Hot Air Front Enters from the Left

Game on, Beach and Bauerle! There’s big news on the local talk radio front from a group calling itself Niagara Independent Media. They’ve just announced that they are taking control of programming at local radio station, WHLD 1270 AM, and will start airing Air America Radio beginning February 13^th.

Air America is best known for the Al Franken Show, which will air weekdays from noon to 3 PM. AAR began March 31, 2004 as a national alternative to the right wing talk radio juggernaut that had become synonymous with talk radio.

In addition to Franken, AAR will bring another famous television name to the Buffalo airwaves. The Jerry Springer Show airs weekdays from 10 to noon. This, however, is not the trailer trash beatdown Springer you’re used to. It’s a political show— we hear it’s not bad and even if it is, it’s got to be better than that cat-fancier Bauerle. Also, AAR will provide solid progressive talk shows from Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy.

Not new to progressive radio, the station had been featuring the kick-ass New York City progressive news show Democracy Now, hosted by Amy Goodman from 8 to 9 in the morning, which will remain, moving to the 9am slot. Most of the local progressive programming (say bye bye to polka and other hideous shows by Brian Kahle and Jimmy Griffin) is being moved to Saturday Morning.

WHLD plans to launch a totally new locally produced morning show from 6 to 9. They are also expanding the somewhat tiresome “News Room,” with Joe Schmidbauer and Grady Hawkins from Alt Press, running weekdays from 3 to 5 to compete with Sandy Beach. To this mix add Denis Bernstein’s Flashpoints from KPFA in Berkley and several other cool shows, and it adds up to some serious progressive radio in the Buffalo area. Lastly, a word to all you true believers on the left that feel this is a kick in the pants: it’s not the end of the world; there’s plenty of room for change in the line-up. (BEAST radio? Like we don’t have enough shit to do.)

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