My Thoughts on Air America

[MattNC]

Before I go into my spill I want to note that the only real radio experience I have is helping to produce an online radio show that tanked very quickly. :) These are just my own amateur thoughts. I've made similar posts on the 'General Discussion' board, but I figured posting here as well might warrant a little more substantive discussion.

Anyway, here goes...

I've never been a big fan of talk radio, except for the BBC World Service and NPR and Thom Hartmann on occasion. Air America generated such a buzz however that I decided to give it a try. After roughly three months on the air, I have mixed feelings.

The Shows
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Morning Sedition- Admittedly, I haven't listened to this show as much simply because I don't always have to be up this early. When I have listened however I didn't come away very impressed. With Sue Ellicott now having left the show, it's gone down hill even more. If the show is to survive, they definitely need to hire another woman ASAP. Nancy Skinner available? Regardless, I just can't see many people choosing to listen to this show over the many morning shows already out there.

Unfiltered- I have similar feelings about this show as I do with Morning Sedition. It's funny at times, but I just don't find myself having a strong desire to tune-in on a regular basis. While Rachel and Liz have good chemistry with each other, Chuck D just seems kind of out of place here.

The O'Franken Factor- Ahh...the flagship show of the network. Initially, I was not a fan of the show as it was painfully clear that Franken had never done radio before. Over the last three months, it's gotten much better, and I actually find myself listening to at least an hour of it every day. The guests are top notch, there's a good balance of humor and serious debate, and Katherine and Al seem to have developed a good repor. The only real downside is that Al still lacks the personal charisma that I think he needs to attract more listeners, but maybe that's just a personal preference on my part. Still...I think he'll have the top liberal radio show in the country in due time -- with maybe the exception of Alan Colmes.

The Randi Rhodes Show- Personally, I'm not a big fan of this brand of talk radio. But I'll of course admit she's very talented at what she does and does a good job of getting people to love her or hate her, which it seems like talk radio is all about these days. My only suggestion would be to cut the show down an hour. It's just way too long.

So What Else Is News? - Not one of the more important shows on AAR obviously, but Marty is a nice break after Randi and before the Majority Report. Given Marty's background in media however I do wish he'd focus a little more matters pertaining to the media in his show, just b/c I think it'd be nice to hear his insights and allow him to differentiate a little from the rest of the network.

The Majority Report- Initially, this was probably my favorite on AAR but over time I've started to dislike more and more. While the Sam and Janeane do seem to be developing a knack for talk radio and obviously get along with one another, the actual meat of the show leaves me wanting a lot more. I know talk radio isn't the medium one looks for if they want substantive material or debate, but I feel like they could at least put a little more effort in here. At times I feel like - with Janeane especially - that all they're doing is whining. I'm sure most of you will disagree with me here though.

Ring of Fire- An hour on Saturday mornings just isn't my cup of tea, so I haven't listened to the show too much. The show does seem to have good guests, but I wish they'd consider doing a Saturday afternoon show that maybe lasted for at least two hours or so. I just can't seem them building much of an audience.

The Laura Flanders Show- I'd guess her ratings aren't too good given that she's only on weekend nights, but I do have to say I love this show. Very intelligent woman, and I love the laidback yet still engaging approach she has with her show. I don't expect her show to take off, but as long as she sticks to what she's currently doing I think it's a solid show for a weekend slot.

Bring the Noise- Does anyone else think this show was started to try and lessen some of the negative publicity AAR got in the area for taking over an African American talk station? I have no particular objections to the show, but the issues they talk usually just don't interest me too much, so I haven't been listening on a regular basis. It seems obvious though that Chuck D really is working hard to do his part in getting AAR to succeed.

Affiliates
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I know the management problems early on is partially to blame here, but the lack of new affiliates is where I feel AAR has been a big disappointment. I can understand that perhaps AAR needs to show it can draw in ratings on a consistent basis for a while before it starts to add more affiliates, but I'm not too sure if that's really a valid excuse.

Every few weeks I'd get excited about the possibility of new stations on their affiliates page, as the "coming soon" section would often have as many as 10 potential affiliates listed. Yet, since the start of AAR, that list has almost always disappointed. Rarely have any of the potential stations actually ended up carrying AAR programming. And the new affiliates they have gained seem to be concentrated almost entirely in California or Hawaii (figure that one out). I understand the power of Clear Channel and conservative talk, but I simply don't understand how they haven't been able to get on in major markets such as San Fransisco and Seattle.

Additionally, whenever new affiliates are added, it's usually just the O'Franken Factor and maybe one other show - usually Randi or the Majority Report. I think KPOJ is the only major affiliate to actually carry most AAR's programming. It's my fear this network will turn into nothing more than a distributor for Franken and maybe Rhodes.

On the upside, I am very impressed they acquired their own channel on Sirius and have most of their programming on XM. As satellite radio increases in popularity, being on both providers should be nothing but good news for AAR. The Internet stream records they've set pretty much speaks for itself. Very impressive.

