AIR AMERICA DIES; PROGRESSIVE TALK RADIO LIVES ON
By Bill Press for The Huffington Post
After years of keeping it alive on life-support, investors have finally pulled the plug on Air America. What difference will that make on progressive talk radio nationwide? Zero.
The truth is that Air America, which launched on March 31, 2004, died at least twice before. First, when it declared for bankruptcy in 2006. The second time, when Al Franken left the network to run for U.S. Senate. And it’s moribund ever since.
In the future, business majors will study Air America as the textbook case of a great idea, but lousy execution. The plan was to create a progressive talk radio network to compete with the army of right-wing talk show hosts. Given that 50 percent of the country did not vote for George W. Bush and are therefore not served by talk radio, that idea was, and remains, a solid business proposition. But there were two problems.
The first was that Air America was not properly funded from the beginning. Even before its launch, it was taken over by a con artist who was later convicted on un-related charges of business fraud. Managers spent money lavishly on talent and studios, while generating little advertising income. At one point, staff went without pay checks while Al Franken hustled money from new investors. New owners took over, but the operation continued to bleed cash until the latest owner finally said: Enough!
The other problem was that, in the beginning, Air America filled its ranks with people who were long on political ideology, but short on business or talk radio experience. Except for Randi Rhodes, few of their talk show hosts had ever been behind the microphone. Except for Jon Sinton, few of their executives had ever worked in talk radio. In many ways, it was amateur hour from the beginning.
So the surprise is not that Air America died. The surprise is what took it so long. For the last few years, Air America has existed in name only. Which is why, in the thriving and expanding world of progressive talk radio, the absence of Air America will hardly be noticed.
Most of today’s nationally-syndicated, progressive talk show hosts – Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes, and yours truly – have never been, or are no longer, Air America hosts. Our programs will carry on, without interruption or change. And, in every market where we are heard on the air, we will continue to match or beat our conservative competition in both ratings and revenue.
So, no matter what conservative talk show hosts may claim, fear not. The demise of Air America does not mean there is anything wrong with progressive talk radio today.
Air America, the company, may be dead. But progressive radio, the new force in talk radio, lives on – louder and stronger than ever.
This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 4:50 am and is filed under Press Box. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kevin Grussing, Bill Press. Bill Press said: Here's my piece from HuffPo on Air America's failure. Again, Progressive talk radio is alive and well! http://bit.ly/4M9Mj9 [...]
The progressives need to understand that thier “base” represents about 5% of the country. That is why Air America failed and why the only hope for liberal talk is the fairness doctorine. Lets hope the fairness doctorine talk dies with Air America. Bill, its time to realize that you are way out in “left” field and America rejects your policies.
One more thing. Let me understand. The Dems lose NJ and Virginia, that was a good thing. The Dems lose the Mass senate seat and that was a good thing. Now Air America dies and that is a good thing. Will all this good news, the Left seems to be in better shape than ever!!
Rusty,
I don’t know where you get that statistic, but it’s dead wrong.
The reason that there are so few progressive talkers on radio is that the market is dominated by owners and programmers who want conservative radio. Period. In EVERY market where there is a competing progressive show, that show beats even the likes of Rush and Hannity.
By the way, there are reasons that we lost campaigns in NJ, VA and MA and they have nothing to do with the left wing being irrelevant. If anything, we lost MA because the President and Congress are not being progressive enough and they are caving to the right wingers!
The syndicated shows not on Air America will go on, but there were a number of shows – Jack Rice, Ring of Fire, and State of Belief, for example – that may not and that is not a good thing. I disagree with Rusty – the radio stations are owned by a handful of CORPORATIONS who’s interests benefit from non-progressive programs. Air America may be gone but the progressives are not and will continue to fight for democracy in the US.
Rusty *hopes* five percent of the population is progressive but that hardly makes it fact.
While the races in NJ, VA, and MA may be disappointing, let’s not loose sight of the fact that we have an 18 seat advantage in the senate, an even larger margin in the house, and control of the ptesidency.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by bpshow: Here’s my piece from HuffPo on Air America’s failure. Again, Progressive talk radio is alive and well! http://bit.ly/4M9Mj9...
