Why did Air America fail?

[Cid_B]

I have been out of the country since its beginning and eventual demise so I never had the chance to hear it. Is there a concensus on why it went down? Low ratings? Evil men with their fingertips together plotting? Came out at the wrong time? Something else entirely?

[madaboutharry]

1. Air America did not fail.

Go to AirAmerica.com and see for yourself.

[eilen]

2. I'd like to know that too

I love listening to Air America and Nova M on my internet radio.

[shadowknows69]

3. Shitty sales team?

All radio exists and dies by its sales numbers. The right sales team can sell a concrete life vest to a drowning man. If you can sell hate radio you should be able to sell truth radio.

[PSPS]

4. Huh? I listen to it every day.

[JVS]

5. dunno

[Bluenorthwest]

6. AAR is still on the air

Did not fail. No demise to speak of. And of course, anyone, anywhere on Earth can listen via the interwebs, just like I sit here in Oregon USA and listen to BBC Radio all the live long. Where were you that you could not do a search and stream yourself the radio you wished?

[Cid_B]

19. Honestly I heard it just wasn't that interesting...

... and there are too many good shows on the air and the net that I never had a strong enough urge to check it out. If I was in the States and I happened to tune in then possibly it would have held my attention but the overall vibe from people who had tuned in was "Meh".

PS. Check your posts for snarky tones. Im sure such a straight forward question didnt deserve a snippy answer so it must have been a mistake. Cheers.

[alfredo]

22. It's much easier when you are the party out of power. It puts you

on the defensive once you gain power. Give them time to get their footing.

Just think of what comedians are going through right now.

[DailyGrind51]

7. Air America is losing ground in some markets, I believe, because

Progressives have jobs actually requiring attention. How many teachers, nurses, factory workers, clerical personnel, or retail workers can keep the radio on during the day? "Management" can pretty much do what it wants, when it wants, including listening to conservative talk-radio.

[KharmaTrain]

8. It's There...Barely...

The network has been long life support and all but subsidized these days by the Green family. They've lost their "big guns"...Rhodes, Franken, Malloy, Maddow (she's there, but not really) and didn't bring in any new talent to replace them. They've also had a terrible time maintaining affiliates that have hurt getting any steady national advertising. Then add to this the collapse of radio in general...advertising revenue have hit rock bottom and company stock prices are worth pennies on the dollar. Radio's fallen behind teevee, cable and now the internet for advertisers and in a tight economy there's little left to drip to radio from the national level.

AAR has been snakebit since its inception. Between stints of mismangement the network has always suffered from a lack of promotions and marketing...doing little to grow beyond its initial affiliates...upgrading to bigger and stronger signals. At the best of times, setting up a network and making it work is difficult, AAR has suffered from barely staying afloat and the fact they've made it this long is amazing.

[tularetom]

9. Very poor management of its on air talent

One by one the best people have disappeared from Air Americas lineup. Rachel Maddow, Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes, Al Franken, Mark (?) from the early morning show, even Liz Winstead who used to do the mid morning show with Rachel - all gone. Is Sam Seder on anymore? The other day I read Tom Hartmann was going elsewhere in a month or so. So who's left - Ljonel woever the fuck he is. I knew they were doomed when they replaced the old Maddow morning show with - WTF - Jerry Springer?

They apparently treated these people shitty and the people left. Far as I'm concerned they dug their own grave. There are other sources now for honest radio commentary.

[underpants]

17. They also took a radical approach to radio-they bought whole radio stations

as opposed to producing a show and then selling it to radio stations. I think they did this to have a uniform schedule of shows (as opposed to being sandwiched between RW shows).

As I understand it Rush et al sell their show to a radio station then Rush sells the ad space. Something like that.

Air America bought whole radio stations and usually small ones with almost no name recognition (formerly jazz or bluegrass type stations)

[Garbo 2004]

42. AAR didn't own any radio stations. In the beginning they leased time on some, like their flagship

station in NYC. But never actually owned any radio stations.

[MADem]

10. It's humorless, excessively didactic, too serious, and too "PC"

No one likes a Nanny telling them how to feel, act, behave, or interact. CONSTANTLY. And way too much tut-tutting at anyone who doesn't meet The Standard of Behavior That Is Expected of Progressives (when plenty of Democrats run the gamut from progressive to conservative, and have a wide range of views and attitudes). If you want to appeal to Democrats, you've got to include those moderate and conservative Democrats...you know, the ones who helped get Obama elected. The ones who aren't as "liberal" as Janine Garofolo.

That's just the truth.

You can agree with many their views and still find them boring as hell, too.

