AAR Host Leads Phoenix Protest, Pittsburgh Fallout

LAST GASP

Strange AZ Heckling, KDKA Aftermath, WBZ




When all else fails, why not find anything you can use to torment hated Republicans? We'll call it the left's "Hey Hey, Ho Ho" mentality. Why bother with substance?

In Phoenix today, that's what local Air America host Fred McChesney seemed to be doing. As she merely attempted to announce her re-election campaign outside Arizona's Capitol, McChesney (seen in photo with brother and co-host Steve) shouted empty-headed slogans at Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer.

While protestors complained about Arizona's voting machines, Brewer's press conference was delayed:

(AP) Secretary of State Jan Brewer said Thursday that she would seek re-election later this year, promising as the state's chief elections officer to update voting laws and technology to ensure accurate elections.

Brewer's announcement was briefly delayed when a handful of protesters shouted slogans critical of a company that provides some voting equipment in Arizona.

The event resumed after police officers cordoned off protesters behind police tape. Still, protesters continued repeating slogans as Brewer spoke to a group of supporters outside the Arizona Capitol.

Diebold Inc.'s voting machines are vulnerable to computer hackers and therefore could reflect inaccurate results, said protester Fred McChesney, a local host on Air America Radio, a liberal radio network.

Brewer said the state has experienced no difficulties with Diebold machines and has policies in place to ensure that the type of voting problems encountered during the 2000 presidential election in Florida will not occur in Arizona.

"I feel very, very confident that there will not be problem if the procedures and security measures are followed," Brewer said.

Brewer, a Republican elected as secretary of state in 2002, said she has led an effort to update Arizona's election equipment and laws and has worked to implement Proposition 200, a voter-approved law that denies some government benefits to illegal immigrants and requires people to show identification when voting.

What a way for local affiliate KXXT to go out with a bang, or was it a whimper?

Why should protestors bother to supply actual evidence of problems with Diebold machines in Arizona? Screaming is more fun.

As we reported yesterday, the station will dump Air America Radio for religious programming on February 1.


Meanwhile, the situation at Pittsburgh's KDKA continues to deteriorate after its recent staff bloodbath. Marty Griffin, a replacement host (seen in photo below), told angry listeners to "move on" after several on-air personalities were recently fired.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

So far, the hottest topic on Marty Griffin's new KDKA-AM (1020) talk show this week has been ... KDKA.

Intense public reaction to the firing of three of the station's talk hosts last week spilled over into the New Year. Griffin was on the front lines, taking calls from listeners who were unhappy with the firings of Mike Pintek, Mike Romigh and sports talk host Paul Alexander.

Griffin, who replaced Pintek on the 9 a.m. to noon shift, spent a good portion of Day One -- Monday -- talking to disgruntled callers. By yesterday, he was urging them to move on. With the ongoing West Virginia mine accident story and the swearing in of a new mayor in the city, there were plenty of other things to talk about.

While it's not Griffin's fault things have been this badly mishandled, telling listeners to "move on" isn't terribly wise for someone in fast need of a fan base. Stay tuned for the next chapter of this sorry tale.


Legendary commentator Paul Harvey's daily news updates have very quietly disappeared from Boston's WBZ-AM, after decades on the air. Wizbang has the details.

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Image of Air America hosts: KXXT, Marty Griffin: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette