These are not all good changes. Mike Malloy is a nut case and his show is painful to listen to. Hearing a person with a clear anger management problem rant about 'that son of a bitch' etc. is not good radio.

Hartman's great, Malloy needs help.

Thom Hartmann for Senate!

Sam Seder was given his walking papers a couple of days ago. And just as more affiliates began to sign on.

I think we are going to see a lot of changes in progressive radio over the next year or two leading up to the election.

But without Sam, someone needs to grab Joe Conason for an extended weekly update.

Scott,

That rumor has happened to Sam a number of times now, and none of them have turned out to be true. Do you have any facts to back up that claim? Because he's still broadcasting today and hasn't said a peep about anything like that.

Where did you hear about it? Despite Sam's "uhhh" problem I think that it would be a grave mistake for Air America to drop him. He's been picking at the corpse of the Al Franken show very successfully and has signed on a bunch of Al's regulars already.

Faolan: It's all over Sam's blog spot. Which means it's really not official until he's gone.

And you're right - it would be a mistake. He's getting stronger every week.

I like Mike Malloy- talk radio is entertainment- and Malloy is entertaining. Anger in politics can be a good thing, and after reading a few Barbara Bush quotes, I think that the son of a B**ch comment can actually be considered factual.

The anger he puts out at times mirrored mine, and was a good release for me. These are statements that cannot be made in polite company, but it is good to hear it in an entertainment format. I find it to be a pressure valve release.

The change they really need to make is to get rid of Randi Rhodes. She's a huge embarrassment to progressives, due to her shrill style and frequent spouting of misinformation. See my recent blog post: "Air America needs to dump Randi Rhodes"

hmm. . I'm glad that I'll get to hear more of Thom. That's a good thing. I am not happy about Malloy's return-- he is full of hate, and I don't find him at all entertaining. I took a trip to McMinnville last week, aboard the Bus Project bus--we were headed to a peace vigil, and the talk just kind of turned to KPOJ. of the dozen of us aboard the bus, fully half voiced negative opinions of Randi Rhodes, and would be happy to have her axed/replaced.

Yay Malloy! When I first heard his show I couldn't stand it; too dark, too angry. But as the crimes and atrocities of the Bush administration started to pile up, and I became angrier and angrier myself*, I returned to Malloy. He's an outlet for a lot of what I feel.

• Before you tell me to get active instead of angry, I am active. They are not mutually exclusive.

Randi has her good days and her bad days, but I would take her on her worst day over Mike Malloy on his best day.

Yuk, Mike Malloy. Even though I like the Bush Crime Family term, he just rankles me.

Randi Rhodes gives the Reds what they deserve. Sam Seder isn't slick, but I like his style.

Air America itself is run by dumbasses. Yep, hire Jerry Springer. Put a guy (RFK, Jr.) on the air who can hardly talk because of a physical ailment. I love Rachel Maddow, but midnight-2 am? She's the audio version of caffeine - she should have a morning show.

I think it's a good lineup. I like that Malloy is so dark. I envision him in a dark booth with an overflowing ashtray. Sort of like a progressive Tom Waits. And it will be great to be able to call into Thom live on the national show.

Am I the only one in radioland who can't stand to listen to Sam Seder? What in his "style" is there to like? He's a one-note Johnny, completely unoriginal, and his delivery is terrible.

At least Al Franken was funny. And he had great guests.

InRe the negative comments about Mike Malloy, I couldn't agree less.

Nutcase? For letting his anger about the corruption, hypocrisy, and shameless mendacity we citizens have to endure from conservatives on a daily basis?

If that qualifies as nutcase, then someone send me my straighjacket, because I'm ready.

The left's Ann Coulter? Oh, no, no. Well, maybe-except that Ann Coulter lies all the time. The fundamental differences between Ann Coulter and Mike Malloy come down to the currently acceptable lie and crass self-interest in the former and truth and genuine concern on the direction of this country in the latter.

Mike isn't patient with people who lie and carry Republican water, and gets mean at them. That's just fine with me.

I am glad Mike Malloy is back!!!!! Thom Hartman gives me the intellectual and historical reasons why I should be politically involved or take some action. But its Mike's anger and passion that will actually get me to stand on the street with a sign or make the phone calls demanding change.

The unvarnished truth is that Sam Seder is far more informed than many of the posters here. I find him anything but one note. If we can't hear him it will be our loss, but I am certain many Portland progressives are so self-absorbed they won't even notice.

Mike Malloy is the kind of progressive with guts that Portlanders seldom get to hear. Most of the bellyaching folks who don't like him here seem to be too immature to deal with the real world and/or have almost clinical passive-aggressive personalities. Frankly, in my view you are a member of that whiny, petty, all-but-useless part of the progressive movement if a smile doesn't cross your face when he lets go with his signature line "Have I told you how much I hate these (great name for a corrupted right-wing moron here)." I have really missed that for the several months we haven't had him here.

Ed has important role on KPOJ. Besides the segment of the audience to whom he directly appeals (and they are bigger than some might want to accept based on the reception he receives when he visits the NW), it is important for the smuggly insular NW progressive population to which he doesn't appeal to at least have the chance to hear him. He lets us know how an politically important, very persuadable with reasonable straight talk, segment of the population thinks. Sometimes, I find myself realizing he is cleverly getting at a very progressive position in a way I know blows by that smug segment I mentioned. On the other hand, I personally feel he sometimes reverts to his conservative roots, and at those times I just turn the dial.

