The Majority Report
Encyclopedia
The Majority Report is a talk radio
program originally on the Air America Radio
network hosted by film actress/comedienne Janeane Garofalo
, and actor/comedian Sam Seder
, until Garofalo left in July 2006. Garofalo was reportedly originally asked by Air America to host the program and suggested Seder as a co-host. The show focused on the discussion of current news events and political affairs from a liberal
or progressive
standpoint; to this end, comedy
and satire
were used on the program from time to time to make key points.
of Eschaton and Bill Scher of LiberalOasis. Veteran newsman Bill Crowley not only read the hourly news but engaged in a brief discussion at the beginning of each program's third hour, introduced thunderously by Ozzy Osbourne
's "Mr. Crowley
."
The name refers to Al Gore
being "first past the post" on the popular vote (beating President Bush) in the 2000 U.S. presidential election
(technically a plurality) as well as a play on Minority Report
, a popular movie in 2002. The show debuted with the network on March 31, 2004 and aired from 8 to 11 p.m. Eastern time initially, and later in the year the time slot moved up an hour to 7 to 10 p.m.
According to Seder in an interview for Gothamist in late August 2004, the inspiration for the radio program occurred on election night 2000
, when Seder witnessed via the television media what he perceived to be a veritable theft of the presidency by George W. Bush
. In February 2003, Garofalo (a longtime friend of Seder and a fellow comedian) appeared as a guest with Seder on The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
, a comedy/talk radio program on the New Jersey
station WFMU
. In discussing the political atmosphere in America at that time, the chemistry between them as radio talents was evident, and their agreement on many liberal political views made them kindred spirits. In the summer of 2003, Garofalo was approached by representatives of Air America Radio to be a radio personality for their programming. She insisted that they hire Seder and that he share the hosting responsibilities. Less than one year later, The Majority Report was born.
In September 2006, the show ended its run. Seder, hosting by himself, then began a new mid-morning program on Air America Radio, The Sam Seder Show, in the time slot previously occupied by Jerry Springer
(which was also the lead-in to The Al Franken Show). The show retained many of the elements of The Majority Report.
Comedian Marc Maron
filled in for Seder on December 1, 2006 and guest hosted the show for the entire week of December 18–22, 2006.
On April 8, 2007, Sam Seder aired the show's final broadcast on Friday, April 13, 2007.
In November 2010, Seder relaunched The Majority Report as a self-produced online podcast, with largely the same format. Seder offers premium subscriptions to listeners (via the show's relaunched website) to help with production expenses (following the business model of Mike Malloy
when his program became self-syndicated, and also that of Cenk Uygur
of The Young Turks
).
Garofalo once said getting on the radio was an early career goal of hers. One early program advertisement read: "The battle to reclaim America from the forces of darkness continues with hosts Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder." The early days of Air America Radio are chronicled in the documentary
Left of the Dial, which includes a debate between Janeane and her conservative father Carmine, who was initially a regular guest on The Majority Report.
Garofalo came under fire http://www.cultnews.com/?p=2043 from her listeners for her comments on her April 28, 2006 show supporting Scientology
-linked "New York Rescue Worker's Detoxification Program",http://nydetox.org/ a questioned treatment for workers now suffering ailments from 9/11 clean-up efforts in New York City.
(while Seder and Garofalo were interviewing Jason Bateman
), Garofalo cited her reason for leaving the show as precipitated by several "unrecoverable" on-air arguments with Seder; she also said that she regards Seder as a better radio broadcaster than she, and therefore a better choice to continue The Majority Report. Her endorsement of the above-mentioned Scientology program also put a wedge between her and Seder.
Although several reasons for her departure were cited (including her outside acting responsibilities, which made her largely absent from The Majority Report for several weeks prior), the relationship between Garofalo and co-host Sam Seder had become increasingly strained, owed largely to Garofalo's promotion of a Scientology
-linked treatment program for firefighters and rescue workers in New York City. On June 2, Garofalo responded to Seder's opposition, suggesting that he would not have a problem with the program if it were linked to Jews rather than Scientologists. http://www.cultnews.com/?p=2043 Seder, who is Jewish, and his producer walked off the set in angry protest. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/2/234842/0208
Garofalo's long stint on the final season
of the NBC
drama The West Wing
(as Louise Thornton, media strategist for Jimmy Smits
' character, presidential candidate Matt Santos) did not allow her to be in New York to co-host The Majority Report for several weeks; this allowed Sam to make the program his own, and she acknowledged that this had a part to play in her decision to leave. She mentioned that Seder was her favorite available choice for co-host when she was approached by Air America for the radio show; her first choice (as she said in obvious jest) was her favorite actor, the legendary Steve McQueen, who of course has been deceased for many years. Her last broadcast as co-host of The Majority Report aired on July 21, 2006.
Garofalo returned to the show occasionally, performing as Senator Katherine Harris, a comedic/satirical impersonation
of Katherine Harris
, former (Republican
) Florida Secretary of State and Representative for FL-13.
