Lionel is about to get canceled from Air America

[Prefer]

Its obvious. You can tell, he hates every caller. Listen to the way he says their name with disdain, like Seinfeld used to say "Hello Newman". He hates this job, he can't stand the callers, and therefore can't be a gracious host. Almost everything he says is disingenuous.

He is even ruder to the callers than Randi. Some of these people, call in and he just craps right on them and uses them for his "comedy" - talks right over them and doesn't even let them get out what they called in for. And if they do he completely ignores it or pretends he doesn't understand them.

The program has rapidly devolved into a self serving pile of dung - he is so self absorbed he just passes the time playing with his own feces. And even that doesn't even make Lionel happy. How much longer can he be on?

The show has run it's course and has no apparent purpose to serve any more. It is not informative, nor is it entertaining. It's all helper and no hamburger.

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Bring back Sammy!

Sam Seder is 100X more likeable and listenable than Lionel.:thumbsup:

[Prefer]

4. Sam is funny

It's one thing to be funny, but Lionel has crossed the line into actually destroying his show because he is not happy with it.

I agree - bring back Sam. What the heck did they take him off the air for. He is hilarious and unlike Lionel, not completely absorbed with himself.

[wryter2000]

8. Amen!

Sam is awesome. The only problem is I'd have to stream Sam and listen to Mama on the radio. :)

[bullwinkle428]

28. Sammy filling in for Randi this week -

I wouldn't mind seeing that become permanent...just saying!

[dflprincess]

32. I hear ya

I've been enjoying afternoon radio this week.

[Strelnikov_]

29. Sammy's a meat eater

Sammy is A no 1

[Ahpook]

2. Fine with me:)

Put Seder back in there:)

[TheDebbieDee]

5. Me, too! I'd drop my Stephanie Miller Show habit

to listen to Sammy EVERYDAY!

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Me too! Me Too! n/t

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. I would love to see

him replaced by Sam.

[navarth]

6. I'd prefer a return of The Young Turks but I'd take Sammy for sure.

Here in Detroit we were able to enjoy the Turks for a good while. Now we've got......
Bill Press. ehh...

I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but after hearing Cenk on my morning ride for so long....I just can't do it. Bill's lame. (sorry Bill)

Air America has made SO many bad programming decisions. Laura Flanders reduced to one hour a week? Pleeease. Mike Malloy gone? I'm still a member but they're pissing me off.

Anyway: I agree Sammy would be great.

[BonnieJW]

12. We have Bill here in Northern Virginia too.

I'm not impressed. Lionel makes me cringe as does Randi. I tune in to Thom Hartman on a fuzzy AM station on my ride home. He's fabulous and so much better than Randi.

[Cooley Hurd]

20. My suspicion is that TYT was pulled and replaced by Bill because...

...TYT was against Hillary, and Bill is pro-Hillary - just the way AAR owner Mark Greene likes it.

[navarth]

24. ehh...

I guess you might conclude that TYT is 'against' Hillary. BUT: It seems to me that Cenk (as well as Keith Olbermann) bend over BACKWARDS to try and be fair to her, even now when she's much less deserving of it. (That's only MHO).

I can't subscribe to your suspicion, though I can't discount it either.

[jtrockville]

7. I've stopped listening to AAR (except Maddow's stream)

because every time I tune it in, Lionel's on. I find his show totally uninformative, and not worth listening to.

[fascisthunter]

9. I Stopped Listening to Him Because of His Attitude towards Callers

He's extremely arrogant and condescending... it's not necessary but does seem to be his schtick. I would tune in however if Sam Seder had come back....

[doc03]

11. Doesn't matter to me I haven't listened to

AA for weeks, it can shut down as far as I care.

[high density]

13. I haven't listened for a couple years

Whenever I wanted to listen Randi was on... And she is just painful... so painful.

[SalviaBlue]

14. I was just hoping for that very thing as I was driving to work this morning. eom

[immoderate]

15. Is that the only info you have?

Lionel isn't any different than he started as far as I can tell. Every once in a rare while he is informative. Mostly it's his nihilism.

Sammy is a prince!

--IMM

[Prefer]

17. That's it.

you can tell this guy is about to be out the door - listen to the show. He doesn't even bother trying anymore. It's all just - "what outrageous thing can I think of to pass my day by today?. Who can I insult today? What large words can I use to convince myself that my opinion is worth something."

[immoderate]

26. But that's his act.

He's always been like that. He's an insult comedian wannabe.

--IMM

[JDPriestly]

16. My gripes about Lionel.

1. He is ignorant and does not even try to find interesting new information about the topics he wants to discuss. We don't need that on liberal radio. We have so many talk-show hosts who are well informed. Lionel does not do the work required to be a liberal talk-show host.

2. He is self-centered. It's always and only about Lionel's half-informed opinions. He has no interest in what other people have to say. He tolerates (barely) statements by people who agree with him -- but only if they are brief and to the point. In other words, he is boring -- water flavored pudding. Yuck.

3. He prides himself on being poorly educated. This puts him on an awkward footing with much of his liberal audience many of whom are very, very well educated. And it isn't enough that he never learned anything and never tried to learn anything interesting except the names of a few second-rate pop musicians, he considers himself superior to his better informed listeners -- even those with expertise on their subjects. This makes him not just boring but a bore.

4. He is discourteous. He does not let callers speak unless he agrees with their every word. The fact that many of his callers are better informed and more articulate than he is makes no difference. This makes his show painful for those of us who feel sorry for the callers to whom he is so rude. It also intimidates us so we don't call. That is probably Lionel's purpose.

5. He obviously tries to ingratiate himself with the powers that be at Air America. Rude to his listeners and kissing up to his bosses. He has made it obvious on various occasions that his job security strategy is to make friends in the high places at Air America while treating us listeners like idiots. That makes him transparently ambitious and despicable.