I’m sad. Air america kept me good company. Where can I hear Bill Press, Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes now?
mmmmysharona,
I don’t know where you get your stats from, but you’re dead wrong.
you said:
“In EVERY market where there is a competing progressive show, that show beats even the likes of Rush and Hannity.”
Bill said:
” And, in every market where we are heard on the air, we will continue to match or beat our conservative competition in both ratings and revenue.”
Go here: http://talkers.com/online/?p=71 and here http://talkers.com/online/?p=267.
1. Rush 15+ mil
2. Hannity 13+ mil
3. Beck,Savage 8+ mil
8. Ed Schultz (highest rated progressive on the list) 2.5+ mil
9. Thom Hartmann 2.0+ mil
10. Alan Colmes 1.75+ mil
Stephanie Miller
Sorry but Bill didn’t even get a mention.
Yes these are from 1 year ago but if you’ve got better stats than please share.
It’s simple! Conservatives generally stay informed, are interested in politics, and like to discuss current issues. So, conservative talk radio is successful.
Liberals generally are not well informed, and are not interested in becoming so. Their depth of interest is limited to which prominent politicians they like or dislike. Notice how bad weather affects Democrat election turnout more that it does Republicans? Air America was doomed, regardless of who managed it.
Rusty, a main difference between progressives and conservatives is that progressives are not only willing, but wired to challenge current thinking. That often includes our own institutions. See, that’s what makes us inclusive. You can be different but, hey, we’re gonna discuss it. With conservatives it’s just the opposite. “You’re either with us, or agin us.”
So, we have no issues with accepting that some ideas work and some don’t. We have no issues with acknowledging failure. We DO have issues with accepting failures as successes. Like, I bet you still believe that the war in Iraq was justified. And, I bet you think that because I challenge the war in Iraq I also hate the military. If I’m against the war, then I’m against America. See, I love America, that’s why I challenge it to change and improve. That’s why I can say, “Hey, world, sorry, but we have a democracy and one problem with that is sometimes the moron son can win a presidency and regress us by bringing back Nixofiles.”
Air America died. Fact. Al Franken won his senate seat by beating Norm Coleman. Fact. McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate (and that’s a gift that keeps on giving). Fact. We’re still here, Rusty, and we’ll challenge you as well as each other and we will be replaced by the next generation of progressives. They’ll have different ideas to oppose the same conservative drivel. And we’re okay with that. Fact.
Wow! Rusty What planet are you living on. You lost MA beacuse the President and Congress are not being progressive enough. So to fix this they elect a Republican? Man, give me some of what you’re smoking.
Bill,
So progressive talk matches conservative talk in listener and ad revenues. Let us know when you move to Palm Beach and buy your own gulfstream G5.
its amazing that anyone pays attention to anything bill press says, he talks like he is completely unaware of the majority of the citizens of this great country
Hi, there, Bill. We met before, when you were Ellsworth Toohey in Ayn Rand’s novel, “The Fountainhead.”
You sure are “progressive,” Bill — much in the way that cancer is progressive.
Yi Ha ***
Minister of Information
Peoples’ Capitalist Republic of Whizbangistan
*** Pronounced “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
still air america is just a sign of changes to come :
we need to protect our Nation from take over of a media/takeover of health care system; Its just a small fraction of what steeps the large media will do to keep this nation broken and divided : Power to the People !!!!
Amazing. Truly amazing.
Dems lose Mass. election, blame candidate, blame republicans, even claim result was a mandate for their ideals.
Air America shuts down, libs blame talent, blame management, even claim it was because other lib radio shows are wildly popular.
Do LIBS ever get past the “denial” stage??
this goes to show you that capitalism and liberalism are at odds. Conservative radio is propped up by its other money making ventures. Liberal radio tried to make it on its own. Liberal thinking does not always jive with the economic requirements to make a profit for your investors. We know a minority of the American public listen to conservative radio, but the radio hosts make big bucks anyway. For the kind of money that is thrown at these guys to espouse the owner’s ideology many people would spout the same dribble. It’s sad that capitalism by rule squeezes out the moderate and sensible voices. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have deep pockets to keep Air America up until it could have supported itself.
Dear Bill,
Now that the radio station WZAA in DC is no longer being rented by Air America, why don’t you, Stephanie, Randi, Ed Schultz and Thom Hartmann get together and rent it? I miss the hell out of hearing you on the radio in DC. Yeah, there’s the internets, but it ain’t the same thing!
