Frankly, I wish Malloy were on the new network. But I think they are scared of Malloy and want to bring in listeners who are not necessarily hardcore liberals, but from a broader political range. Aside from Randi, none of the hosts so far are proven radio personalities. I hope it flies....

[kaitykaity]

27. She won't be in FL--she's moving to NYC.

Thursday is her last live show for two weeks while she moves. Her show will still AIR in WPB off of WJNO. She insisted that be part of the deal so that people like me who aren't in the major markets she's launching in can still listen to the stream.

[ithacan]

14. I am underwhelmed by her

I've listened a few times, via the link at DU.

I am not impressed. Yes, she does speak her mind and bashes Bush and the idiocy.

But I heard her be rude or dismissive to too many callers who were on our side!

She often does not know what she's talking about, and is faking it; lucky for her the freepers she was talking to knew even less. But in national syndication this will not fly.

Malloy is much more effective, imho.

[dennis4868]

15. Exactly my point....

I describe her as passionate at times, self-promoting, rude with callers, and a fighter. Malloy was the real deal. He had such passion for what he belived and you knew he was not a fake.

[oceanpoetry]

16. personally

I prefer listening to Randi Rhodes over Mike Malloy ...she is a sharp cookie, her information is well-researched, passionate and well-spoken. Mike Malloy would go on name-calling diatribes, which was a big turn-off for me.

[ithacan]

18. well-researched?

she defended US involvement in the war in Kosovo by claiming that it was a member of NATO (!!???) instead of just explaining the difference between Kosovo and Iraq...

And she did not seem to know that it was Bush I that got the US into Somalia in December 1992, after the election, in effect tying Clinton's hands.

These are just two examples, but if she can't get these things straight I can't imagine that her stuff is "well researched..."

I wanted to like her because I'd heard lots of good things about her, but...

[americanstranger]

19. Funny, I've heard her refer to Bush I/Somalia

a couple of times on her show.

You'll like her just fine when she forces Hannity's cancellation.

-as

[onecitizen]

20. Please........

can't we be sad for/about Malloy AND be happy for Randi? They're both on our side after all. Can't we be FOR both of them?

I wasn't crazy about Malloy's style, but I still listened and supported him. I listen and support Guy James too. Again, not crazy about his style either. That doesn't mean I can't listen and support Randi too. This isn't an either/or issue as I see it.

[americanstranger]

21. Market realities and Air America (long)

I met both of them at Democracy Radio 2 years ago. Both of them were pretty brilliant as human beings, and both were extremely vocal in what they thought needed to be done to bring liberals to national talk radio.

Many of both of their ideas have been brought to bear with Air America.

After that meeting, I ended up contributing to Randi's program and web site. TBTM ended up doing the news for Malloy for nearly six months. It is/was an honor to be associated with both of them.

Malloy was a ratings winner in Chicago before he was dumped by WLS, and his unceremonious dismissal was proof that he was hitting a nerve with someone.

Randi was such a winner in South Florida, Clear Channel ended up hiring her as a form of damage control. She's been number one not only in the talk format in her market, but across all formats - she regularly rates higher than news or music stations in her time slot, and she cuts across all age demographics as well.

There seems to be some bitterness that Randi got the Air America gig, while Mike didn't. But we have to disconnect and look at the market realities of why things turned out that way, and I think it boils down to a question of style.

Malloy's 'edginess' was the big attraction among liberals (I know that's what attracted me to him in the first place - his intensity nearly melted my computer speakers on a number of occasions). But it was a negative in a lot of respects, too. It's widely known that a big reason given for his dismissal from WLS was that he was 'too edgy.' And I think that factored into Air America's decision to hire Randi and not Mike. As someone mentioned elsewhere, Air America might be scared of Malloy to a degree. I'm not saying that's right or justified, I'm just saying that it's a possibility.

Randi's connection with the WPB community is extremely deep - she's supported the Young Democrats, she's collected toys for Christmas and school supplies for kids. The listeners in WPB are extremely loyal to her, and I think that Air America noticed that, as well. Nothing talks in radio like consistent ratings.

And she gets silly on occasion, too. Silly works well on radio, that's a fact. And while Air America looks to attract liberals and moderates with a combination of information and comedy (that's why Franken is the main attraction and why Liz Winstead got a gig), Randi would seem to be a better fit.

And again - I'll voice my respect and admiration for Mike Malloy and Kathy Bey to anyone who will listen. No one does take-no-prisoners liberal radio like Mike does, and I'm sure he'll be back on the air before long. He's just too good to go missing for long.

But it's my guess that Air America didn't pick Malloy up because he doesn't fit the profile they're trying to create with the network. I spent a lot of time in the music industry, and I can tell you there have always been instances of great bands who just never got signed.

And as TBTM gets more involved with the radio industry, I see the same thing there. But that's really no reason to disparage one talent over another. Let's be glad that someone's actually trying to get a network like this off the ground at long last.

-as

[librechik]

22. wise words, stranger

I love Mike's gall and excess, but I too was concerned that he would be a bit too over-the-top for an entity which thinks Al Franken is outrageous and is aiming to be embraced across a broad panorama of American Listeners. Perhaps after the elections AA will like Mike better (whether we win or lose)

[onecitizen]

23. You obviously have much more.......

knowledge of such things than me. All I'm saying is there is room for several, let's not shoot ourselves in the foot because it would only hurt us. We need them ALL at this point.

Was there a battle between RR and MM at AA? I mean, were RR and MM battling for the same job and the job went to RR? If so, I didn't know that and if I were a big MM fan, then I might be upset too. But if they weren't directly competing for the same job, then I say, let's just be happy one more Liberal is on air and continue to support MM and try to others on the air too.

[americanstranger]

25. Actually, the battle was between Randi and Ed Schultz.

And in contrast with her remarks on Malloy, Randi didn't have much good to say about Schultz.

I only make the comparison between Randi and Malloy because of the comments made in this thread, and because of the obvious differences in style, which seem to have made a difference.

-as

[onecitizen]

26. Oh, OK then........

I listen to Ed once in a while when RR is not on. Ed sounds waaaayyyy too much like rush. But I do like him.

I didn't think there was that particular problem(RRvsMM)but I'm not up on all this stuff like alot of you guys so I really appreciate you all being out there with the facts. Thanx AS! Hope we get them ALL on soon.

[FlaGranny]

24. I agree with you, and in addition,

I would like to add that Randi has a very sarcastic personality and she's not very patient. Howard Stern anyone? Rudeness? Come on folks. If this were Malloy or Stern or any of the other radio shock jock out there, you'd think it was great. Randi is a woman and somehow it is never right for a woman to be rude. Sometimes she p***es me off, too, but not any more than any of the shock jocks have done, and she makes a lot more sense than most of them. Randi COULD be more polite to some people. So could those guys. In addition, unfortunately, rudeness sells. I have noticed she is brushing off folks who are congratulating her - she sounds very self conscious and I think has a hard time accepting praise - I've noticed that before.

As for making mistakes - yes, she occasionally does, but if you give her the correct information, she will correct it on the air. I wonder if any of her detractors have ever known someone who made no errors.