. The format closely matches the previous Air America program (even using some of the same recorded intro announcements and bumper music), with politically-oriented commentary by Seder and interviews with various guests. Seder currently is the sole host of this new version; Garofalo participates occasionally as a guest. Seder offers premium subscriptions to the podcasts, which allows subscribers access to expanded commentary not on the basic podcast (similar to the members-only wrap-up version of The Young Turks
). On the relaunched website, Seder also offers DVDs of the 2004 TV series Pilot Season
, produced and directed by Seder, starring Sarah Silverman
and originally broadcast on the now-defunct Trio
cable network. The Majority Report also streams live, Monday through Friday at 11:30am Eastern Time at Majority.fm.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
program originally on the Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
network hosted by film actress/comedienne Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
, and actor/comedian Sam Seder
Sam Seder
Samuel Lincoln "Sam" Seder is a comedian, writer, actor, film director, television producer-director, and talk radio host...
, until Garofalo left in July 2006. Garofalo was reportedly originally asked by Air America to host the program and suggested Seder as a co-host. The show focused on the discussion of current news events and political affairs from a liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
or progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
standpoint; to this end, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
were used on the program from time to time to make key points.
History
Regular guests included bloggers AtriosAtrios
Duncan Bowen Black , better known by his pseudonym Atrios , is an American liberal blogger living in Philadelphia. His weblog Eschaton is one of the most popular political weblogs, receiving an average of over 100,000 hits every day...
of Eschaton and Bill Scher of LiberalOasis. Veteran newsman Bill Crowley not only read the hourly news but engaged in a brief discussion at the beginning of each program's third hour, introduced thunderously by Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
's "Mr. Crowley
Mr. Crowley
"Mr Crowley" is a 1980 heavy metal song performed by Ozzy Osbourne, released on the album Blizzard of Ozz, Osbourne's first solo effort following his firing from Black Sabbath. It peaked at number 46 on the United Kingdom charts. Musicians playing on the song are guitarist Randy Rhoads, bass...
."
The name refers to Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
being "first past the post" on the popular vote (beating President Bush) in the 2000 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
(technically a plurality) as well as a play on Minority Report
Minority Report (film)
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
, a popular movie in 2002. The show debuted with the network on March 31, 2004 and aired from 8 to 11 p.m. Eastern time initially, and later in the year the time slot moved up an hour to 7 to 10 p.m.
According to Seder in an interview for Gothamist in late August 2004, the inspiration for the radio program occurred on election night 2000
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
, when Seder witnessed via the television media what he perceived to be a veritable theft of the presidency by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. In February 2003, Garofalo (a longtime friend of Seder and a fellow comedian) appeared as a guest with Seder on The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling is a combination music, call-in, and comedy radio show hosted by Tom Scharpling on New Jersey-based radio station WFMU. The show's slogan is "Three hours of mirth, music, and mayhem."...
, a comedy/talk radio program on the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
station WFMU
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
. In discussing the political atmosphere in America at that time, the chemistry between them as radio talents was evident, and their agreement on many liberal political views made them kindred spirits. In the summer of 2003, Garofalo was approached by representatives of Air America Radio to be a radio personality for their programming. She insisted that they hire Seder and that he share the hosting responsibilities. Less than one year later, The Majority Report was born.
In September 2006, the show ended its run. Seder, hosting by himself, then began a new mid-morning program on Air America Radio, The Sam Seder Show, in the time slot previously occupied by Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
(which was also the lead-in to The Al Franken Show). The show retained many of the elements of The Majority Report.
Comedian Marc Maron
Marc Maron
Marc Maron is an American stand-up comedian and podcast host.He has been host of The Marc Maron Show, and co-host of both Morning Sedition, and Breakroom Live, all politically-oriented shows, produced under the auspices of Air America Media. He was also the host of Comedy Central's Short Attention...
filled in for Seder on December 1, 2006 and guest hosted the show for the entire week of December 18–22, 2006.
On April 8, 2007, Sam Seder aired the show's final broadcast on Friday, April 13, 2007.
In November 2010, Seder relaunched The Majority Report as a self-produced online podcast, with largely the same format. Seder offers premium subscriptions to listeners (via the show's relaunched website) to help with production expenses (following the business model of Mike Malloy
Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy is an American radio broadcaster from Atlanta, Georgia. Previously his show has been carried by WSB Atlanta, WLS Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, Nova M Radio and the On Second Thought network. He is now self-syndicated...
when his program became self-syndicated, and also that of Cenk Uygur
Cenk Uygur
Cenk Kadir Uygur , is the main host and co-founder of the liberal Internet and talk radio show, The Young Turks . A naturalized U.S. citizen, Uygur was born in Turkey and raised from age eight in the United States. He worked as an attorney in Washington D.C. and New York before beginning his career...
of The Young Turks
The Young Turks (talk show)
The Young Turks is a progressive Internet talk show via live web stream and YouTube, and starting in late 2011, a weeknight news and political commentary program airing on Current TV. It was Sirius Satellite Radio's first original talk programming. The Young Turks claims to be the first Internet...
