Gone, But Not Forgotten
The rumors of his demise have been ... largely correct.
What was first reported on Shot in the Dark has been corroborated by the horse's mouth. The City Pages interviewed Nick Coleman and he confirms his tenure on the Air America Morning Zoo is over.
In a telephone conversation with City Pages, Nick Coleman cited "ongoing management interference" as his main reason for leaving the left-leaning talk station after only six months.
The reason, he claims he was General Manager Janet Robert's monkey:
Coleman describes a work environment where Robert regularly imposed content restrictions. "Gays, guns, and abortion" were off-limits, Coleman says. And he was expected to minimize the airtime he devoted to the war in Iraq, which he claims Robert supports. Coleman was also chided for criticizing Democrats, including Sen. Mark Dayton and tycoon Vance Opperman, instead of reciting the prepared Democratic talking points.
Anyone who spent any time listening to the Coleman show may find the claim that he was restricted from talking about Iraq or "gays" to be highly curious, as they were his twin obsessions for conversation topics. And his listeners aren't the only ones scratching their heads about his departure story.
Janet Robert strenuously denies most of Coleman's claims.
Yikes. Forget those public schools, Nick Coleman look out - your bridges are burning!
UPDATE: Flash from Centrisity is a personal email correspondent with Nick and has more details. Including this Zen-like koan from the man himself:
Can "liberal" or "progressive" talk radio prosper under an ownership that is neither?
There it is, Air America, not liberal enough for Nick Coleman. Maybe they're hiring over at Radio Rebelde?
Craig Westover has the answer to his question:
... if Nick is defining "liberal" and "progressive," the answer is probably "no." To "prosper" in a free market, one has to appeal to a wide enough audience that one can entice advertisers and consequently make enough money to support operations if not show a profit. That probably means appealing to a wider audience than is interested in "speculation on the size of the genitals of the Power Line guys." It doesn't mean a station can't have a point of view -- it does mean its host ought to be able to frame the point of view so it's possible to have a discussion not just a bashing.
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