Air America

Can somenody give me an accurate appraisal of how they are doing?

I keep hearing all of this negative news about AAR from the right, but what is the reality?

Do we have any ratings?
Are they still providing over a million live streams over the web?
Are they making any money?

...that they had gotten rid of some of their management and things were going "much better" - whatever that means. I'm not too worried about it. There's no going back now, AA will survive, or something like it will.

in AAR... she said "they really think of every angle." But then she said the situation was taken care of.

That much I know, plus I think I heard right that the CEO or someone up there quit/got fired. Here is the PROBLEM with AAR. I LOVE the idea, DO NOT get me wrong! BUT, in order to pull of a radio gig, YOU NEED RADIO PEOPLE! That is why RANDI RHODES is getting MOST ALL of the attention! She kicks ass in radio! Now, stop and think...if she was to write a book, I would be 90% it wouldn't fly. Likewise with Al Franken, etc. YOU NEED RADIO PROS! I have NO problem with them having BIG NAME talent, not a bad idea, DUH! BUT! Why not hook them up AS CO-HOSTS with people who are LIBERAL RADIO PROS like Mike Malloy, Lynn Samuels, Neil Rogers, etc?! I mean, I don't know if X host would want Y co-host, but whatever! I would like to see folks like Al Franken, etc., on TV! Isn't that what they have already been SUCESSFUL AT DOING!? At the very least, I see AAR staying around as Randi's syndication company. I hate to say it, but it looks to me like AAR bit off more than they could chew. Should have started with a handful of shit, and worked their way up from there. But, I will give them credit for say, SCREW IT! LET'S JUST GO ALL THE WAY! And hey, MORE POWER TO THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would rather they pull it off and rule the airwaves...THAN THE ALTERNATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lu Cifer, reminding you that BUSH is a FOUR LETTER WORD that the FCC and CRAP CHANNEL should ban...better yet, let's just DEPORT THEM ALL!

to radio before, except NPR... but even NPR became National Petroleum Radio. Now I listen all day. Some things I like more than others, but I take every minute of AAR I can. I have to stream, so I bought a pair of earphones so I can listen to them around the house and the garden.

"Now, stop and think...if she was to write a book, I would be 90% it wouldn't fly."

Along with the 90% of what she says that doesn't fly. She's a rude, crass loudmouth. Definitely the lowpoint of AAR.

I do agree, however, that she should get her own production company. See how many stations would pick her rantings up.

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I suggest you cal her up live and see how far you get at proving her 90% wrong.....

I do agree, she is crass and jumps on people to quickly, but she is our crass, rude spocksperson. How is she any better than Insannity, Savage Weiner and Limpdick? She tells the truth and is always seeking to get to as close to the truth as possible, those others run from reality every chance they get....



Mike Malloy is great, I miss his show and he should be on in the morning spot... you can hear him on whiterosesociety.org website....

http://www.WhiteRoseSociety.org

I miss Mike Maloy too.

I like them because they make fun of the Rush, Hannity crowd and show what a buch of morronic truth twisters they realy are.

Al is great too, he has been getting better and better each day, he should have a TV show too, like Hanity & Comlmes.

Maybe when Gore gets that new cable station going, that 'other' America will have some place to go watch cable-talk shows.

Of course, we have to listen to them via streaming over the Internet.

not enough time to have any quarterly numbers. I have noticed more national spots lately, good sign...for a while they were only running promo spots promoting themselves or anti-shrub message.

keep in mind however I'm only hearing the Internet stuff - so people in separate markets are also hearing local spots.

Streams seem to be working better than ever.

my favorite show is Unfiltered, followed by Majority Report.

The network hasn't been on long enough to last an entire ratings period...thus no real ratings.

A million streams? Now are those unique sessions? Considering the most popular Internet stations deal with about 20,000 streams, thus drawing in 50 times as many must be quite a feat.

And as far as money...you nor I will never know.

People here don't want a real discussion on AAR. Enjoy while it lasts.

an awful lot about Air America. You are predicting their demise, even though you state in your post that we will never know their financial situation. Advertising has increased dramatically
over the last month or so. And your comment regarding the million streams - that happens to be true!

What is there to discuss about Air America? It is a breath of fresh air on the airwaves.

I am so sick of people blasting Air America. :grr:

I've been misrepresented in my posts. All I've done is posted links and news articles and leave the evaluation to the reader.

If there were huge ratings that could be linked, I assure you, they'd be linked, too. I've posted that I hoped the network would be successful and still hold out hope it will be.

You and others appear to know all, thus why discuss when it's such a closed deal.

Again, enjoy while it lasts.

Air America began broadcasting in the first month of the spring book so they won't have any measurable ratings until the end of June.

Let's give them a chance! Hardly anything begins at the top of its game -- it has to evolve. AA needs our support.

People here are quoting "ratings"...and, none have been released. Sheesh, I said that in an earlier post. Too soon to tell.

