A Few Thoughts On The Demise Of Air America-- A Different Narrative

By Noah
 
Much, perhaps, too much, is being made of the demise of Progressive Talk Radio Network Air America. My wife and I, listeners from the beginning, were surprised that it lasted as long as it did. We both enjoyed its good points and marveled at the corporate ineptitude of those running it. On Thursday, Air America announced that, come Monday, it will cease to be. On Friday, the New York Daily News columnist, David Hinckley, addressed some of the reasons for the end of Air America, but for whatever reason, not all of them.
 
Many of the reader comments appended to the piece (although certainly not my own) are typical of the Republican Beavis and Butthead crowd. They are filled with Repug talking points and an over-flowing measure of gloating and smirking monosyllabic grunts delivered in an orgy of high-fiving surpassed only by their reaction to the Massachusetts $enatorial election. But, this is a war and those who pride themselves on their ignorance and unfamiliarity with the concept of intellect should take note of the history they fear might one day be taught again in schools. It shows that participants in war don’t have to win all of the battles in order to win the war. 
 
Hinckley’s column covers some good points but, as I said, it also misses some. He rightly points out that a main problem at Air America was that there were too few true radio people involved in the enterprise. And, as even Rush Limbaugh states, being entertaining to your target audience is key. I certainly like Al Franken more than Norm Coleman when it comes to politics, but as a radio host, he left something to be desired. Often, when Air America had people whose personalities leapt through the airwaves, they got rid of them, as they did with Sam Seder and Mark Maron. Like the music business that I have worked in for decades, the corporate suits, in their constant search for the lowest common denominator, view the way to success as a process of sanding off the rough edges that appeal to people in the first place. The result is inevitably bland and doesn’t command attention from anyone. Clearly, Air America suffered from that Democratic Party disease of not wanting to offend anyone, to the point of dismissal if not derision. It was as if DCCC types like Rahm Emanuel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz were providing the safety first vision for Air America. Howard Stern, they were not!

There were, of course, times when Air America brought in a seasoned broadcasting professional, but that would too often be someone like Jerry Springer or the superficial Lionel. In the case of Springer, the powers that were at Air America seemed to be oblivious to the fact that there was no way that Springer was going to be taken seriously by the audience they were attempting to reach. In fact, Springer made Air America laughable.
 
Another reason that a lack of success was pre-programmed into the very DNA of the Air America experiment was, as progressive broadcaster and former Air America host Randi Rhodes said on her show on Friday, that since banks were not involved in the investing that funded Air America, the money had to come from greater numbers of investors who not only wanted equity but a seat on the board. That could only have made for a crowded and chaotic boardroom full of people who had little or, for the most part, no experience in broadcasting. It amounted to a bunch of folks saying “Hey, let’s play radio!” My college radio station had brighter people with more natural radio sense and many of them have proved it since with their résumés.
 
Current economic factors are also a factor. Conservative Citadel Broadcasting, the third largest radio broadcaster, has also had to file for bankruptcy and broadcasting tip sheet Radio and Records has gone out of business after decades of prominence. In the reporting of the death of Air America, these additional facts have gone largely unmentioned. With their rightist agenda, the media is only interested in the demise of Progressive enterprises, and prefers that we not notice when conservatives go down. Context and back-story don’t matter when the “mainstream” media has an axe to grind.
 
Air America was not only staffed by people who weren't radio people and horribly mismanaged by founders who were clueless about radio. It’s important to note that, unlike the righties, they launched their enterprise during a recession. Maybe they should have started up in better times. Launching an underdog is tough at any time. In discussions of the subject, the media hacks like to point to the success of FOX. They never mention that FOX lost millions in each of its first 5 years. But, FOX started up in economic boom times and Rupert Murdoch has very deep pockets, as do the corporations who have more to gain in the success of wingnut media than just product sales.

 

Air America is gone, but, perhaps the typical Republican cavedweller crowd should not be as joyous today as they are. One loon who supplied a typical wingnut comment to the Daily News column said that Air America is dead because it was “based on the big liberal lie” and “I never listened, not for even a second”. Now there’s a typically informed opinion that shows your average Republican lack of a sense of contradiction and irony! I mean, if you never listened, how do you know? The successes of people like Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller, and even the oft-hated Al Franken have proven the viability of Progressive Talk Radio as a format of the future. Phil Boyce, former program director of the wingnut ABC Hate Radio Network once said of Air America, “Why does anyone write about them. They don’t matter.” Are your sure, Phil-boy? Are your really sure? Why don’t you take gander at the election results of 2006 and 2008. The Progressive Caucus in Congress is growing and one of the very big reasons is the dawn of Progressive Talk Radio and the information it provides to voters. Rush Limbaugh used to constantly say “Has anybody EVER heard of Rachel Maddow”. Well, yes Rush. They have now, and she has a growing and growing influence on American discourse. I suspect that she will be around long after you keel over on the air someday, leaving all of your ex-wives to fight over your money and tell stories to the tabloids about your self-loathing and the real reason they left you. It’s interesting to note that Randi Rhodes routinely beats Blubberboy Rush in the ratings game in markets where they go head to head. Both Randi and Rush are Clear Channel broadcasters, but, boosting Randi at the expense of Rush does not suit either their financial or their well-known political agenda, so it will take longer for Rhodes to grow her audience. Much of the original Air America on air talent has already gone on to bigger and better things. Most of the talented broadcasters that served on Air America will eventually find themselves in healthier environments with larger, more powerful signals or platforms that will enable them to continue the discussions of our time. Contrary to what righties think, and the MSM would have you believe, when it comes to Progressive media, Air America was not the only game in town. The future of all media is rapidly evolving. Stay tuned.