We all know Air America is now on XM Radio. But all is not perfect in this partnership.
XM has had a channel called "Buzz XM" which was an outlet for fringe syndicated talkshows - those not on major networks. Needless to say, they were predominantly right wing shows with Ed Schultz being the lone liberal exception from 3-6pm ET. Ed's a really entertaining guy and is worth checking out.
Here's the problem. XM opened channel 167 to carry Air America, but named the channel "America Left." "Buzz XM," on channel 166, is going to be rechristened as "America Right" on Monday. As such, they have moved Ed Schultz over to "America Left" - which pre-empts Randi Rhodes' first three hours on Air America.
Randi can't catch a break. She arguably has the best show on AA right now - mostly because she's the only host with bone-deep radio chops, having been at it for years. But since she's not a high-visability superstar like Franken or Garofalo, she gets the short end of the publicity stick. Now this Ed Schultz situation crops up, and Randi again gets the, ahem, shaft.
I called XM and they say this will be the deal until further notice. Damn. Time to let Air America and XM know how ya feel...