SNL veers to the left, but they usually manage to be FUNNY. They don't take themselves too seriously. That's the trick.

Limbaugh is an asshole, and he maintains his impressive market share by appealing to stupid people, telling them that they are the little guy, getting fucked, and he's their spokesman, and also by pissing people off (they listen to him to shake their fists, and tell others how "awful" he is). And, not infrequenty in un-PC fashion, being "funny." Air America drones on --too much finger wagging, too much "We All Feel This Way" when we DON'T all feel "This Way" and .... they are just NOT FUNNY. Even when they TRY to be....

I just don't need reinforcement of my views, from people who are NOT FUNNY and who are BORING.

No shooting the messenger.

[Baikonour]

12. Did you even listen to any of the content?

Randi Rhodes was, and still is, funny. As was Franken and Springer. Young Turks blend comedy into their stuff as well.

I mean, if you're looking for Howard Stern or Opie & Anthony, well, then you know where to look.

[MADem]

14. Yes, I did, and I thought it was AWFUL. Way too much yelling and "poutrage" and not enough humor.

Rhodes was the worst on that score--I just can't listen to her anymore. Even Al Franken was LAME, and I was predisposed, over years of Stewart Smalley and his books, to like him.

Again, don't shoot the messenger. I'm calling it as I see it, and no, I don't like Howard Stern or Opie and Anthony (what, the only alternative to shitty comedy is crude lunacy? They're nothing like SNL either--and I don't know where to look, because I don't do satellite radio). Their "humor" just sucks. They're afraid to offend anyone on their own team, so they adopt a 'kid gloves' approach, and it's obvious. Their schtick is STILTED and .... lame.

If it weren't, they'd have a huge market share, but they don't....and you can't put that all down to "bad management" or "poor marketing." Good product finds its way to market, and their product is strictly for diehard, worshipful "True Believers" -- not casual, centrist to left of center listeners, looking for some amusement.

Edit: spelling

[janx]

27. You're right on all counts.

And for some reason, though I appreciate her on television, I couldn't stand to listen to Rachel Maddow on AAR.

Air America Radio gets an F when it comes to humor. Rhodes' "bounce your boobies," Stephanie Miller's sophomoric sound effects...YECH!

In addition to all that you mention above, I just got tired of all of the public service announcements (talk to your kid, don't drink and drive, use a car seat for kids, etc.) It made me wonder after awhile about who they thought their audience was.

[Garbo 2004]

40. Stephanie Miller's show has never been an Air America program. Syndicated, not AAR. nt

[janx]

46. I stand corrected. n/t

[Dreamer Tatum]

35. That is absolutely true

AAR fails to grow because they put caricatures on the radio who are preachy fire-breathers. Even if you tend to agree
with what they have to say, no one wants to listen to an indignant sourpuss all the time. Few of my VERY VERY lefty friends
listen to AAR, and their reasons are that Randi is just plain mean, and Malloy is too self-righteous and preachy.

I think someone over there forgot to tell the hosts to have fun, instead of finding a way to fit every possible grievance
into every single show. Most people I know on our side just listen to NPR, which leans left but is entertaining and informative
without breathing fire.

[MADem]

53. Hee hee hee...

Preachy fire breathers...indignant sourpuss!!!

You nailed it better than I ever could!! That's IT!

A little FUN might do the trick. Even that shithead Limbaugh says that his "product" is "entertainment." They need to entertain, first, and worry less about checking every "progressive" block. After all, we don't belong to any organized party, we're Democrats.

[Baikonour]

11. Horribly run companies tend to go bankrupt.

I don't blame any of the talent. At one point, Air America had one hell of a roster. It's the guys upstairs who are to blame.

[peacetalksforall]

13. I think the Greens are too DLC? - meaning ultra center - they are way too careful not too offend..

The list of people no longer there should be separated.

There is the distinction of an all Air America station or one that carries Air America.
There is a ddistinction between those paid by Air America and some other station.
There is a distinction in why some left. It was upgrades for Franken and Maddow.
Then there are those who were dropped. Malloy, Seder, Hartmann, Rhodes?
Or they dropped themselves when they were downgraded in schedules or cut back.

What Air America needs is to be less centric and to be as current as possible.

The local station that I listen to really screws up the schedule - the shows are behind.

My local station goes dead at the minute I am on pins and needles about what a guest is going to say. I believe they edit big time.

[BlooInBloo]

15. Root cause: The bulk of those who are most interested in it....

are on the internet.

To hell with obsolete technology. Let republicans marginalize themselves further by being the only ones in the country who listen to the radio.

