Stripes: ‘Ed Schultz Show’ finally hits AFR airwaves daily (w/caveat)

American Forces Radio this week began airing “The Ed Schultz Show,” nearly two months after the controversial host was originally scheduled to hit the airwaves.

The first hour of Schultz’s daily show, along with the first hour of the Al Franken radio show and the Sean Hannity show, will be broadcast Monday through Friday over the network’s Voice Channel. The decision to add the shows is designed to “provide a balance of popular political viewpoints,” AFR officials said in a statement.

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But Russell said not everyone may be able to hear the new shows.

Anyone living on a military base with cable or satellite service receives all AFR stations, and will be able to listen to the new additions. But Russell said regional affiliates, who offer just a sampling of the AFR programs through over-the-air broadcasts, will decide on their own whether to add the new shows.

AFN Europe is receiving the three programs but has not decided which, if any, it will be putting on its AM Power Network, which broadcasts across Germany.

Air Force Capt. Jeff Clark, public affairs officer for AFN-Europe, said that the radio station has to decide how great the demand is for the three programs, because if it decides to broadcast one or more of them, it will have to remove programs on the schedule, and it thinks it has a popular lineup.

He said the staff uses a variety of tools to gauge interest, including surveys and listener feedback, and will be considering the new programs but cannot give a timeline on when a decision will be made.

Clark said AFN has “lots of services available that we do not air” over the radio, but that are available to listeners through audio channels on TV decoder boxes or through cable-TV services on military bases. He said the programs are listed on www.afneurope.net, although exact times and channels can vary from place to place.

That has been a point of contention for congressional Democrats, who have accused defense officials of keeping liberal voices off the military radio network.

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?article=33556§ion=104

Stay "tuned." We may have to complain to Congress again if Schultz is, effectively, not aired.

What tools do they use to gauge "Rush"... Septic Pumps ?

influence, imagine the nightmare scenario for Rummy once these shows are allowed their rightful democratic place on air.

to broadcast over the air (like in Japan, e.g.) what they used to do is put programming in rotation. They did this with TV as well. You'd get "a" show, be it talk, variety, music, at the same time slot, but it would be a different one. For example, on TV at night, they might play the Tonight Show on Monday and Wednesday, Letterman on Tuesday and Thursday, and NIGHTLINE on Friday and Larry King on Sat...if people call the station and say "That show SUCKS!" they will eventually take it off and try something new, but often it takes forever to get them off their asses--a lot has to do with the deals they make with broadcasters and show producers to carry the programming.

They might also do little local polls on the installations as well.

The leadership for AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, fondly called Eh-Farts) comes out of OSD, and it is pretty heavily centralized. If Rummy's Department of Propaganda isn't liking what is carried, it goes away. I know most here won't like hearing that, but it is a sad fact.

I wish some of the more liberal shows could be carried over BBC World Service. You can get that on a shortwave, and it is good listening...

"...if it decides to broadcast one or more of them, it will have to remove programs on the schedule, and it thinks it has a popular lineup."

"Clark said AFN has “lots of services available that we do not air” over the radio..."

The Air Force "has not decided which, if any, it will be putting on its AM Power Network"