The O'Franken Non-Factor

The O'Franken Non-Factor - I finally listened to a few segments of the O'Franken Factor - Air America's flagship show, and the only show on the lineup that can be heard in the Twin Cities, via three hours of leased time on a tiny little news staton that will be ditching their current programming to go all-Catholic in about six weeks, here.

First thing to jump to mind? They spent an awful lot of money gathering an awful lot of "talent" (more on that later), and probably much more to buy either anemic radio stations or time on even more anemic ones...

...to sound like a small-market show hosted by someone who's very, very new to talk radio.

Seriously - I strongly doubt that Al Franken would have been hired on his own merits in Fargo or Duluth. His delivery is awkward and halting, and I say that as someone who's underwhelmed at his own national debut (but then, I've not been ballyhooed as the radio messiah of any major American political philosophy).

And the material? Ooof.

I heard him interviewing Johnathan Alter about...

...Bill Bennett's gambling. I asked myself, "I know they spend a lot of time on preproduction on Air America FrankenNet - but did they record their interviews six months ago, too?"