Air America announces detailed convention plans

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Air America Media (www.airamerica.com) will present a variety of on-site activities at the upcoming Democratic Convention in Denver, leading with "Authors Turning the Page: Ideas on Election 2008," on Monday, August 25 from 3-6 pm MT in the Big Tent near the Convention Center. The three panels, introduced by Air America Radio host Rachel Maddow, include:

• Biography on Democracy: Moderated by Air America’s Mark Green, featured authors include Ted Sorensen (Counselor on JFK) and Jonathan Alter (The Defining Moment on FDR).
• The Contest: Progressives vs. Conservatives: Moderated by Air America’s Thom Hartmann, the participating authors will be Paul Krugman (The Conscience of a Liberal), Arianna Huffington (Right is Wrong), John Podesta (The Power of Progress) and David Sirota (The Uprising).
• The Next America: Moderated by Anne-Marie Slaughter (Dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School and author of The Idea That Is America), featured authors include Markos Moulitsas (Taking on the System), Van Jones (The Green Collar Economy) and Jane Mayer (The Dark Side).

All three panels will be webcast live on www.airamerica.com, with highlights airing on Air America Radio during Convention week. (Panel lineups are subject to last minute scheduling changes.) Air America is joined by the Progressive Book Club in producing this event, which is sponsored by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Foundation.

"In a year and week of Niagara-level political commentaries, Air America is bringing together many of the country's best-selling progressive authors to apply their books' ideas to Election '08," said Mark Green, president of Air America. "Between the authors panels, debate and seminar, Air America will be injecting our unique brand of wit and insight into activities surrounding this historic moment."

Also on Monday, from 1:30-3:00pm MT, Air America’s Hartmann is participating in a live debate with conservative talk radio host Dennis Prager. This event is being presented in conjunction with The Starz Green Room, with the event webcast at www.starzgreenroom.com.

On Tuesday, August 26 from 12:00-1:30 pm MT, Air America will be headlining "Air America: Insights from the Inside of Progressive Talk Radio," a panel exploring the opportunities for independent media voices. Moderated by Bill Hess, Air America’s senior vice president of programming, participants include Air America on-air hosts David Bender, Richard Greene and Mike Papantonio. The event is presented in conjunction with The Starz Green Room, and will be webcast at www.starzgreenroom.com.

Air America will also feature extensive on-air and online coverage throughout the convention:

• "The Thom Hartmann Program" (weekdays 12-3pm EDT) and "The Rachel Maddow Show" (weekdays 6-9pm EDT), will both be broadcasting live from Denver, as will Jon Elliott hosting “This is America” from 11pm-1am EDT.
• "Convention: Special Team Coverage" airs all four nights of the convention beginning at 8 pm EDT, featuring Maddow, Hartmann, Green, Bender, Chuck D and Elliott interviewing special guests and discussing the daily happenings on and off the convention floor.
• Air America's Web site editor-in-chief Sam Seder is blogging live from Denver, posting text, audio and video updates to www.airamerica.com throughout the conventions.