Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Blake Butler and Lesley Groetsch, the hosts of a politically liberal talk radio show in Asheville known as Local Edge Radio/880 The Revolution, will sit in as hosts of a nationally syndicated talk radio host today. The three-hour program will give the Asheville duo exposure to more than 30 radio markets across the country.
Butler and Groetsch will host the Norman Goldman Show today from 6 p.m to 9 p.m. Because of an odd licensing requirement locally, Butler and Groetsch won’t be heard on over the air in Asheville at 880 on the AM dial. Instead, Asheville listeners will have to listen via the Internet or iheartradio.com.
“This is a moment for Asheville,” Groetsch told me in an interview earlier this week. “Our show wouldn’t exist without what’s going on in Asheville, so we’ll talk about our community. We’ll tap into local resources in hopes that we can push other stations to host progressive talk radio.”
Conservative talk radio shows, led by personalities such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, have been established for years. Liberals have tried to make in-roads over the air, as well, but the end of Air America at the start of this year marked the end of a six-year run for the best known liberal talk outlet. Since then, progressive talkers have been popping up around the country, and Butler and Groetsch want to see more.
“My sense is there is a market and a need for progressive talk,” Groetsch says. “We talk about solutions and coming together, decreasing consumption, peace love and happiness.” That’s in contrast to conservative talkers who use fear to build their audiences, Groetsch said. “That’s the overwhelming lever these conservative talkers push.”
Groetsch says she met Goldman a few weeks ago during the One Nation Rally in Washington, where she broadcast the local show from the studio of another well-known progressive talker, Bill Press. Groetsch says she and Goldman kept in contact, and Goldman asked if she and Butler would sit in for him.
Asheville doctor, blogger and former talk radio host Arrington Thompson will be a guest on the show today, says Groetsh, as will comedian Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show, and Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. They’ll also be talking about buying local, health care, corporate bullying, President Obama and more.
You can also follo Groetsch on Twitter at @Buncombian and @LocalEdgeRadio.
