Progressive Radio’s Civic Media Acquires Political News Publication
The Wisconsin progressive radio company Civic Media announces that it adds the progressive political news digital publication The Recombobulation Area to its holdings. Civic Media notes that this is the first non-radio
acquisition since its founding in 2022. Additionally, The Recombobulation Area founder Dan Shafer is joining Civic Media as political editor. Civic Media says, “The Recombobulation Area has thousands of subscribers, has been read in 50 states and 66 countries and, to date, has reached more than 1.5 million readers. The publication has won 13 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism awards in four years for opinion writing, feature stories, multi-story coverage, and public service journalism. Shafer has been active as a radio personality as a regular guest on Civic Media’s ‘Matenaer on Air’ and several other shows.” Civic Media CEO Sage Weil comments, “Dan Shafer and The Recombobulation Area exemplify the type of thoughtful, in-depth, and locally focused reporting that is so important to Wisconsin. We can’t wait to bring his voice to the rest of the Civic Media network, both on and off the air. It is local journalism, with an emphasis on local issues and an understanding of what is important in local communities, that will rebuild trust in our media ecosystem and, ultimately, our democracy.”
Radio, and KGFJ Radio among others, joins such former recipients of the award as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’ Reilly, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Bob Grant, Thom Hartmann, Alan Colmes, Joe Madison, Karen Hunter, Al Franken, Brian Lamb, Norm Pattiz, Ian Freeman and others dating back to the origins of TALKERS in the late 1980s. Some two years ago, Smiley’s media company acquired an AM radio station in Los Angeles, the former hip hop legend KDAY, and transformed it into a new station and format – KBLA Talk 1580 – where he’s assembled an outstanding on-air staff, including himself, with the 
passionate mission of, as he puts it, “unapologetically serving people of color and who are politically progressive.” In making the announcement of this year’s recipient, TALKERS founder Michael Harrison states, “This is our longest-running and most-important award. Mr. Smiley has risen to the enormous talk radio challenge of providing underserved African Americans and progressives with a major commercial platform in the nation’s second largest market with a worldwide reach. In today’s political environment and struggling AM radio industry, it doesn’t get any more ‘First Amendment’ than that.” Tavis Smiley was presented the award by Harrison at TALKERS 2023 on Friday, June 2 at Hofstra University on Long Island. 
sold-out schedule, and is part of an emerging genre of progressive hosts seen regularly by loyal political talk media consumers. Only 39, Pakman has been a practitioner of progressive talk media since his early 20s. “The David Pakman Show” started in August 2005 as a community radio program called “Midweek Politics” in the basement of WXOJ’s studio in Northampton, Massachusetts. Today, it is a daily internationally syndicated politics and news talk show airing on radio, television, and the internet, as well as on Free Speech TV via DirecTV and DISH Network. Pakman is a naturalized citizen of the United States having moved here with his family at the age of five from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Harrison and Pakman discuss the rewards and challenges – financially and otherwise – of multi-platform digital broadcasting.