The BlogTalkRadio Blog

Yes, that’s right. I was so happy to get to my desk this morning to find an email from our new hosts from Nigeria.

Earlier today, Jennifer, Jo and Nike broadcast their first show from a cyber cafe in Nigeria. They broadcast their show by use a mobile phone which they handed back and forth to one another. We will set them up with a softphone or some sort of VOIP interface to make it easy as possible to host their next show. Here is a link to the host channel and show where you can listen to the archive.
While it may be a bit difficult to understand their English or the rattling about in the internet cafe, consider what exactly took place over here. We have three dynamic, young individuals (one of which I met in the UK by invite of the British Council) hosting show from a third world country with limited internet access. They discussed a few issues which were important to them which they felt compelled to share with anyone and everyone that would listen.

Here is the email I received shortly after their show finished.

Hi Alan!
At last!!! We are live on Blogtalkradio!!!! Thanks a lot for the opportunity. And mostly for kindly leaving a message on our last show!!! WE ARE SO GRATEFUL ALAN!!!
We are proud to be part of Blogtalkradio…kindly send our regards to everyone on the team! The best is yet to come!!!
Cheers
Jennifer, Jo and Nike(Grace).
Nigeria
`

How cool is that? Everyday I am amazed at the reach and scope of the Blogtalkradio platform. It’s for times like these that makes all of us proud to be part of something really special.
Alan

Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of joining Scott Kesterson on his Words of War show. BTR honcho Alan Levy and I had a wide-ranging talk with Scott about what he’s seeing on the ground in Afghanistan, the role of Pakistan in funding the resurgent Taliban, what the U.S. could have done differently, etc.

But the thing I kept coming back to as I thought about that show was the fact that Scott’s out there doing the kind of serious news reporting that was once the domain of the biggest entities in the business — like CBS News (remember Walter Cronkite, anybody? anybody?). Now that role has been abdicated by the big dogs who are busy covering Anna Nicole and Britney.

Thanks Scott for putting your life on the line to let us know what’s going on in our name across the globe.
Here’s some background on Scott and his current assignment from a blog post he wrote last year:

My name is Scott Kesterson. I am a freelance photojournalist. Over the course of the next 16 months I will be embedded with the US Army’s 41st Brigade as they mobilize and deploy to Afghanistan as part of the on-going activities of Operation: Enduring Freedom. The 41st Brigade is composed entirely of National Guard volunteers, with this specific deployment calling-up over 6000 of its soldiers nation wide. I will be living the entire tour along side of the men and women of this Brigade, photographing and recording my experiences here through this blog.

My project is one of passion. It is the realization of a life long dream to work as a combat photographer. Having served with the Oregon Army National Guard, 41st Brigade during the mid 80’s, in both the enlisted ranks, and eventually as a 2nd Lt., I also have a personal interest in documenting this narrative. My focus is and will be the human part of the story; that element that too often gets passed over in the face of headlines and dramatic events. I am a strong believer that the real drama is what happens in the lives of people through the events of the day to day.

Throughout my embed I will be reporting the events as I see them. Through my words, still imagery and video feeds you will be able to follow the operations of the soldiers of 41st Brigade. The mobilization and deployment will be in two parts. The initial 90 days will be at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, where the soldiers will be in-processed into the active Army, and, trained and conditioned for their work in Afghanistan. In June, the initial wave of deployment will begin, with deployments throughout the country of Afghanistan.

He’s produced some very powerful work — I particularly recommend “The Thin Veil of Hate” and “Guilt and the Daily Contribution to Terror” and this interview with Taylor Marsh.

We were very honored yesterday to be joined by Simon Rosenberg from NDN.org on the Alan Levy Show on BlogTalkRadio. Alan and Simon were also joined by James Boyce our senior political editor.
James, Alan, and Simon delved into the goals of NDN and how the upcoming elections have made an impact on his organization.

NDN is a national network of citizens using modern means to advance a 21st century progressive vision for America. NDN and its community work with a wide range of allied groups to build a strong and vibrant progressive politics capable of meeting the challenges ahead.

Click here to listen  

I’ve talked to a lot of political people in the past few months, left, right, middle, independent, progressive, liberal, conservative, far right, way far right, 2 inches more to the left, OYE its enough to make a Jersey girls head spin. Im starting to get a grasp on what they all stand for, or in the liberals case’s what they don’t stand for, it’s taken awhile, but I’ve finally started asking questions and I’m getting the hang of this political Nascar Race we can all call “2008″.

One thing I have noticed is there are some “bloggers” who are true professionals in every sense of the word. If I had to call them something else I would say they are professional journalists………good ones at that. They have the boys and girls down at the big networks beat by a mile.

One of these people is Taylor Marsh. When she first came onto BlogTalkRadio she brought to her show her own style. She is quick witted, smart, and extremely knowledgeable in politics, I have to say I hung up the phone after our first conversation and thought to myself, what would I have to do to be that knowledgeable in politics, I soon figured out I would have to spend the next 20 years reading and watching the news with no breaks, although the thought of round the clock cappuccino sounded good, I quickly scrapped that idea and figured I would leave the politics to the pro’s and just listen to Taylor’s show……she is my favorite gal on the left…..or is she progressive……see?  I’m better off sticking to what I know…

Taylor was in Carson City Nevada this week for the Democratic Forum and she did “live blogging” and came back today and did a show about her trip, and its a must listen……

taylor+marsh democrat carson+city 2008 blogtalkradio nascar blog blogger blogging taylormarsh.com politics republican left right conservative liberal

With the question hanging in the air of what is going to happen to the future of terrestrial radio and satallite radio, one thing is becoming apparently clear. People want more choice and if posible they want the ability to express their own ideas and passions. We are used to dealing with unbreakable barriers for citizens to get “on-air”.  The wait is over and it’s happening all over the world.

Best,

Alan Levy