[upi402]

21. oi, I hope you're not fooling yourself

Libs are on the net because there was nowhere else to turn. Most Americans are getting utterly propagandized by the TV News and talk radio.
And it'll be our undoing, I think, unless we see it for what it is and work to radically change it.
I listen to Air America daily and told others about it when I could. I wish the propaganda machine was as obsolete for 'mericans as it is for us, but it's really not.

[BlooInBloo]

23. Nice how you bundle in tv with your "rebuttal"...

:rofl:

[upi402]

26. I think TV News is part of the corporate propaganda organ

True. I don't mean to be running wild bursting bubbles, just making my little point here. No worries

[Johonny]

24. I agree

there are many areas of the country where talk radio is dominated by rw radio. It's not that left wing radio failed there, it's that it's never had a chance. Radio station ownership is dominated by people that have no interest in a diverse view. In areas like LA liberal talk radio is doing fine. Even if it's not a "pure" programed stations like air America. I find it really sad to talk to an intelligent person that knows nothing but what they've heard on Faux, or Rush. Their view of reality is so warped, it becomes very disheartening:(

[leftofthedial]

16. it is still on the air.

in the most important way, it succeeded in helping to remove the bush cabal from overt power.

but in another sense, it has failed and is doomed to fail, because progressivism is incompatible with capitalism.

[melm00se]

18. a lot can be said

about finances, management, talent and the like but if you drill down past all of this stuff and look at the content, which is the basis that all other things build from, there is a definite difference between "conservative" and "liberal" talk radio.

"Liberal" talk radio is intellectually driven messaging. it does not easily drive an emotional reaction.

"Conservative" talk radio appeals to emotions on a far more visceral level and is easier to get whipped into a frenzy.

It is also easier in the "conservative" format to be controversial and controversy is like a car wreck - you keep looking no matter how repulsive the image.

[rd_kent]

20. Because of TOO MANY COMMERCIALS!

I still listen to Nova M on my XM radio, but the incessant commercials cause me to continually change the channel. Seems like there is 5 minutes of show then 5-7 minutes of commercials. And its the same stinking commercials over and over!!!
I love to Listen to Randi Rhodes and Ed Shultz. I cant stand to listen to the ads mainly becuase there is more ad time than show time.

[DainBramaged]

25. Penis sensitivity rubs, tax cons, debt cons, no legitimate commercial sponsorship

I don't even listen any more. NYC AA is a joke, a vitamin guy on in the mornings, Ron Kuby in the afternoon in drive time, and terrible signal. Randi I can only get on 1520 AM from Buffalo on the way home from work IF I get out at 5. And I can't listen at work, so they lost another listener overall.

[upi402]

28. lol, nice sig

Yeah, they replaced Flanders and Ring of Fire locally with college ball. Guess it pays the bills.t as corporate propaganda radio is subsidized by big biz and even has promo, Air America is booted from the air when its ratings are high and replaced with low ratings pap. Not a system of merit, not an even playing field...

But not the fault of AAR.

[jazzjunkysue]

29. Two words: Maron, Randy.

When they fired both of them (and spare me the Randy quit crap, they forced her to accept a slavery clause, which was impossible to accept) they lost the 2 biggest progressive talents on air.

And both of them have unique, difficult personalities. That's what made them so much fun to listen to. That's where the brilliance was found: In their own faults.

But alot of people wanted Nice. "Randy's not Nice." "Marc didn't say "Nice" things about christians." Marc's morning neurosis wasn't Nice. Randi's not Nice to her callers.

Their goal was never nice. And we all have to admit that we're a little too disney, a little too mcDonalds, a little too hallmark, a little too "Little House On The Prarie" to tolerate the truth.

So they were fired, and now, AAR is Nice. And I have little use for it.

I work just 30 minutes north of manhattan, and I can't even get it on my car radio with any kind of clarity. The NYC signal is pathetic. NYC is supposed to be the AAR flagship station, and it's barely there.

One thing they finally got right was firing Armstrong Williams.

Anyone know what happened to him?

[NYCGirl]

30. LOL. Randy Rhodes must've been the highest earning slave ever. NT

[jazzjunkysue]

31. The demanded a no-quit clause for her. They could fire her but she couldn't quit.

Would you sign that?

[NYCGirl]

54. That's what contracts are for. NT

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

44. you are soooo right

Morning Sedition was great while it was on, it was funny, fresh and unpredictable, and you actually learned something from listening. it was like the daily show in the morning. The biggest mistake they made was taking it off.

