America Right

Infobox Radio Station


airdate = 2001 (2004 reformat)
name = America Right
frequency = XM166
area = United States
format = Talk radio
owner = XM Satellite Radio
branding = "America Right"
slogan =
affiliations = IRN-USA Radio News
IMS Radio Network
American Le Mans Series
class = Satellite Radio Station
website = [http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=166 America Right]

America Right is a U.S. talk channel on XM Satellite Radio that plays terrestrial radio show simulcasts, which feature a conservative point of view. Up until 2004, the channel was known as Buzz XM and featured more of a hot talk lineup. However, with XM's decision to add a leftist talk channel, this channel was reformatted to complement it. The channel was controlled by Clear Channel until March 2006.

Buzz XM (2001-2004)

Buzz XM started off on channel 166 during the launch of XM, and carried shows including The Phil Hendrie Show, The David Lawrence Show, Bill Handel, Matt Drudge, The Glenn Beck Program, Bill Cunningham, and The John and Ken Show. Many of these programs originated from KFI in Los Angeles, California, especially on the weekends. Since it was a Clear Channel satellite station, the lineup was dominated mainly by Clear Channel programming. Also, since XM had less than a million subscribers at the time, there wasn't a lot of concern over how local Los Angeles some of the programs were. Nonetheless, Buzz XM went on for a few years without any big problems, like the ones its sister Extreme XM suffered from.

There was one casualty, albeit a minor one on Saturday nights. The clinical sex talk show Sex with Dr. Natasha which aired Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET was pulled from the air in March 2004 as a reaction to the Super Bowl and the FCC crackdown on indecency. The show was syndicated on terrestrial AM and FM radio, but was never cited nor fined by the FCC. The only incident coming close to this was when Dr. Natasha appeared on another talk show. Complaints were filed, but the FCC rejected them, claiming that the show's sex talk was for clinical purposes, not obscene ones. Still, Clear Channel cancelled the show entirely and it was removed from any and all affiliates, including Buzz XM.

Conservative talk focus begins

Over time, the channel slowly began to become a bit more conservative focused. With XM launching a new channel for left-leaning talk shows, it looked as if Buzz XM would be a good choice to reformat, and so it was.

America Right (2004-)

The channel was renamed "America Right" in April 2004, and was retailored to include only conservative and Republican talk shows; though many of these shows were already on the lineup beforehand. Non-conservative hosts, such as Phil Hendrie and David Lawrence, were absorbed by Extreme XM. Some of the shows added to the America Right lineup included Rusty Humphries, Michael Savage and Michael Reagan. At the same time, the Air America Radio channel, was created for liberal talk programming, mostly from the Air America Radio network.

Michael Savage leaves

In March 2005, America Right talker Michael Savage stated that satellite radio should be censored by the Federal Communications Commission. Savage claimed that his lawyers were working on getting him off of both satellite services because he didn't want to be associated with the type of talk presented by hosts who frequently use obscene language. His show, "The Savage Nation" left the XM and Sirius lineups the following week.

In late 2005, after more lineup shuffling, Dr. Laura was added to America Right. Her presence on America Right was an odd one, since, though her show promotes conservative values, it is not political in nature.

XM takes control

In May 2006, Clear Channel decided to return the channel back to XM Satellite Radio. Several changes were made to America Right's lineup, including the swapping and shuffling of shows with sister station Talk Radio, still programmed by Clear Channel. Glenn Beck exchanged slots with G. Gordon Liddy's program. Matt Drudge's weekend program was also added, and The Wall Street Journal's hours were extended. America Right also debuted a show in the 1-5 a.m. slot, Advice Line with Roy Masters.

After sixteen months of a stable lineup, America Right announced in Spetmeber 2007 that Dr. Laura would be moving to Take 5 to make room for Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, who were previously on the now-discontinued ABC News & Talk channel.

Controversy over advertorial

On September 15, 2007, America Right aired the first installment of "Real Estate Wealth Myths Facts and Strategies," a brokered program featuring Fredric Dryer and Gary Eldred. The program was sponsored by Convergent Acquisitions and Development Inc. - a company that acquires rental properties for investors. The show was pulled after one show upon learning Dryer was indicted on 67 felony charges, including theft to securities, and fraud. XM spokesman Nathaniel Brown said XM pulled the show because it was "not aware of the legal issues surrounding one of the personalities that Convergent chose to use for the advertorials." He also added, "The advertorial aired once and it won't air again."

External links

* [http://www.xmradio.com/programming/channel_page.jsp?ch=166 XM America Right]
* [http://www.xmradio.com/pdf/america_right_grid.pdf America Right Lineup] - PDF grid featuring the complete America Right lineup.