I will say the chances of any sizeable ratings would be incredible and highly doubtful considering the only station what could provide a sample for the entire quarter would be WLIB in New York. Then, to establish a real indication of the network, you'd need at least 2 or 3 solid quarters (some would discount that first book as the "roll out quarter") to track listener trends. Someone with a "Maximizer" could cull some useable numbers. The best gauge may be to compare WLIB's numbers pre & since AAR, and that would take a solid 6 months to get a solid evaluation.

I was responding to all these "high claims" that were posted that I'm sure are more wishful thinking than reality. Some have offered a lot of support to AAR and got rebuffed, but that's water under the bridge now. I'm hopeful things will get straightened around, but currently the broadcast industry isn't giving this network much of a chance. As I say, stay tuned.

Show him any wingnut attacking AAR, Radioactive will back him. Must be a hobby of his/hers.

...in the first week, and 50,000 concurrently on the first day. I haven't read anything about what they do on a daily basis since then, but I have a feeling it is comparable.

"NEW YORK and SEATTLE, April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air America Radio, the new national progressive radio network, and RealNetworks(R), Inc., the leading creator of digital media services and software, announced today that over 2 million streams were delivered online for Air America Radio via www.airamericaradio.com during the network's first week of broadcasting exclusively through RealPlayer(R) 10. With 50,000 streams delivered concurrently on launch day, this was the highest ever usage of the Real Broadcast Network for a non-breaking news service. Consumers have declared that they will listen live to today's top political and popular satirists, commentators, and activists."

from here http://www.airamericaradio.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=resPressRelease&htmlId=711

is that it doesn't generate advertiseing revenue. In order for it to be viable and stay on the air, they need to be profitable from ads. If almost all listeners are web listeners, it wont fly in the long run. We will just have to wait and see. I think a mistake they made was making the stations that carried it carry all programs. They should have done something like syndications so that stations could pick up certain shows and not have to carry the whole line up. That way they would get more stations to carry their content. Its hard to get a station to committ to the whole lineup when the ad revenue and ratings are questionable.

This doesn't sound good, but we need to be back on here....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0405140273may14,1,2279923,print.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Area couple may acquire Air America
Advertisement

By John Cook
Tribune staff reporter

May 14, 2004

The Highland Park couple that founded the precursor to Air America Radio before selling most of it to a group of investors are in negotiations to gain control of the troubled liberal talk network, sources said Thursday.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said Sheldon and Anita Drobny want to buy--with the aid of at least one major new investor--a majority stake in the company.

"A possible acquisition is imminent," said one party involved in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the network is showing signs of financial strain following the ouster of chairman and investor Evan Cohen last week.

The network shut down its Chicago and Los Angeles offices Monday, laying off about 15 to 20 salespeople.

One Air America source said the Chicago sales staff still is owed two weeks' pay.

The source also said that Chicago staffers were never enrolled in a health insurance plan, though Air America promised coverage and deducted health insurance premiums from their paychecks.

Air America President Jon Sinton said the network will correct any mistakes it may have made.

"At the end of the day, we're not going to let anybody go unpaid," Sinton said.

"We'll make good on whatever may be out there. If health coverage has lapsed, it will be restored."

Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

I remember when they were all gung ho about starting their own "media empire".. They talked a lot, but nothing happened..

This is where liberals have trouble.. Our FWM (folks with money), love to get on tv and talk about it...and all their plans.. The rightwing was successful, because they "flew under the radar"..they teamed up with the religiosos and just quietly started buying up local radio stations until they finally had a huge netowrk...AND a stranglehold on what local people could/would be hearing on their car radios..

By being quiet, they were able to buy these stations CHEAP.. When our folks go to the press BEFORE they have done their legwork, they have more trouble accomplishing their goal..

I liken it to walking into a car dealership and announcing that you have "only $60K" and want to buy a car.. Who thinks you'll get away from that dealership in a used KIA???

Our people need to stop broadcasting what they a "gonna do" and
JUSTDO IT.. Tell us all LATER..when the ink is dry, and the programming set..

"The Highland Park couple that founded the precursor to Air America Radio before selling most of it to a group of investors are in negotiations to gain control of the troubled liberal talk network, sources said Thursday.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said Sheldon and Anita Drobny want to buy--with the aid of at least one major new investor--a majority stake in the company.

"A possible acquisition is imminent,' said one party involved in the negotiations."

The article goes on to say AAR has layed off its sales staff in LA and Chicago (about 15-20) folks.

The Chicago staff is still owed two-weeks pay, and health care benefits had not been provided:

"The source also said that Chicago staffers were never enrolled in a health insurance plan, though Air America promised coverage and deducted health insurance premiums from their paychecks."

The AAR president promises to pay everyone in full and correct any accounting oversights.

http://www.bugmenot.com

They have a nice little collection of logins to those annoying registration sites.

it's absolutely HORRIBLE and unlistenable before Franken comes on, not to mention they're competing with Howard Stern and Imus on radio and the network morning shows on TV.