).
Garofalo once said getting on the radio was an early career goal of hers. One early program advertisement read: "The battle to reclaim America from the forces of darkness continues with hosts Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder." The early days of Air America Radio are chronicled in the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Left of the Dial, which includes a debate between Janeane and her conservative father Carmine, who was initially a regular guest on The Majority Report.
Garofalo came under fire http://www.cultnews.com/?p=2043 from her listeners for her comments on her April 28, 2006 show supporting Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
-linked "New York Rescue Worker's Detoxification Program",http://nydetox.org/ a questioned treatment for workers now suffering ailments from 9/11 clean-up efforts in New York City.
The departure of Janeane Garofalo
After months of speculation, Garofalo announced on the broadcast of Friday, July 14, 2006 that she would be leaving her co-host position on The Majority Report; on the Wednesday, July 19 broadcastBroadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
(while Seder and Garofalo were interviewing Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...
), Garofalo cited her reason for leaving the show as precipitated by several "unrecoverable" on-air arguments with Seder; she also said that she regards Seder as a better radio broadcaster than she, and therefore a better choice to continue The Majority Report. Her endorsement of the above-mentioned Scientology program also put a wedge between her and Seder.
Although several reasons for her departure were cited (including her outside acting responsibilities, which made her largely absent from The Majority Report for several weeks prior), the relationship between Garofalo and co-host Sam Seder had become increasingly strained, owed largely to Garofalo's promotion of a Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
-linked treatment program for firefighters and rescue workers in New York City. On June 2, Garofalo responded to Seder's opposition, suggesting that he would not have a problem with the program if it were linked to Jews rather than Scientologists. http://www.cultnews.com/?p=2043 Seder, who is Jewish, and his producer walked off the set in angry protest. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/2/234842/0208
Garofalo's long stint on the final season
The West Wing (season 7)
The seventh season of The West Wing aired in the United States from September 25, 2005 to May 14, 2006 and consisted of 22 episodes. It was the final season of The West Wing and aired Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET in the United States on NBC, a terrestrial television network...
of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
drama The West Wing
The West Wing (TV series)
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
(as Louise Thornton, media strategist for Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing...
' character, presidential candidate Matt Santos) did not allow her to be in New York to co-host The Majority Report for several weeks; this allowed Sam to make the program his own, and she acknowledged that this had a part to play in her decision to leave. She mentioned that Seder was her favorite available choice for co-host when she was approached by Air America for the radio show; her first choice (as she said in obvious jest) was her favorite actor, the legendary Steve McQueen, who of course has been deceased for many years. Her last broadcast as co-host of The Majority Report aired on July 21, 2006.
Garofalo returned to the show occasionally, performing as Senator Katherine Harris, a comedic/satirical impersonation
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
of Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris is an American Republican politician, former Secretary of State of Florida, and former member of the United States House of Representatives. Harris won the 2002 election to represent Florida's 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She held that post...
, former (Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) Florida Secretary of State and Representative for FL-13.
2010 reboot
In November 2010, Seder relaunched The Majority Report as an independent online podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
. The format closely matches the previous Air America program (even using some of the same recorded intro announcements and bumper music), with politically-oriented commentary by Seder and interviews with various guests. Seder currently is the sole host of this new version; Garofalo participates occasionally as a guest. Seder offers premium subscriptions to the podcasts, which allows subscribers access to expanded commentary not on the basic podcast (similar to the members-only wrap-up version of The Young Turks
The Young Turks (talk show)
The Young Turks is a progressive Internet talk show via live web stream and YouTube, and starting in late 2011, a weeknight news and political commentary program airing on Current TV. It was Sirius Satellite Radio's first original talk programming. The Young Turks claims to be the first Internet...
). On the relaunched website, Seder also offers DVDs of the 2004 TV series Pilot Season
Pilot Season (TV series)
Pilot Season is a television miniseries written by Charles Fisher and Sam Seder and directed by Seder. It followed on from the 1997 film Who's the Caboose? and again had the character Susan Underman played by Sarah Silverman-Episodes:...
, produced and directed by Seder, starring Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
and originally broadcast on the now-defunct Trio
Trio (TV network)
Trio was an American cable and satellite television network.Trio went on the air in 1997, then originally owned and operated jointly by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Power Broadcasting Inc. as a venue for airing the CBC's arts, culture and entertainment programming in the U.S...
cable network. The Majority Report also streams live, Monday through Friday at 11:30am Eastern Time at Majority.fm.
External links
- Official weblog
- Audio archives at Air America Place (in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format) (Dead Link) - Highlights from MoveLeft Media
- Liberal Voices Get New Home on Radio Dial, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, March 31, 2004 - Bill Scher on The Young Turks.
- Interview with Sam Seder about The Majority Report