« Paris is Still Burning
|
Main
| More on Air America Radio
»
November 23, 2005
Air America Spiraling Down
The liberal Air America Radio has been around about a year, but it's been a struggle to get anything close to decent Arbitron ratings and there goes the sponsors necessary to support it. Air America isn't dead, but it's on life support!
As an example of AAR's failing performance, "WLIB, its flagship in New York City, has sunk to 24th in the metro area Arbitron ratings -- worse than the all-Caribbean format it replaced," says the "Radio Blogger." It does even worse in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the most left cities on the left coast.
Why isn't the liberal message more popular? Some libs say it's because their message is too lofty for the rubes in radioland to understand. Actually, I think its because listeners do understand.
For more information on this topic I suggest you read:
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_latimes-why_the_liberals.htm
Posted by Post Scripts at November 23, 2005 08:04 AM
Comments
Hey Jack,
You know it's time to duck, or chuckle, when a right winger like Brian Anderson says he's going to put things in perspective.
The commentary you linked to really streeeeeetches the truth about AAR. Anderson manipulates the facts to get to his real point: conservatives can't stand the idea that they don't have a monopoly on talk radio anymore.
It's no big deal for the Bill Bennett show to land on 124 stations when there are hundreds of conservative stations around the country. Bennett's syndication company owns most of those 124 stations.
It is a big deal for AAR to get stations to change entire formats to air the network. AAR, the NETWORK, had 50 stations when the article was written. Today it is on 72 stations and at least 16 of the top 20 markets in the country.
Some of what Anderson writes is false. SF's station has shown steady increases in listenership despite just six months on the air. LA's station had not been on the air for one full ratings period when Anderson claimed AAR is "doing lousy" in Los Angeles.
AAR has had great success in Portland, Ore.(up 1,000%), San Diego,(up 73%), Denver (up 300%) and similar success in Boston, Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Sacramento and Columbus.
AAR's internet stream reaches 1.3 million a week, more than any conservative talk show.
All of this in a little more than a year. Not bad for a start-up company, in my book.
Posted by: Drzal at November 23, 2005 12:05 PM