[smokey nj]

49. I still miss Morning Sedition.

[Warren Stupidity]

32. A network of the crappiest reception AM stations ever.

But they haven't quite failed yet. At least in many sections of the Boston area they were simply not audible, whatever content they might have had was beyond my ability to scrape information from noise.

[anonymous171]

33. Liberals aren't soldiers, they don't follow. Radio is not a good medium for them.

It works for conservatives because they just want their current worldview reinforced. Liberals want dialogue and discussion, which is why radio is not really the best political tool for them. The internet is the best tool for Liberals, IMO.

[KittyWampus]

36. this progressive liberal wants entertainment. IMO, the AAR personalities that came closest

to being really entertaining were Maron, Franken and Seder.

But that's just me.

Randi has her moments but was unbearable when taking calls.

[DailyGrind51]

39. You're correct, we aren't "mind-numbed robots" like the "ditto-heads".

[cherokeeprogressive]

34. The number of DU'ers who listen to mush and insanity every day out of some misguided

need to "keep your enemies close" doesn't help. It props up mush and insanity's ratings at the expense of AA's.

[Still Sensible]

37. I really think it's a lot simpler

they don't get enough listeners so their ratings suck.

I also think it is easy to explain why. Just imagine the demographics of RW radio listeners compared to Air America's potential audience. RW radio listeners are remarkably shallow, they don't do nuance and want to have everything defined for them in simple terms that reinforce their prejudices. Us vs. them, good vs. bad, black and white. They want to be told who it is to blame for their problems and the problems of society at large.

Progressives generally are freer thinkers, understand a lot about the complexities of issues, and don't want to just sit on their ass and let someone tell them what to think. No matter how good the message is on Air America, most of us are too busy thinking for ourselves and living our lives to tune in...IMHO.

[Cid_B]

47. This one cracked me up...

"Us vs. them, good vs. bad, black and white. They want to be told who it is to blame for their problems and the problems of society at large."

This one just made me snicker because in your definition you made a black and white, good vs bad and us vs them comparison.

The irony.. ohh the irony...

[Still Sensible]

48. Sometimes the truth is ironic, no?

[ShortnFiery]

38. Mark Green n/t

[Madam Mossfern]

41. I gave up listening to talk radio altogether

It was making me too angry. Reading the paper and watching MSNBC makes me mad enough. I'm a much more pleasant person, now that I confine my radio listening to music.

[47of74]

45. I only listen to Stephanie and Ed with any regularity

Because those are the only two that hold any interest for me. And yes, I know they are not AAR.

We used to have an AAR affiliate down in Davenport, which sadly went away and was replaced by a "Christian" radio station.

[Rob H.]

43. Our local affiliate went under because of terrible management

They didn't advertise and I think they might have updated their website just once or twice while the station was still active. (They had Mark Riley and Marc Maron pictured on the website long after they were no longer on the air, for example.)

They also cut into Randi's show and The Majority Report to give airtime to supposedly liberal local "talent" but the guy was a homophobic, science-denying religious kook who had exactly ZERO place on a network like AAR. He eventually got the boot, but by then a lot of listeners had tuned out for good and the station never recovered. Now it's a Fox Sports radio affiliate.

[clbuck]

50. They haven't failed...yet.

However, its presence has rapidly diminished in the last year or so.

Rachel Maddow's radio show was moved to the early morning drive slot, and is basically just a rehash of her MSNBC show. And it sounds like Thom Hartmann is moving his show to Dial Global (who also syndicate Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, and Ed Schultz) next month. I don't think that its remaining hosts, except for possibly Ron Reagan, are enough to get station clearances, and keep the network afloat.

However, even without Air America, progressive talk is still alive and well.

[1]

51. you have to present something that people want to hear. sadly, air america did not...

our liberal media fails because we cannot present a case that compels people to pay attention...

i know, i know. but it is what it is...

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

52. Big financial snafu with the launch and then mind-boggling stupid mismanagement by Mark Green

they could have recovered when mark's brother bailed them out, but MG decided to drop or run off all of the talent. Other than Maddow, everyone from the excellent original crew is gone, replaced by uninspiring and annoying people like Lionel, Ron "Sliwa's Colmes" Kuby and the Clout Guy

If they'd brought Malloy back and kept Randi, Seder and Maron, they'd have a real buzz and be building an audience by now

[Occam Bandage]

55. Because even smug, smarmy, habitually outraged liberals

can't stand to listen to smug, smarmy, habitually outraged liberals. We like humor. Colbert and Stewart are proof of that. A radio version of the Daily Show would have done well. A liberal version of Hannity (with about five times the self-righteousness) did not.