Fresh Air

I haven't gotten too excited yet about the left-leaning Air America Radio, mainly because it won't be available where I live and I can't listen to the streaming audio at work.

One thing I am excited about is the number of female broadcasters in their lineup: Randi Rhodes, Janeane Garofalo, Lizz Winstead and Laura Flanders all host or co-host their own shows. At least on the question of gender equality, Air America is as progressive as it says it will be.

Compare that to right-wing talk radio. Apart from "Doctor" Laura Schlessinger, wingnut talk is dominated by men. And those men are either misogynistic (Big Pharma, Michael Wiener-Savage) or at least hostile to equality and women's rights (Hannity, O'Reilly). All the other women wingnuts on the radio are C-list losers (Ingraham, Parshall, the Bat, etc.) toiling in obscurity.

Of course, most radio formats are dominated by men. It's nice to see a network with a few less old boys.