I've been thinking of this, too. It's amazing how many hours KPOJ just replays Franken. You'd think more people would tune in to hear a Blue Oregon hour, wouldn't you?

Hey, that's not a bad idea....

So how do we find out who's got the best "radio voice" among us?

Personally, I'd like to nominate Jack Bogdanski for the job, unless his voice is really high-pitched and girlish.

A moderate Republican as the progressive voice of Portland?

As long as the host is appropriately mean spirited and viscious, they could give Lars a run. They wouldn't even need to cut off the mikes of guests or terminate phone calls in mid sentence.

I ain't the guy, but Jeff just might be......Also, what's Phil Busse up to these days, beyond the Mercury effort?

That's a couple of "Angry White Males" right there.....

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Almost any Blue Oregon topic could easily kill a couple of radio hours.

Rich, I too just saw that Jack is considering switching party affiliations. Maybe we could have a "Crossfire" thing going on - a moderate Republican v. a progressive Democrat. It might be that interesting as radio goes, however, because they'd be agreeing so much.

That last sentence should read: "It might NOT be that interesting as radio goes, however, because they'd be agreeing too much."

The best Progressive voice in Portland has to be Jefferson Smith. His mind is not half bad either. His voice has that odd mixture of a preacher, school teacher and used car salesman that I think works on the radio.

However, he is one of my best friends and I say all this at the risk of being accused of shilling for a buddy.

Chubby.

Whoever it is has to be truly funny, I think. Too much of not just Air America, but even talk radio in general, is not.

I like the current national lineup and I thank them for their service, but sometimes it's unlistenably dull.

The ad says "entertaining" - let's hope whoever they pick lives up to that requirement.

Pat, who you callin' white? Oh, wait a minute...

Actually, I did work on the most sublime hour of radio ever produced: the Rogue Hour, which aired in July, 2003. Pat Ryan, bless his heart, was one of the merry band who produced it, as was Jefferson "Half Bad Mind" Smith--whose voice is indeed sultrily radio-ready. He also has a connection or two around the state, which is a bonus.

Busse was a guest, along with Caitlin Baggot, queen of the Zephyr, though both are probably too big now to consider slumming on the radio. (This was pre-Mayoral Candidate Busse.)

In fact, it doesn't require much imagination to think how you could assemble a hell of a group to produce a show. All kidding aside, the Rogue Hour was conceived as something closer to the Daily Show than Limbaugh, which put it ahead of most of the content on Air America.

Anyone's interested, I'm ready to jump in...

Oh, I should point out that it's the producer--someone who actually knows what the hell's going on in a radio booth--that's hard to find. Keen and interesting minds we have in thick abundance; radio folk not so much.

Kari's kind of a techno guy, maybe it's one of his hidden talents...

For what it's worth, I agree with Chubby!

Jefferson would be perfect for this job. He's able to get a progressive message across convincingly & in a way that holds people's short attention spans.

Perhaps we should start a Draft Jefferson movement? Or a convince-him-to-go-for-it campaign?

He can be reached at the Bus office at:

(503) 233-3018 or online at

[email protected]

Let's give Lars a run for his money and show everyone how 'blue' Oregon truly is!!!

I thought of Jefferson, too.

But he would need a foil, I think, to keep it from becoming all-earnestness radio (the "entertaining" part of the ad). And the article did say "hosts," so there's room for one more.

So if they need a team, I think it would be good if Jefferson's one of that team. Who's the other?

I already get mailers from them, and surf by the site every so often, so I'd prefer to see another from the "rest" of BlueOregon (i.e., perhaps not BusPac).

Oh, snap! JoAnn Bowman.

Her and Jefferson Smith. I'd listen to that every day.

Personally, I'd like to nominate Jack Bogdanski for the job, unless his voice is really high-pitched and girlish.

Well, listen for yourself (it's "AUDIO 2").

RE: Jefferson's ego.

Yeah, it would be up to it.

I can tell you this from the personal experience of a strong-willed woman who doesn't hesitate in speaking my mind with him.

To his credit, I have always found his response to be fair-minded & respectful, as well as informative, insightful, & full of conviction.

I think a female/male host format w/Jefferson & a leading female progressive voice would be quite entertaining & impactful.

Hmm, JJ.

Would it be over the line to ask why your wife wouldn't go back?

I'd be all right with b!x, too, if he sounded good. He'd have to be able to work with JoAnn, though.

I'll vote for Jefferson and Jeff. Both are quick, well informed, and Jefferson has that orator's voice........No.........NOT A BIT LIKE JOHN KERRY.

Christy:

Could you provide that e-mail adrs again - for Mike Dirkx at KPOJ (preferably hyperlinked)?

Thanks.

I'd be careful about campaigning to KPOJ, especially via email, to hire this or that person. It's their decision, not ours.

Besides, the candidate drives this private process, not the 'voters.'

For example, if Jefferson's interested, he should figure out what goes into a package and send it. But a concerted email 'campaign', even from well-meaning supporters, could make Mr. Dirkx feel like his hand is being forced, thus driving the candidate out of a chance to interview and eventually get the job.

Not to be pedantic, but it's progressive talk radio, not progressive politics. It's a job, not an elected public service position.

Many of us want to see Jeff go beyond the Oregon Bus Project, and put his brilliant progressive mind, and resonant manner of conversation, to a higher and more public purpose.

But this isn't that opportunity.