Love, Babs
BTW, I don’t know why progressive websites are carpet-bombed by right-wing trolls. Go get social lives and jobs! Of course, if the RNC is paying you for trolling, I guess that you DO have jobs.
It’s retarded to state that specific points of view have no market. I’m sure that in some area of the US, a outright Nazi talk radio station would be successful.
“Air America died. Fact. Al Franken won his senate seat by beating Norm Coleman. Fact.”
A stolen election, with ballots “found” weeks after the polls closed. Coleman, though, in any case, was generally regarded as a RINO, not a conservative.
“McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate (and that’s a gift that keeps on giving). Fact.”
Your point? If it’s that’s she’s dumb and uninformed, the opposite has been proven to be true. The mainstream media has repeatedly lied about her and her family, even as they laughed at David Letterman’s jokes about Alex Rodriguez raping her daughter.
“We’re still here, Rusty, and we’ll challenge you as well as each other and we will be replaced by the next generation of progressives. They’ll have different ideas to oppose the same conservative drivel. And we’re okay with that. Fact.”
The progessives’ “different” ideas are simply re-hashed socialist policies that have been tried with little success around the world, and are already failing here.
“The reason that there are so few progressive talkers on radio is that the market is dominated by owners and programmers who want conservative radio.”
Posted as example one of the leftist disconnect from reality. You’ve never run a business nor been near anyone who has, have you? Don’t answer, you’ll probably lie anyway since reality is so distant from you. But here’s a dose of it: Business owners are in business to earn money. To do that they do what makes them money, sell what sells. You can’t just dump something out there and make people buy it. Either it is wanted or it fails. Conservative talk is wanted and makes money and thus station owners sell it. Leftist propaganda doesn’t, hence the dearth of lefty shows and the demise of Air Amerika.
“Period. In EVERY market where there is a competing progressive show, that show beats even the likes of Rush and Hannity.”
This is an example of why you make a claim like above; you have no connection to facts. Or you just don’t care. This isn’t even a lie, it’ a fantasy.
“…If anything, we lost MA because the President and Congress are not being progressive enough and they are caving to the right wingers!”
And here’s the final example. Obama isn’t being socialist enough so the answer from an irate Citizenry is to elect a moderate conservative. This is why the left can’t stay in power long even when they do manage to steal it. Again, you didn’t lie, you fantasized. Your statement is so outrageous on the face of it that it takes one’s breath away. The only initial afterwards response is laughter.
And THAT is the real reason the Lefty Network died: Regular people just can’t take that kind of crap, or Bill Press et al, seriously.
“McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate (and that’s a gift that keeps on giving). Fact.”
Your point? If it’s that’s she’s dumb and uninformed, the opposite has been proven to be true. The mainstream media has repeatedly lied about her and her family, even as they laughed at David Letterman’s jokes about Alex Rodriguez raping her daughter.”
The opposite has been proven true? Please. I would not say she is stupid, but she is willfully incurious and cannot put together two coherent sentences. There are any number of Republican women who actually can speak the English language and are cognizant of the world that would have been far better choices.
As far as her family is concerned, I do not condone the attacks, much as I decried Rush Limbaugh’s cruel derision of Chelsea Clinton’s looks(uh, Rush, looked in a mirror at all?) However, she partly invited it by parading her pregnant unwed daughter in front of the world and passing that poor baby around like a sack of potatoes.
Some Republicans,thankfully a tiny minority, loved her strictly because she is a hyperreligious hypocrite, progun, anti-gay, and anti-choice.
I am happy for her that she is making all of this money. Good for her. Just stay the hell out of public office.
“I would not say she is stupid, but she is willfully incurious and cannot put together two coherent sentences.”
Demonstrably untrue. Again, not even a lie, just lefty fantasizing to make themselves feel better.
“Some Republicans,thankfully a tiny minority, loved her strictly because she is a hyperreligious hypocrite, progun, anti-gay, and anti-choice.”
A vast number of Citizens love her because she is a Christian, supports the 2nd Amendment, opposes special rights for a tiny minority of people with a specific sexual habit and opposes the random murder of the unborn based over 95% of the time solely for convenience.
