Steph Gets Press in Rochester

"Sometimes in life, you end up using everything you are and you've become. It kind of just falls together, even though you don't plan it that way."
Stephanie Miller, City article, Dec. 27, 2006

ADDED NOTE: Perhaps the best news is found at the end of this article, apparently CNN has talked with Steph about launching her own TV show. Read on...

From City - Rochester's Alternative Newsweekly
DECEMBER 27, 2006
Left Laughing: Stephanie Miller Moves from Sister Sleaze to Progressive Radio Queen
BY RON NETSKY

Stephanie Miller's ambitions were not political. She wanted to be a comedian like her idol, Carol Burnett. And after majoring in theater at the University of Southern California, she landed her first professional radio gig. In the mid-1980s, Rochesterians got to know her as Sister Sleaze, sidekick to Brother Wease....

The Stephanie Miller Show, which airs locally (weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon) on News Talk 950 WROC AM, is arguably the most creative talk show on the air. Miller and her sidekicks improvise their way through political and social criticism with sound effects, guest appearances by Washington luminaries (channeled by impressionist Jim Ward), and an unrelentingly wicked satirical bite. It's a fast-moving, irreverent good time. And Miller has definitely not left all elements of Sister Sleaze behind....

"I think my dad and Goldwater would be appalled at what's become of their party," says Miller. "Goldwater was pro-gay-rights and pro-choice. He talked about the undue influence of the religious right. And that was back in the 1980's."...

When the family members get together, they often argue about what their father would think of current issues. Miller says her two sisters, who have always been Republicans, have become disgusted with the party. They both voted for Kerry. Her brother, who remains a Republican, has grown apolitical....

"I hired her as soon as I heard her tape," says Wease (Alan Levin), whose show remains popular today. "She's very manic, very bright, very funny and creative." When friends asked Wease, "how come you give that girl so much mike?" he had a simple answer: "Because she's phenomenal. Don't try and compete; let people fly. I let her fly, and we had a ball." ...

Between her stint as Sister Sleaze and her current persona, Miller held a variety of jobs, from playing small roles in films to co-hosting "Equal Time" with Bay Buchanan on CNBC. With her current show, she seems to have finally found her niche.

"Sometimes in life, you end up using everything you are and you've become," she says. "It kind of just falls together, even though you don't plan it that way."...

"They say it's theater of the mind," she says. "Radio is the most creatively free medium. That's why I enjoy it more than television. Television tends to be over-produced and over-prepared. It's not as authentic as radio."

Depending on how much she has prepared the previous day, Miller wakes up at 3 or 4 a.m. and arrives at the station at 5. She goes on live on KTLK in Los Angeles at 6 a.m.

No small part of her show's success is due to her two well-chosen cohorts, the extraordinary impressionist (and sometime conspiracy theorist) Ward and producer-sidekick Chris Lavoie. They are not only radio partners, but they are also among Miller's best friends off the air.

"They are genuinely funny," says Miller. "Jim Ward says something at least once a day that literally makes me fall out of my chair. Most of it's off the cuff, so you don't see it coming."...

Miller points out that her show, which is syndicated by Jones Radio Networks, is not part of Air America....

By contrast, Miller has long conversations with her adversaries...

On air, Miller is self-deprecating, joking frequently about her appearance and her love life, or lack thereof....

It may say something about the absurdity of our time, but people increasingly are turning to comedians for political commentary. The success of "The Daily Show," "The Colbert Report" and "Real Time with Bill Maher"has not gone unnoticed by serious news stations. CNN recently called Miller to talk to her about doing a television show.

If she does, she will join comedians like Colbert, Maher, and Jon Stewart, who, in addition to being funny, are among the most astute political commentators in the media.

"Comedians tend to be truth-tellers," says Miller. "For a time now, we just seem to have the facts on our side. We're at a point where all the good comedy targets are on the right."