All women, all the time?

Posted by Laura Barcella at 4:11 PM on September 13, 2006.

GreenStone, a media company founded by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and other feminists extraordinaire, has just unveiled its all-women, all-talk radio network. (The first, as far as I know). The venture officially launched yesterday at Manhattan's Museum of Television & Radio.

According to Forbes' James Brady: "board members include best-selling author Gail Evans, formerly a member of CNN's executive committee; Frank Osborn, CEO of Quantum Communications; Emmy-winning anchorwoman Carol Jenkins; poet, novelist and Ms. Editor in Chief Robin Morgan; Fonda; Steinem; and Wallis Annenberg, a vice president of the Annenberg Foundation and a trustee of the University of Southern California."

As Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss writes in the Washington Post:

Steinem said the network, which is run by women, aims to provide an alternative to current radio talk, which she describes as "very argumentative, quite hostile, and very much male-dominated."

Couldn't agree more; though I am slightly put off by the way GreenStone's New York programming director Heather Cohen allegedly described the network to Forbes' James Brady:

"This is not a left-wing or feminist network." Her thesis: "AM talk radio tends to be highly political, and women don't like that."

Hmmph. OK, if you say so... Anyway, a few GreenStone broadcasts started airing in July on stations such as WIIN in Jackson, Mississippi and WXCT in Hartford, Connecticut -- and though the network only currently does nine hours of daily programming, it will soon increase to 12. The lineup features lots of comedy, including stand-up performers Maureen Langan, Cory Kahaney, and Nelsie Spencer in the morning, billed as "The Radio Ritas." Other hosts include working mom Lisa Bernbach, Mo Gaffney and Shana Wride.

Laura Barcella is AlterNet's associate editor.