Is Anybody Out There?
The Air America "Conspiracy" Theory
By Chuck Hyde, Editor of StandBesideHer.com
Humans have long been confronted with philosophical questions such as: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?” or “If a man says something and his wife is not around, is he still wrong?” We now have another one to ponder: “If no one is listening to a radio network, does it really exist?”
The reason I have been pondering this question is a real news story unfolding this week with Air America, a far left radio network started in 2004. To say the network is failing miserably is being more than kind. Their three year history has shown declining listeners, loss of stations, layoffs, and chapter 11 bankruptcy this year.
This Sunday, Randi Rhodes, a host for Air America had an “unfortunate incident” (according to the Air America website) in which she fell while walking her dog and injured herself. While she has appeared to have chipped some teeth, she is fortunately uninjured. The part about this that is ridiculous is that the incident immediately became a right-wing conspiracy on Air America. Jon Elliot, another host on Air America immediately called it an assault, speculating that Ms Rhodes was the victim of a “hate crime” by right-wingers to “silence” Air America - "Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own?" (Jon Elliot, source: Foxnews.com).
The accusation fell apart throughout the day on Monday while being investigated by Fox news. First, Air America backed off the hate crime accusation. Then it was reported that the NYPD had no record of the assault. Finally, as of the writing of this article, the story is changing to Ms Rhodes tripping over her dog while walking and falling to the pavement.
I won’t even bother discussing the notion of fair journalism because I don’t believe Air America has typically been accused of either being fair or, for that matter, practicing journalism. I’m not going to waste my time talking about left-wing smear machines and the whole notion of them not letting something trivial like the truth getting in the way of a good story. As of this writing, there is anecdotal evidence that the story is still making it’s way around the blogosphere, even though it has been disavowed by Air America itself.
The real question here is exactly who is this “right-wing hate machine” supposed to be silencing? And if they really were trying to silence them, why bother? Does Mr. Elliot really think that people on the right lay awake at night worrying about a network that no one is listening to? They are simply not worth bothering with.
So, finally, I go back to my original question, “If no one is listening to a radio network, does it really exist?” That’s what’s on my mind.
About The Author: Chuck Hyde is editor of StandBesideHer.com. He is also a husband and father of two teenage boys and a younger daughter. His family lives in the northern Midwestern rural United States, where they enjoy camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities together. Chuck is a Registered Nurse in an inner city emergency room and has had a lifelong addiction to politics.
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