Final Thoughts
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While I don't feel AAR is going to disappear anytime soon obviously, I do worry that their terrible management early on has really hurt them out of the gate, and it could take them a long time to recover from it. Actions such as demanding that stations carry all of their programming initially was a huge mistake and I wonder if they lost many potential affiliates because of it? But I also wonder if they're making similar mistakes now with doing a week of nothing but "best of shows" on their two biggest shows. Guests hosts anyone? I see shows such as Franken and Rhodes' doing just fine and gaining affiliates over time, but I'm not so sure about the rest of the network. They may be regulated to WLIB, KPOR, the 2 satellite channels, and the Internet streams, which isn't small potatoes of course.

I'll gladly keep listening to AAR and I think they'll stick around, but they should be prepared to realize that they may be forced to share the face of liberal talk radio with the likes of Alan Colmes, Ed Schultz, and others. They won't be the only game in town -- which is a good thing.

[Corby]

1. I mostly concur.

Majority Report is pretty awful. Unprofessional and too much black helicopter stuff for my tastes. Jeananne G. comes across as very shrill, even when I agree with every word she's saying. I can't see the show attracting many moderates.

What Else is News is probably my favorite show on the network. It reminds me of NPR back before it stood for Nice Polite Republicans.

Randi Rhodes is a firebrand. She is the liberal Hannity, although much more intelligent. I couldn't listen to her at first but she has grown on me.

Unfiltered is uneven. Chuck D seems to have been thrown in randomly and doesn't really fit the format.

I think AAR needs more professional radio people on board with strong personalities. The personality seems to come from the comedians --- Franken, Winstead, etc. -- who have milquetoast radio pros assigned to them to keep the show rolling.

I do like Ed Schultz and I'm glad he's out there doing it on his own. I wish AAR had taken a different approach and syndicated shows instead of establishing a network. In the long term, I think they would've reached more markets via that approach.

I also wish they'd find room for Democracy Now, which is a great show I'd love to hear on AAR.

I loathe Colmes. Can't bear to listen to him for longer than it takes to reach the dial.

[MattNC]

2. something else I thought of

Will AAR succeed if Kerry wins? They've got so much ammo right now to use against Bush that I could see the network losing a little momentum if all they have is House or Senate Republicans to lambast.

[patricia92243]

3. I thought Rush would fade away if the Republicans took over. Boy, was I...

wrong. The same will go for our guys. There will always be plenty of things that NEED to be talked about.

Also, never listened to talk radio before, and I love AAR (almost as much as I love DU) :) The secret to their continued success will be the internet - probably not local radio stations. If sponsors see how many hits they get on the internet, they will buy advertising and as we all know money talks.

[Drewskie]

4. What?

The interenet? This would hold true only if alot, I mean tens of thousands, of people listen to AAR on the interenet. That I doubt highly as most working americans are'nt in front of a computer during prime radio hours. Or if they are, they aren't listening to radio on it.

[Drewskie]

5. revenue

Not to mention the fact local radio stations can generate a billion times more revenue over advertising on a single web site.

[bperci108]

9. Don't forget about satellite radio...

That's how I listen in. XM carries AA programming on Channel 167; "America Left", they call it.

I tuned in on the day it launched and have been listening daily ever since, and to be perfectly honest, it made me rethink many, many things. I'm a GOP-supporter no longer.

I doubt I'm alone... :)

[Ivan Sputnik]

7. If Kerry wins

they will be plenty busy defending him against the Republican attack machine that will go into high gear the moment he takes office -- if not before.

[bookman]

6. We Need AA

I like AA more than you. But something is better than nothing. I just watched CNN show a 30 minute Bush campaign spot. (They called a news report)

There's room for a wide variety of styles. Personally I miss Mike Malloy. I enjoy Rhandi Rhodes.

An attack dog is ok if it is your attack dog. :)

I FEAR the upcoming election. Anything that may help out is welcome.

[MattNC]

8. i agree

but my larger point is that AAR is being looked at as the next experiment in judging whether or not liberal talk radio can work. I fear that the management's early missteps will continue to hurt them over the long-run, so all we'll continue to hear about is how liberal talk radio can't work. But as I pointed out, Colmes (as much as you guys hate him) and Schultz are proving otherwise, yet all the attention will be focused on AAR.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

10. For me it's Franken, Rhodes, Malloy, and Schultz!

[bperci108]

11. Big Eddie

Have you noticed that many folks call in to Schultz's show and say how much they enjoy his program, even if they disagree politically?

I'll give him his props; he is always polite and respectful, even when some rabid radical-right wingnut calls in spewing the latest from Rush, Hannity or O'liely. Makes the foaming fanatic look like an even bigger stooge and more out of the mainstream every time.

I hope he keeps up his growth in affiliates, but with all of the consolidation by the corporate giants, that may be difficult...


BTW--Re; your sig file...I gotta turn you on to some of the good country and alt-country out there; it's not all like the neo-con pandering, empty-patriotism, focus-group-tested stuff on the pop-country airways today. :)

[MattNC]

12. he said Friday

he's up to 35 affiliates - that's up from 2 when he started in January. I think that puts him second behind Colmes in the # of affiliates for a liberal talk radio host.