Northern Alliance Radio Network
Encyclopedia
The Northern Alliance Radio Network is an American
radio
talk show
, the first in the world hosted entirely by blog
gers. The show airs in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul
on AM1280 The Patriot
.
The program is hosted by six bloggers:
James Lileks
is also a frequent guest host.
The show analyzes news and current events from a bloggers' point of view, and is conservative
in tone.
prevailed on the bloggers and AM1280
to put the show on the air.
The first broadcast was March 6, 2004.
Less than three weeks later, on March 23, 2004, the show did the first of over a dozen fill-ins for Hugh Hewitt
and Dennis Prager
's nationally-syndicated shows.
In January 2006, the "NARN" expanded to four hours, and split into two nominally-separate programs - "Volume I" from 11AM to 1PM, featuring Ward, "Elder", and Hinderaker, and "Volume II" from 1 to 3PM with Morrissey, Banaian, and Berg.
In August 2006, the program spawned yet another offshoot, "NARN Volume III, the Final Word" featuring Banaian and adding Michael Brodkorb of the blog Minnesota Democrats Exposed, with Berg and Morrissey doing "Volume II" as a duo. Brodkorb departed the show in January 2009, after which Banaian has continued as a solo.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, the first in the world hosted entirely by blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers. The show airs in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
on AM1280 The Patriot
WWTC
WWTC is a long-standing radio station serving the Twin Cities region. Despite its up-and-down history, the station spawned two of the area's major television stations and had some very innovative and unusual periods in its history...
.
The program is hosted by six bloggers:
- John HinderakerJohn H. HinderakerJohn H. Hinderaker is a conservative American lawyer and a blogger at the Power Line weblog, as well as a fellow at the Claremont Institute. He is a 1971 graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1974...
of Power Line BlogPower LinePower Line is an American political blog, providing news and commentary from a conservative point-of-view. It was originally written by three lawyers who attended Dartmouth College together: John H. Hinderaker, Scott W. Johnson, and Paul Mirengoff... - King Banaian of SCSU Scholars Blog
- Mitch Berg of the blog Shot In The Dark
- Brian "Saint Paul" Ward and Chad "The Elder" of the blog Fraters Libertas
- "Captain" Ed MorrisseyEd MorrisseyEd Morrissey is an American conservative blogger, columnist, motivational speaker, and talk show host.He goes by the nickname Captain Ed and he currently lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota....
of the blog Hot Air (formerly of Captain's Quarters) - Michael Brodkorb of the blog Minnesota Democrats Exposed] joined the Northern Alliance in 2006 and left in January 2009.
James Lileks
James Lileks
James Lileks is an American journalist, columnist, and blogger living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.- Career :Lileks has had a wide-ranging career as a columnist, radio personality, author, and prominent blogger....
is also a frequent guest host.
The show analyzes news and current events from a bloggers' point of view, and is conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
in tone.
History
The program is an offshoot of the Northern Alliance of Blogs. The idea for a radio show floated around for much of 2003, until Hugh HewittHugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, lawyer, academic, and author. An outspoken Republican, evangelical Christian, he comments on society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is also a law professor at Chapman University School of Law.-...
prevailed on the bloggers and AM1280
WWTC
WWTC is a long-standing radio station serving the Twin Cities region. Despite its up-and-down history, the station spawned two of the area's major television stations and had some very innovative and unusual periods in its history...
to put the show on the air.
The first broadcast was March 6, 2004.
Less than three weeks later, on March 23, 2004, the show did the first of over a dozen fill-ins for Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, lawyer, academic, and author. An outspoken Republican, evangelical Christian, he comments on society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is also a law professor at Chapman University School of Law.-...
and Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager is an American syndicated radio talk show host, syndicated columnist, author, and public speaker. He is noted for his conservative political and social views emanating from conservative Judeo-Christian values. He holds that there is an "American Trinity" of essential principles,...
's nationally-syndicated shows.
In January 2006, the "NARN" expanded to four hours, and split into two nominally-separate programs - "Volume I" from 11AM to 1PM, featuring Ward, "Elder", and Hinderaker, and "Volume II" from 1 to 3PM with Morrissey, Banaian, and Berg.
In August 2006, the program spawned yet another offshoot, "NARN Volume III, the Final Word" featuring Banaian and adding Michael Brodkorb of the blog Minnesota Democrats Exposed, with Berg and Morrissey doing "Volume II" as a duo. Brodkorb departed the show in January 2009, after which Banaian has continued as a solo.
Guests
Program guests have included:- Author and historian Victor Davis HansonVictor Davis HansonVictor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
- Writer and former Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
host Mike NelsonMichael J. NelsonMichael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson... - Author Michael LedeenMichael LedeenMichael Arthur Ledeen is an American specialist on foreign policy. His research areas have included state sponsors of terrorism, Iran, the Middle East, Europe , U.S.-China relations, intelligence, and Africa and is a leading neoconservative...
- Senator Norm ColemanNorm ColemanNorman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...
- Congressman Mark Kennedy
- MN Sixth District representative Michele BachmannMichele BachmannMichele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...
- Author and pundit Michelle MalkinMichelle MalkinMichelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
- Presidential advisor Ken MehlmanKen MehlmanKenneth Brian Mehlman is an American businessman, attorney, and political figure who served as the campaign manager for the 2004 re-election campaign of George W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007. In 2007, President Bush appointed Mehlman to the U.S...
- Author Christina Hoff-Summers
- Author Steven VincentSteven VincentSteven Charles Vincent was an American author and journalist. In 2005 he was working as a freelance journalist in Basra, Iraq, reporting for The Christian Science Monitor, National Review, Mother Jones, Reason, Front Page and American Enterprise, among other publications, when he was abducted and...
- Author and columnist Mona CharenMona CharenMona Charen is an American columnist, political analyst, and the author of two best-selling books, Useful Idiots: How Liberals Got it Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First and Do-Gooders: How Liberals Harm Those They Claim to Help — and the Rest of Us . Her political stance is...
- Author, columnist and pundit Ann CoulterAnn CoulterAnn Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
- Blogger Nihilist In Golf Pants
- Blogger Glenn ReynoldsGlenn ReynoldsGlenn Harlan Reynolds is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs...
- Author, blogger and humorist James LileksJames LileksJames Lileks is an American journalist, columnist, and blogger living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.- Career :Lileks has had a wide-ranging career as a columnist, radio personality, author, and prominent blogger....
- Minnesota governor Tim PawlentyTim PawlentyTimothy James "Tim" Pawlenty , also known affectionately among supporters as T-Paw, is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota . He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011...
- Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt RomneyMitt RomneyWillard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
- Theologian Richard John NeuhausRichard John NeuhausRichard John Neuhaus was a prominent Christian cleric and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United States where he became a naturalized United States citizen...
- Author and Second Amendment Activist Joel RosenbergJoel Rosenberg (science fiction author)Joel Rosenberg was a Canadian American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his long-running "Guardians of the Flame" series. Rosenberg was also a guns rights activist...
Quotations
- "We are the wind beneath the right wing!" (Program motto)
- "A bright spot of cheery, springtime red in a sea of dingy, depressing, institutional blue" (Slogan at beginning of show)
- "If a conservative orders a pizza in the woods, and no liberal is there to hear it, is he still a fascist hatemonger?"