6. He chooses stupid topics for discussion. That makes his show trivial, and that is the worst of all.

Compare to Thom Hartmann. He is fantastic. Compare to Randi Rhodes. She is a bit crazy but a lot of fun. Both Hartmann and Rhodes really make you think. So does Ed Schultz. And Rachel Maddow is just great. Lionel is not talk show material. He just isn't intelligent enough or patient enough with his callers. He needs to find another line of work. He seems like he is probably a nice enough, although rather simple, guy in private. Too bad. Not all of our dreams come true.

[Cooley Hurd]

18. #3 is an act - he used to be a lawyer...

...but the rest is spot-on.:thumbsup:

[KharmaTrain]

19. AAR Needs A New New York Affiliate...

Most AAR stations don't carry this show and it was pushed on the Greens as part of the deal to get the network on WWRL. They also had to take Armstrong Williams. The hope was Lionel was known in New York from his WOR days and would draw an audience to the station. It doesn't appear the ratings are what were hoped for and I wouldn't be surprised if he's a luxuary the network can no longer afford.

With a big election year happening, there hasn't been much growth of AAR or Progressive Talk radio. A better New York station/signal would be a big help. The Greens have kept the network afloat through rough times but the network is again drifting.

[Prefer]

22. You have to wonder if AAR is really intended to be a gatekeeper

to make sure that Liberal Talk radio is kept at bay.

First off, the initial founder people seemed like they were trying to kill it. They lied the funding and it was only because the staff worked for free that they were able to keep going. Then I forget who owned it, but they got rid of the good stuff and replaced it with lame stuff.

Now with Marc Green, he again got rid of more good stuff and replaced it with lamer stuff. The marketing department is terrible. The shows are polluted by the world most annoying commercials blasted over and over at you like torture. The products they sell are generally for the elderly, and they seem predatory and misleading.

So one hs to wonder if this isn't just some way to get out in front of the movement and control this important mouthpiece to make sure it is kept muzzled.

[KharmaTrain]

23. It's Amazing The Network Has Survived

From the outset, it's been run on a shoestring with barely enough money to keep the lights on. But I admire the dedication many who work for that network have and how its survived despite itself. They've had to push uphill against a radio industry that is collapsing under its own largess. Revenues have shrunk and the network is stuck in a Catch 22...it needs to keep costs down to survive and that hurts growth that makes it more difficult to go after the dwindling number of advertisers. The network hasn't been able to market and upgrade into more markets or on larger stations and is relegated to poor signals in many markets that also hamper its ability to draw ratings, listeners and money.

I really don't comment on AAR programming as talk radio is a very subjective area...some tune in to be pissed off, others just want another viewpoint...but it's not the do-all, end-all of Progressive Radio. There are networks like Pacifica and Democracy NOW that provide quality programming and rarely get any mention. It's radio with substance rather than poo-flinging...but for some that's what they enjoy hearing.

Progressive radio has never had a lot of organization or cooperation. Trying to work with the many personalities and interests is like herding cats and its hurt getting more programs developed and heard. But change is on the way...wireless internet will transform the medium with many of new sounds and voices to emerge. The old corporates are fighting the change, but change it will.

[navarth]

25. not to disagree, but if that's the case, why haven't they muzzled Thom Hartmann?

I personally think Thom is the Rolls Royce of all liberal (sane) talk radio. They've kept him...

I'm just sayin'

[Prefer]

27. Good point

Thom is the best. Maybe because Thom neuters himself. He is always going out of his way not to attack anyone. He give a voice to crazy conservatives and then when they leave he says "I don't want to talk about them when they aren't here to defend themselves."

[Phoonzang]

21. I listen to Stephanie Miller during that time

Soooo much better. Has me busting out laughing every morning at work. She's my favorite liberal talk show host besides Mike Malloy. Kind of like matter to his antimatter though. :7

[undeterred]

30. One of these shows is not like the others

one of these shows just doesn't belong

[Rob H.]

31. Before our local AAR affiliate went belly-up

I hated Lionel. At the top of the show he'd blather on for half an hour about how that day's show was going to be so awesome it would wind up permanently enshrined in the Museum of Television and Radio. It got to the point of me yelling at the radio, "Then quit squeakin' about it and bloody well get to it already!" Then at the beginning of the second half-hour he'd proceed on to some banal minutiae that no one but him gives a flying fuck about. (It must've been part of his shtick because he did it every! single! day!) I never lasted more than about 35 minutes or so.

I also got the sense that he thought he was just gut-bustingly hilarious and used two-dollar words just because they thought they made him sound more intelligent. He isn't, and it didn't.

[clbuck]

33. AAR should give up that time slot completely

They already gave up the 6 AM-9 AM Eastern time slot when The Young Turks was cancelled a few months ago (Bill Press is syndicated by Jones, not Air America, by the way).

Against Stephanie Miller, they hardly have any chance in getting affiliate clearances for whoever gets that 9 AM-noon time slot. They've had 4 different shows in that slot (Unfiltered, Jerry Springer, Sam Seder, and Lionel), and none of them have had sucess.

[blues90]

34. The only reason He would be cancelled is because

Lionel does not carry the water or force the political talking points as the other AAR hosts do .

Elliot has become a whiner , Randi has also become a moaner . Miller sounds like a monkey pressing buzzers and bells with the same worn out sound effects and a Obama shill even if she is not AAR .

I hated Lionel when I first heard him but after a while I find him realistic and funny and it is a break from the war and politics .

It's like head -on radio where the hosts do not take dem party sides since they are not controlled by advertisments .

AAR died for me when they fired Malloy and it began before that but Malloy was the final straw for me .