Herald: Where have you gone Air America

[Donna Halper]

At 01:57 AM 9/18/2006, Bob Nelson wrote:
>"...The nation hasn't turned its ears to you." In the heart of Kennedy
>Country, AAR hasn't really made a dent.
>
>http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=158055

Given how the Herald leans Republican, I am not surprised that they 
would feel negatively about progressive talk-- at least the author 
tried to be fair and did mention the horrible signal the Boston 
affiliate has-- I can't even hear it in Quincy... but again, the 
format really is doing just fine in some cities, and the Jones Radio 
Network folks (like Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, as well as Thom 
Hartmann, who I believe is part Jones and part AAR)  are actually 
gaining audience, according to Talkers magazine.  Like him or not, Ed 
Schultz is now the #9 most listened to talk show host in the country, 
with more than 2.5 million listeners a week. Air America has a 
horrible business model and has been very poorly run.  I've offered 
to consult 'em, but alas, my phone ain't ringing... Still, it took 
Rush Limbaugh nearly 6 years to become popular, and AAR is still 
fairly new.  Will they survive?  I can't say.  But already certain 
progressive talkers are finding niches in a number of cities.  Time 
will tell if the format has staying power, but personally, I think 
it's good for democracy to have both sides of current issues discussed.