Below is an announcement from XM Satellite Radio. There’s no word on whether they will provide third party coverage, but it would certainly seem so since 24/7 commercial-free is an awful lot of airtime to fill (and it’s going to get very boring, very quickly, if it covers only the two major parties):
XM Satellite Radio announced it will launch a new radio channel dedicated to the 2008 presidential election, marking the first time that a national radio channel has been devoted to a presidential campaign. The 24-hour, commercial-free channel, created in association with C-SPAN and other media outlets, will be called “POTUS ‘08.” The channel’s name (pronounced POH-tus) is the acronym used by government insiders for the President of the United States.
From their website, here’s a rundown of what to expect from POTUS when it goes live in September:
THE MISSION
- Provide unbiased and commercial-free coverage of the 2008 presidential election.
- Create a destination for voters to get politically neutral information about the election process and unprecedented access to the candidates.
- Provide a pipeline to the candidates and their campaigns to communicate without filter to the American people.
- Provide information from beyond the traditional media to include new media sources.
- Provide perspective on the election process from a historical and current view.
- Maintain the highest standards of professional integrity and neutrality.
FREE TO AIR
Created as a public service, POTUS ‘08 will be broadcast free to all XM radio receivers. Whether you are a paid subscriber or not, you can still listen to all the presidential coverage.
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aynrkey
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Kenn Jacobine
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Mike Seebeck
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paulie
Jim Davidson
ponggod
Stuart Richards
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Todd Andrew Barnett
This is an awesome thing. I am a HUGE fan of XM radio (specifically the comedy stations), and this new channel should be as awesome as their other offerings.
Can’t wait until they merge with Sirius so I can get all the programming THEY’VE got on my XM receiver!
I was just thinking the same about the merger except that I have Sirius.
Next time I have money, I will buy whichever satellite service airs the Bob Dylan Theme Time Hour on sunday nights. It is amazing.
If I’m reading this right, what you’re saying is that you can buy an XM receiver … and that there’s programming it receives even if you don’t buy a monthly subscription.
Is that right?
Who knew! I may take a closer look at satellite radio if that’s the case. I thought about signing up with Sirius, but decided that I wouldn’t listen enough to justify the monthly fee.
I honestly don’t know if you pick up programming even if you don’t have a monthly subscription. Good question.
Yes, Tom; that’s correct. This is an experiemnt they’re trying – and a good one, I think. It’ll bring in more cheapskates like you
Kidding!
But I completely feel the monthly fee is worth it. Shortly after I got XM, I decided that I’m much rather go without sat TV than sat radio. Then we ditched the TV anyway because it was a waste of time and space for us. We have 2 or 3 XM recievers.
Susan,
Well, yes, I am a cheapskate … but if I thought I’d make big use of it, I’d pay for satellite radio by the month. I just don’t think I would. I tend to want to listen to EXACTLY what I want to listen to, EXACTLY when I want to listen to it. And often that means the same band, or even the same album for weeks or months at a time.
Right now, disc one of Smashing Pumpkins’ Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness has been in my CD player for three weeks or so, and except for some brief flights over to another player for some Blues Traveller, that’s the way it’s likely to stay for awhile. Even if XM or Sirius had an “All Disc One of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, All The Time” channel, the CD was cheaper than a month of the radio, and it goes back in the case for later use when I’m done.
Now if there’s good political stuff on the “free” version, I’d consider ponying up for a receiver when I can. And then I might get hooked and by the monthly feed, and spend the rest of my life floating between “Greatest Polka Hits” and “Industrial Bluegrass As Played By Handicapped Lesbians From Smolensk.” I’m just saying I’m not in any great hurry to fall into that trap.
It sounds like this will cover a lot of third party candidates a lot of the time, because they said “Unbiased, unfiltered, fair treatment, high integrity, etc.” Let’s hope they stay true to their word. My dad has XM and he badly needs to get away from Neocon talk radio and TV like Tom needs to expand his musical horizons. Try Zeppelin, Soundgarden, and Linkin Park. Best of the 70s, 90s, and 00s in my opinion. I haven’t been able to decide on a best band of the 80s because I think it was such a great one hit wonder 80s music time (you know what I mean). Too hard to pick any one artist from that era. No one stands out. Huey Lewis and the News? Dire Straits? I just don’t know. OK, I’m rambling way off topic.