Get your description right, eh?
“McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate (and that’s a gift that keeps on giving). Fact.”
Your point? If it’s that’s she’s dumb and uninformed, the opposite has been proven to be true. The mainstream media has repeatedly lied about her and her family, even as they laughed at David Letterman’s jokes about Alex Rodriguez raping her daughter.”
The opposite has been proven true? Please. I would not say she is stupid, but she is willfully incurious and cannot put together two coherent sentences.
====
Actually, the one who can’t put together two coherent sentences, at least without his Teleprompter with him, is Obama. This is a man who had to bring a Teleprompter to speak at an elementary school just a couple of days ago. During the campaign, he showed up at a RODEO with a Prompter. If you want to know what he sounds like without his Prompter, just listen to him answer the hecklers at the Coakley campaign speech. Sarah would have handled the situation much better; in fact, I remember her doing so once when heckled during the campaign.
“We know a minority of the American public listen to conservative radio, but the radio hosts make big bucks anyway.”
Really? A minority as compared to what? As compared to the liberal audience?
Here’s the problem with progressives:
On the one hand: “a main difference between progressives and conservatives is that progressives are not only willing, but wired to challenge current thinking.” Implying that conservatives or republicans are not and they can’t think for themselves, are somehow less intelligent and less educated than liberals or progressives and must be told what to think, because after all we are just a bunch of dumb racist rednecks, right.
But if we come here, in order to see what others are thinking and engage the other side by posting our view point then we hear:
“BTW, I don’t know why progressive websites are carpet-bombed by right-wing trolls. Go get social lives and jobs! Of course, if the RNC is paying you for trolling, I guess that you DO have jobs.”
Maybe, just maybe it’s the other way around? That it’s progressives who are single minded, unthinking and less intellignet? I’ve often found that when one side of two arguing factions resorts to name calling, i.e. ‘Trolls’ that they are incapable of adding anyting useful or intelligent to the conversation.
But what do I know, I’m just a dumb redneck!
DET and Scott….please!!! Can you not do better than this inane twit? Obama has far more credentials and intelligence than the Snowbilly. And as for abortion? Never had one. Waaay too smart to have an unplanned pregnancy. Not so true for Sister Sarah. Methinks her reluctance to release her medical records in the 2008 campaign has soemthing to do with a remote abortion.
That you guys have a woody for this woman speaks volumes about your tastes.
Obama has : a degree from Columbia University, and a law degree from Harvard.
Caribou Barbie? Went to 5 different colleges to obtain a degree in “Journalism.”
If this is the best you guys can do with regard to an admirable female role model, I pity you.
Oh, and just a heads up: men do not have a voice with regard to abortion. It is a man’s world, but thsi si the oen area in which we retain dominion.
Jeff G…you said it not me.
Jeff and DET,
I truly feel for you guys. That is all I can say. You really should venture out in the world more.
A better question for Jeff G and DET: Why are you on a liberal blog? Jealous much?
Bill Press,
Can’t you keep the rube Palin worshippers out? I am getting so nauseated.
If Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are the best the Republican Party has to offer, God help us. The scary part for me is that Bachmann makes Palin look like a Mensa candidate.
Please everyone, rent the movie “Idiocracy” this weekend. It is an excellent preview of a Palin presidency. If that is not enough to scare you straight, I do not know what is!
Sarah is the president depicted in the movie.
Bill,
We MUST get progressive talk shows back on in DC Metro area. It is so frustrating not having a radio show or station I can tune to while commuting to work. AM 1520 can barely be heard (weak signal) from within Beltway.
Conservative talk shows have monopolized the AM air waves. I firmly believe conservatives and GOP use their network of stations to push their agenda and propaganda 24/7.
I am dumbfounded that this issue has not garnered the national attention it deserves!! Here we essentially have one political party, the GOP, in control of most, if not all, AM broadcasting corporations and programs. They get to spew out their agenda 24/7 with no response from a progressive radio talk in sight. Is this really a matter of economics, market demand, business management, or is it what I believe is so obvious, conservative’s monopoly control of all AM radio stations! Are we living in North Korea, Iran, China? What are the conservatives so afraid of? Why do oppressive governments control media?
Where is the fairness?! Where is the democracy?