They really need to change something. You know how bad it will be for the entire left if the Arbitrons come out with it bombing. And I suspect it will if they don't do something. First I would change some things around to maybe get somebody listenable in the morning. I've never heard that Malloy guy but people here say he's talented. Why not replace the morning people with him and add Chuck D to the Majority Report. I also don't think it would be a bad idea to have some light stuff in there other than Franken. It's an extremely serious network moreso than any I've ever heard of in talk radio, including right wing stations.

How about that guy Phil Hendrie, he's a dem right? Why not get him in there somewhere, how about at 10, and move the majority report to start at 7, axing Marty Kaplan.

He USED to be a DEM. But has since the Iraq Illegal War, turned coat to being a total right wing asshole. Very sad. It's an even more pathetic tragic sell out than Dennis Miller!!!

Lu Cifer, still wondering why AAR didn't call up NEIL ROGERS!

You may not agree with all of his politics but he is still funny. I mean the caller who was critisizing the Passion of Christ for being racist towards Italians (Roman guards brutalising Jesus etc.) was pretty great. He would be a good addition but I would guess he wouldn't fit in becuase he has the audacity to think that we are actually at war with Radical Islam and supports the commander in chief. I find it weird how people think that AAR can survive if all of it content is exactly in line with the progressive agenda. I don't see it succeeding until the hosts at least recognize that people have different opinions than them and they have good reasons for those opinions even if you reject them or don't agree with those reasons. They are still valid to a lot of people (and I would even venture to say most people in some cases). I hope it does succeed, but in its current form I just don't see it.

The Carrot Top of talk radio.

I like Morning Sedition and I really like Unfiltered a lot. You say they're too serious but I've heard the complete opposite said as well. Unfiltered spent nearly an hour the other day talking about spam - not the email spam but the kind that comes in a can. It was really funny. I personally have classes at night but I turn Air America on in the morning and leave it on until I leave the house at 5pm unless I have some really serious studying to do. I love it. Recently there have been almost no PSA's it's been pretty much all commercials. I even heard a commercial for Ford a few minutes ago. The network started just a little more than a month ago and it's unbelievable the amount of carping I hear on here about it. It's laughable. I am really really thankful that it exists and hope that it grows into a beautiful profitable company and I'll support it and it's sponsors along the way and through all of their growing pains. I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Air America is a tool that we should all be using.

I HOPE THEY DO WELL!!! I HOPE THEY DO WELL!!!

...Too.

in the lead up to the war, and he was a dick to people who tried to convince him otherwise. He's a funny guy, but I don't know if he'd be good on air america.

movement on one show in place of an Al Franken re-run. It would really only be a sindication of his show onto the network in cities where he isn't already in like New York and (when AAR comes here) Boston.

I don't see it successfull unless they a least admit that some people feel differently and they may not just be morons for thinking that way. You'll never get new listeners as long as there is that condescending attitude that if you don't agree your a fool, or a racist, or brain washed. From what I have listened to, Franken seems to be trying to do this and randy rhodes is the embodyment of someone who is the problem as I see. A shrill, my way or the highway, I am smarter than you host. It turns me off and I largely agree with her.

.

he represents the ones who were fooled. To have anyone pro-war on Air America - one might as well give a show to Joe-mentum.

Franken's show is just dull, and while Rhodes has the bombastic thing going on (reminds me of a leftist Hannity), it's a question to how wide an audience for her style is.

If the ratings come out and show Air America is tanking it wouldn't be much of a surprise to me, let's put it that way.

We can't just have kerry 24/7! :eyes:

Well, I'm still waiting for Kerry to put out his promised "Kerry gone Wild" video, then he will be available 24/7!

should be compared to freepers.

Loud and right is not the same as loud and wrong. Its the right and wrong that matter, not the loud part.

And plenty of people with her style of succeeded in radio before.

Some prefer to obsess aboutt style.

can't have that.

As penance, I will listen faithfully to Randi for the next week and absolutely love what I hear!

I'll increase their ratings in NYC. More and more I meet listeners everywhere I go. And after the fogg we've been in until march 31, media -wise, I can't for the life of me get the hostility here - of the actual DU-ers I mean.
To me they are the answer to my prayers, And while not perfect (except for Randi), each show I sampled has plenty of good momemnts and above all
THE TRUTH.
Does anyone here care about it?

And AAR has a fairly diverse bunch in terms of style. Let's face it; if everyone on there had a show just like Randi's or Franken's, AAR would get stale pretty quickly.

I think some of the folks on AAR (like Franken, Janeane Garofalo, and Lizz Winstead) know they're not radio people; that's why they've got handlers who do much of the talking to help break them in. Hopefully they'll continue to grow into their shows.

Me, I'd love to see Henry Rollins grab a spot on AAR. In my perfect world, he'd host it with Chuck D...