Kudos to XM. Can’t wait for the merger. The FCC has no right to block it so I’m sure they will at the behest of Clear Channel and other political pocket greasers.
Nick, speaking of musical tastes…wassup with Linkin Park? No but I do agree with you on Tom Knapp’s musical tastes. My wife and I and our lovely 2 children were on our way to the St. Louis Zoo with Tom Knapp and his darlings and we were walking to the Zoo and all I heard from Tom’s mouth was…”will the real Slim Shady, will you please stand up. Will you please stand up, will you please stand up!” Eminem is annoying but Tom singing it made me literally hate Eminem.
I hear that, Tom; I’ve had a CD by HUMANWINE (OK, *the* CD by HUMANWINE:) in my player for weeks. But I love listening to the book and drama channels, and I occaisonally listen to C-span in the morning when I’m feeling masochistic.
You should check out HUMANWINE, by the way; they are awesome.
Nick,
You write:
“like Tom needs to expand his musical horizons. Try Zeppelin, Soundgarden, and Linkin Park.”
I’ve been a Zeppelin fan since I was a young’un. My brother caught me listening to the Bee Gees, so he sat me down with a copy of IV. That fixed things. Soundgarden’s cool. Not my favorite, but cool (I like Cornell’s Audioslave project, too).
I just went and grabbed a handful of random CDs off the shelf:
U2 — October
Paul Simon — Graceland
Joe Jackson — Look Sharp!
Nirvana — In Utero
Santana — Milagro
Eh … not demonstrative enough of eclecticism, so I walked to the other end of the shelf:
The Cure — Staring at the Sea: The Singles
Kenny Wayne Shepherd — Ledbetter Heights
Clannad — Banba
Cowboy Junkies — 200 More Miles
Stevie Ray Vaughan — Couldn’t Stand the Weather
Bob Dylan — The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
Hmm … no Dead or bluegrass or REM in there. Guess it will have to do though. If I expanded my musical horizons any more, I’d have to find a way to fit more than 360 degrees into a circle. I’m not real big on opera, but other than that it’s all good.
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
I’m not the real Slim Shady, but I’m his cousin, Phat Shifty. It’s the best you’ll get around these parts.
I have to admit, I’m a huge Alice In Chains fan. I don’t like their new frontman, but it’s impossible to replace a talent like Layne Staley.
I’ve got all kinds of music from every imaginable genre, from Louis Armstrong, to Johnny Cash, to Patsty Cline, to Grand Funk Railroad, to Bruce Springsteen, to Blind Melon, to Alice In Chains, to Tool, etc etc. I worked my way through college as a rock journalist, got to meet a lot of rock stars (no, I’m not a groupie, LOL). My significant other rigs rock concerts on the side, so I still attend a lot of concerts. I saw ZZ Top not that long ago.
I personally prefer to choose my own music, as opposed to listening to the radio. Maybe I should try XM, though, since many here seem to like it.
Wow, I had no idea my little joke would set off such a discussion. Cool. Anyway, Tom, that’s quite a good group of CDs.
I have been thinking about not being able to choose a band from the 80′s but I have narrowed it down to U2 and Def Leppard. Very different, and I like Def Leppard more, but I’d say U2 is more relevant and of course, longer lasting. What the hell, Def Leppard takes my vote. Music from that era didn’t have to say anything relevant, just have big hair and sound badass in a stadium.
I thought I might catch some grief for choosing Linkin Park, but I can seriously listen to all of Meteora as I’m driving and scream every word at the top of my lungs. Very therapeutic. That, and I can’t really think of any other band from this decade that stands out. A lot of people like Coldplay or the Killers but a little too soft for me. I like some songs but I need a whole album to rock out to. I own a lot of greatest hits albums for that reason.
Our grandkids will be listening to the White Stripes.