The Majority Report

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The Majority Report can also refer to a British Parliamentary report published after the 1905 Royal Commission of the Poor Laws - see Majority Report (poor law)

The Majority Report was a talk radio program on the Air America Radio network hosted by film actress and comedienne Janeane Garofalo and 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.

Regular guests included bloggers Atrios 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 PM.

In September, 2006, the show ended its run. Seder 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", as outlined below.

Comedian Marc Maron filed in for Seder on December 1st, 2006.

1 History
- 1.1 The Departure of Janeane Garofalo
2 Behind the scenes
3 Guests
4 Music
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

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 of 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 of America, 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 that same year, 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.

Garofalo once said getting on the radio was an early career goal of hers. A program advertisement: "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[1] from her listeners for her comments on her April 28, 2006 show supporting Scientology-linked "New York Rescue Worker's Detoxification Program,"[2] a questioned treatment for workers now suffering ailments from 9/11 clean-up efforts in New York City.

[edit] The Departure of Janeane Garofalo

After months of speculation, Garofalo announced that she would be leaving her co-host position on The Majority Report on the broadcast of Friday, July 14, 2006. On the Wednesday, July 19 broadcast, 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 as well. Although several reasons for her departure were cited (including her outside acting responsibilities), 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 wouldn't have a problem with the program if it were linked to Jews rather than Scientologists. [3] Seder, who is Jewish, and his producer walked off the set in angry protest. [4]

Garofalo's long stint on the final season of the NBC drama The West Wing also 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. It was expected that she will occasionally return as a guest host.

[edit] Behind the scenes

Issac Aronson, Josh Orton, Michael Goodfriend, Logan Nakyanzi, Mark Hatch-Miller, Jackie Bell and Stephen Sherrill are among those who have participated as producers. The show's producers were responsible for, among other duties:

screening callers for use on the air; (Note: Conservative callers are bumped to the front of the line)
preparing extensive information packets on upcoming guests;
pulling news stories from publications, websites, and other sources;
helping to develop story angles and comedy bits for segments;
editing audio clips and sound effects.

Seder pulled news stories and structures the events of the day into talking points for himself about eight hours before the show. Seder also had access in the studio to cable news channels so that he could remain up to date on breaking news stories during the live broadcast. Along with the live commentary, Seder occasionally recorded comedic bits and prank phone calls in advance for use on the air. When Garofalo co-hosted, Seder often checked and contributed to the program's blog as hosted on the show's website. [5]

For her part, during her time as co-host, Garofalo did extensive research for the program, bringing into the studio books and extensive notes, some of which she kept on the floor near her chair during the show. She was sometimes heard leaning away from the microphone as she was talking to pick up an item from the floor. Much of Garofalo's discussion, however, was extemporaneous, incorporating a wide variety of references from classical literature to modern pop culture.

Garofalo's signature sign-off, at the end of each night's broadcast, was the single word "peaches". Seder continued this tradition as host of the program.

Humor was injected throughout the show, but care was taken to keep the facts straight. Seder often played clips of Gomer Pyle saying his favorite phrase, which Gomer said when he caught his boss in an embarrassing situation, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!. He said this to point to when he alleges the George W. Bush administration members or members of the political right got caught telling lies or found in other embarrassing situations.