Air America Finds A Buyer, Al Franken Departs

[babsbunny]

Air America Radio in Tentative Deal to Be Sold; Al Franken to Depart


NEW YORK (AP) -- Air America Radio, a liberal talk radio network, said Monday that it had reached a tentative agreement to be sold to the founder of a New York area real estate company. The network also said that Al Franken, its longtime headline personality, would depart next month.
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The agreement with Stephen Green, the founder and chairman of SL Green Realty Corp., appears to rescue the struggling network, which has been seeking a buyer since last fall when it filed for bankruptcy reorganization after reaching an impasse with one of its creditors.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070129/air_america_radio.html?.v=6

[SteppingRazor]

1. Good news all around, in my very humble opinion...

Franken hasn't been funny in a long while. I think the stress caught up with him. If they get a good replacement, it should help matters, though Franken's celebrity factor certainly shouldn't be given amiss.

[xfundy]

2. Franken's not there to be "funny"

He's there to talk about politics, and he does it very well. It's a side of the guy we didn't really see till AA put him on air.

[SteppingRazor]

4. Well, that's a bit jarring, since he started out being comical...

and then just sort of slipped into Dullsville over the last year or so. One can discuss politics and still be refreshing, interesting and even -- gasp -- funny. Looking at the current Air America lineup, I'm at a loss to find a single host I like less than Franken. The morning is all solid, from Riley to the Young Turks to Sam Seder. And the post-Franken afternoon is pretty spot-on too -- I'm not a big fan of Randi Rhodes, but at least she injects some passion into her work.

[hlthe2b]

8. He had terrific guests though....

That, I will miss...I wish him well and look forward to his tossing Coleman out of the Senate...

[ochazuke]

3. conclusion

dozens of biggoted idiots competing with eachother can all draw the ad dollars, but one progressive show can't make a go of it.

I think us educated people are spoiled by PBS. We can't tolerate 5 minutes of commercials every 5 minutes.

[SteppingRazor]

5. Well, that might be a bit off base. Air America had a different business model

Instead of syndicating shows and selling them to stations, AAR tried to both produce shows and buy stations to air them on -- something the rightwing shows hadn't attempted. It's an interesting idea, but I think they proved fairly well that it doesn't work -- you can't be all things to all people.

So, this could be more a problem with the business model than the actual on-air message.

[ochazuke]

6. businsess model

I recall that, when AAR started out, they said that the reason that previous liberal talk shows failed is that they were aired in a sea of right-wing talk shows. So, having one progressive show lead into another was supposed to create a loyal audience.

I used to listen a lot, but they never got an affiliate in my home town and streaming it got to be a pain.

Oh. And I hate 5 minutes of commercials every 5 minutes.

Anyway, so what model WILL work?

[SteppingRazor]

7. I think what will work is...

convincing radio stations that an all-liberal talk format is viable. Given market shares of some shows, it certainly is (e.g. in most markets now, Stephanie Miller beats Laura Ingraham, and Ed Schultz often beats Bill O'Reilly). And then you can simply concentrate on creating a quality product.

Of course, I certainly don't claim to be an expert in business, marketing or radio, so anything I have to say about it should be taken with a healthy handful of salt.

[zulchzulu]

9. Thom Hartmann to take Al's spot!

That is rockin' good news! This is according to Randi Rhodes...

http://www.thomhartmann.com/show.shtml