Thom Hartmann is a truly strange case. He brings caricartures of the opposition on his show, (how many Ayn Randian Objectivists actually have any power in this country?), and then manages to all but lose the argument. He can't interview a politically significant figure in the news to save his life. A lot of his callers apparently listen to him solely to be affirmed, rather than to be genuinely politically empowered. A couple of days ago, Thom actually argued with a caller that he (Thom) wouldn't call out politicians on our side who betray us because then they wouldn't come on his show. Frankly, I don't need to hear those kinds of folks on his show, unless they are coming on to explain themselves.

Bottom line on Hartmann KPOJ: How could you waste the morning drive slot so badly with!? Remember, broadening the base means reaching out past elitist Portlanders to folks who do drive their cars to work, and who do live in suburban houses with yards because they really are middle-of-the-road, middle-class folks who just know something is going very, very wrong with the country. Six hours of Hartmann is why I will now be finding at least four hours of morning programming somewhere other than KPOJ (thank heaven for the internet). Sam Seder, if he sticks at AAR would be a good use of the time. Otherwise, anyone with more guts and who actually is more realistically engaged with politics as the audience experiences it would be better for that morning drive slot. If your Arbitron numbers suggest otherwise (care to share?), than Portland is nuttier than I ever wanted to believe.

Hm. I thought the problem was 6 straight hours of Thom Hartmann.

But people tend to listen in 15 minute increments or thereabouts, I guess. And I guess the new addition to the morning show serves as a dilution.

doretta's comments are right on.

The best host on Air America that Oregonians seldom get a chance to hear is Rachel Maddow. KPOJ chooses to relegate her to Midnight to 2 AM.

When Malloy begins one of his irrational rants the radio in our home magically shuts off and is replaced by some good recorded music!

[Anonymous fake-name comment deleted. -editor.]

Hi, Does anyone know what the ratings for KPOJ are? I would like to actually know all the ratings for PDX radio stations, but KPOJ would be nice to know. AAR in LAX is a .6, so I am wondering if PDX's AAR gets better ratings. My Fav on POJ is actually Randy Rhoades and least fav is Ed Schultz.

TIA

I liked Mark Marin (sp?) & Mark Riley. Franken was b-o-r-i-n-g but his guests were great. Sam Sedar sucks. Rachel Maddow is good but I seldom listen. Rhodes o.k. when on her meds. Malloy?? A pure screamer. Other shows are available from Air America, but KPOJ appears too cheap to buy them.

In fact, the whole station comes across as an effort to make a profit while spending as little as possible on programming (ok if it works; otherwise buh-bye))It seems poorly run (commercials running over programming etc), zip resources to sales, and clueless about how to appeal to progressives, i.e., billboards, bumperstickers & on air promos for KPOJ itself are pathetic.

Not much there there..(sorry, Gertrude)

Why is it that the guy who complains about others being "self-absorbed" writes a screed that is easily eight times longer than anything else on this thread.

hey MikeMalloyisBest, your personality called, it wants its self-awareness back.

Latest Arbitron ratings for Portland are here

Randi Rhodes --- like nails on a chalk board. Somebody make her stop playing that annoying bell sound when she plays sound quotes. I don't think she's helping to win over any people who are on the fence... in fact it might be having the opposite effect. She acts like a spoiled child who has serious issues with the "give and take" of adult discussion. I don't trust what she says --- even when I want to.

Mike Malloy --- I used to listen to him a daily. All of us who have been paying attention for the last 6 years are angry. We don't need an adolescent three year old throwing tantrums every 15 minutes, swearing and screaming like a freak to remind us. He's a competent reporter and makes great efforts to be as factual as possible, but he needs to grow up and quit the bad language. An otherwise important message is quickly lost to any moderate fence sitters.

Sam Seder --- Very entertaining... but I can only take so many uuuhhhs, aaahhhs, etc. He has a real problem with this and until he can overcome this problem, I don't see him breaking into the top tier nationally. Maybe he's not even aware that he is doing it. It's too bad, because he has great potential.

Rachel Maddow --- She's really starting to grow on me. She is concise, factual, and packs a lot of info into a short amount of time. She deserves prime time. A good balance of news and humor.

Peter B. Collins --- He would make an excellent addition to the station's lineup. Besides the great music, he's mature, mellow, broad minded, and has an excellent radio voice.

Thom Hartmann --- A great mind and decent human being. I've been listening to him since he was on IERadio. He is sometimes less than exact with his facts and details (for those of us who are "neat freaks"). It has caused me to question many of his statements which I have not heard/read from other sources. I tune out his interviews with Ayn Rand members, etc (I have red-neck right-wingers all around me and there's no changing their mind unless you can make them think it's their idea). The only other complaint is when he plays those fake news stories which sound so real. If someone didn't know what was going on, they might think it was for real. In this era of rampant misinformation from the Main Street Media, most of us don't need any more confusion, even if it is meant to entertain.