On Cynthia Black's Action Point Talking about Internet Radio

I'll be on Action Point with Cynthia Black tomorrow (Sunday, July 1, at 12:30). We'll be talking about strategies to kick back against the right-wing dominance of talk radio, as outlined in the recent report from The Center for American Progress.

I suppose the primer for this exists in Robert Parry's "The Left's Media Miscalculation," which was featured in Judy Daubenmier's Project Rewire: New Media from the Inside Out. Parry talks about the need for the Left (or whatever you want to call it) to make media itself a front-and-center issue, just as the Right did post-Watergate. Through tremendous effort, the Republican Party became the Marketing Party, the side that got to define the terms of debate via big media.

These are different times now, of course. Big media still matters a great deal, but four years ago it mattered more. I could not have foreseen the Talking Points Memo media empire back then, and back then Markos was a guy whose posts got run on something called The Smirking Chimp under the name "Kos"; the Daily Kos as a political machine did not exist. Much has changed.

I see radio as the next unexplored frontier for bloggers. As of last August's launch of BlogTalkRadio, which operates sort of like a YouTube for podcasters, the delivery mechanism is there for anyone to play. James Boyce, with his Heading Left show (with Nate Wilcox) and Smoking Politics show (with Dave Johnson), seems to be the first pioneer to operate from the traditional progressive blogosphere (ever heard the word "traditional" and "blogosphere" in the same sentence before? Times they are a changing, my friends), but I would like to point to Scott Horton of Antiwar Radio as the king of Internet Radio. His list of guests is stellar, and it's a testament to his broadcasting skills that I disagree with the premise of several of his Libertarian positions, but I cannot possibly turn off his show. Go listen to Scott's interviews (and his Antiwar Radio partner Charles Goyette) here. His style is too unpolished, I suppose, for big media, but he's leaps ahead of most who are in the Internet radio game.

The proliferation of MP3 players makes it possible for those whose tastes don't run along the Sean Hannity/Neil Boortz/Rush Limbaugh spectrum to redefine talk radio. Let's go for it.

Naturally, the future of enterprises such as BlogTalkRadio hinges on the efforts to guard Net Neutrality. I hope to discuss that a little with Cynthia tomorrow, too.

Ron Paul Fervor Causes Memory Loss

Yes, I was on Action Point with Cynthia Black last Sunday. Thanks for asking. I was talking about the Internet response to Ron Paul's candidacy and Paul's reading list for Rudy Giuliani (one of the greatest publicity stunts in presidential primary memory).

I said that the antiwar position is up for grabs, and given the public perception of last week's performance by the Democrats in Congress, Thom Hartmann may be right--the Republican Party could seize an opportunity here to co-opt an antiwar message. Of course, I wouldn’t expect the front-runners of the party to be as intelligent as Paul on this issue, but take this in for what it’s worth: a clear majority of Americans see Iraq as a failure, but neither party is perceived as successfully addressing the problem.

Good for me, then. I made a point. But in my fervor over the Paul/Giuliani fracas, I forgot to mention the best Internet resource I know of for learning about Rudy’s reading list: Antiwar Radio interviews conducted by Scott Horton. Everyone should download and listen to Scott’s recent interviews with Chalmers Johnson, author of Blowback; Michael Scheuer, author of Hubris; and Robert A. Pape, author of Dying to Win.

For good measure, Horton also brought up the reading list with Ray McGovern last week. (Cue up now for the WmJasCo tie-in: catch Ray McGovern with Judy Daubenmier at VoxPop this Saturday, if you’re anywhere near Brooklyn).

Tom Sumner on Action Point, KPHX Phoenix

Tom Sumner (author of Untidy, the blogs on Rumseld, creator of the Informed Citizen Series, and our fearless editor) will be on the political radio talk show Action Point with Cynthia Black on Sunday, June 3rd. He'll be discussing the Blogosphere's reception of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, and he'll be part of a discussion on blogging and "Web 2.0" with Andrew Keen (The Cult of the Amateur).

Action Point airs from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. Sundays on Air America 1480 KPHX, broadcasting from Phoenix, Arizona.

Catch any of Tom's radio interviews on our radio page.

About Action Point
Action Point exists to bring a new dimension to talk radio. Solution Politics - the who, what, when, where, and how of people taking back the democratic process from extremist special interests.

Thought-provoking questions discussed by nationally recognized guests bring urgent issues to the forefront.. Cynthia Black demands Action Points from callers and guests to outline effective solutions for derailing the right-wing agenda.

Tom Sumner on Issues & Ideas, KCBX FM90

Tom Sumner (Untidy, the blogs on Rumseld) will talk about political blogging, the new media of journalism, and how he came to create the Informed Citizen Series with Guy Rathbun on Issues & Ideas at 4:45 p.m. PST Wed., May 16. If you're in the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo area of California, tune in just before All Things Considered; otherwise, stream it live or download the podcast from the archive.

Tom Sumner on The Lynn Rivers Show, WEMU public radio

Tom Sumner (author of Untidy, the blogs on Rumseld, creator of the Informed Citizen Series, and our fearless managing editor) will talk about blogging, the new media of journalism, and footnotes unfolding in political history with former Congresswoman Lynn Rivers on The Lynn Rivers Show from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday May 11th, on WEMU public radio in Yipsalanti, Michigan.

About the Lynn Rivers Show
The Lynn Rivers Show debuted in September, 2004, and quickly rose to become one of the most listened-to programs on WEMU. Concentrating on public affairs and issues that affect the Washtenaw County area and beyond, the one-hour program mixes in-depth interviews with newsmakers from all around the country with listener calls and questions.

Tom Sumner on Charlottesville-Right Now

This week on Charlottesville-Right Now, our managing editor Tom Sumner (creator of the Informed Citizen Series, author of Untidy: the Blogs on Rumsfeld) will be talking about new media, political blogging, and "big" journalism vs. independent journalism with host Coy Barefoot. It will broadcast from News Radio 1070 WINA this Thursday, March 29, at 4:00p.m. EST. Catch any of Tom's radio interviews on our radio page.

About Coy Barefoot
Coy Barefoot is a bestselling author, historian, and political analyst. He is the Director of Communications and Alumni Relations at the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia, a non-partisan organization dedicated to ethics and bipartisanship cooperation in government.

Coy says he identifies with no political party in America today. He is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. He is not a Libertarian nor a Green. He proudly calls himself a Jeffersonian.

Tom Sumner on KBOO radio

Tom Sumner (our managing editor, creator of the Informed Citizen Series (Project Rewire, Special Plans, Untidy) and author/editor of the first book of the series, Untidy: The Blogs on Rumsfeld) was interviewed by Ed Goldberg for Between the Covers on KBOO FM radio.

In this hour-long interview, the two talk about the book series, the role and nature of political blogs, current political news events and more. Listen to it from our radio page.

You can also read this piece by Tom about the blog-based series and the idea of "stopping the Internet so it can be read."

About KBOO
KBOO is a nationally acclaimed community-based radio station broadcasting out of Portland, Oregon. The National Federation of Community Broadcasters has awarded KBOO the Golden Reel Award and the Special Merit Award.

Special Plans book editor on Thom Hartmann

Tom Sumner, editor of Special Plans: The blogs on Douglas Feith and the faulty intelligence that led to war, will be on the local Portland Thom Hartmann Show tomorrow morning at 6:30. Tune your radio in to AM 620 KPOJ, listen online at the KPOJ Web site, or listen afterwards anytime on our site.

This book was ahead of its time when we released it last year. Its time has come. Don't miss Tom's post the pentagon submits its book report.