Decision ‘08

Air America: From Bad To Nonexistent

Air America, the liberal talk network carried on WWRC-AM (1260), went from bad to nonexistent. After WWRC recorded a mere fraction of a rating point in the spring with syndicated shows from the likes of lefty talkers Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and Stephanie Miller, Arbitron couldn’t detect a measurable listenership for the station this time around.

Say, wonder how that Al Gore liberal TV thingie is working out…

UPDATE 11:06 a.m.: Franken’s down 35% from a year ago in NY, as well…

UPDATE 2 11:32 a.m.: Thanks to Ace for the link, and be sure to read his take on the liberal savior known as Al (Franken, not Gore)…

UPDATE 3 7:46 a.m.: Thanks also to the wonderful Betsy Newmark for the link, as well…

UPDATE 4 10/21 8:47 a.m.: Yet more thanks to John Hawkins of Right Wing News for the link…be sure and visit him, it’s Q & A Friday…

23 Responses to “Air America: From Bad To Nonexistent”

1 dmac Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 11:55 am
How did Randi Rhodes, the poster girl for BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) work out in the last ratings book?
2 Dennis Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 12:05 pm
I’m picturing some Air America executive explaining this away a la This is Spinal Tap: “Don’t worry about Washington. It’s not a big political town.”
3 Mark Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 12:35 pm
Don’t know, dmac, but isn’t she part of the Air America lineup?…Dennis, yes, it’s not that they’re not popular, their appeal is becoming more selective…
4 Nate Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
have fun losing all of the ‘06 elections you Nazi’s
5 Don Surber Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
Must See TV And No Hear Radio (Err America)
6 dmac Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 5:34 pm
Hey, look, a troll came by to visit! Yippee! Can we put on our tin foil hats now?
7 dmac Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 5:34 pm
Mark - yes, she is part of their roster, but I was curious how her specific daypart was doing these days.
8 bbbustard Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 7:44 pm
I do not understand your posts, nor your comments. Assuming that you are correct about the audience size, doe the truth not matter to you at all. Franken constantly plays guys like Rush and O’Reilly, and then corrects their misinformation (OK, Lies)
But neither Rush nor O’Reilly ever is able to do the same to Franken. They cannot.
9 Mark Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 7:51 pm
bbbustard, nate, I can see from your punctuation that you’re progressives. Thanks for dropping by! Swing by anytime you’re near the planet Earth…
10 Mark Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
dmac, if I come across any numbers, I’ll pass ‘em on…
11 Ryan James Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 8:26 pm
Why would you focus on correcting anyone who only a half-dozen people on short-wave listen to anyway?

“I’m good enough, smart enough, and - doggone it - people like me.”
12 Mark Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 8:33 pm
Yes, Ryan, it’s true that no one takes the time to refute Franken…it would be rather like writing a scholarly article on the musical legacy of Menudo…
13 TomT Says:
October 21st, 2005 at 4:46 am
Liberal talk-radio ratings are so low because liberals love to talk; they just don’t like to listen!
14 Smith Says:
October 21st, 2005 at 7:18 am
Hey Ryan James, Rush has an estimated 20,000,000 person weekly audience heard on 600 radio stations. Air America is a blip on the radar small enough to confuse with migrating birds (if that). Besides, why would I want to listen to Air America when I can hear the same DNC talking points on NPR/ABC/CBS/NBC/NWT/WaPO/BBC/CNN/MSNBC? So why don’t you and the rest of your crypto-socialist pals put your tin foil hats back on and let us get back to running the country. Have a great day.
15 Mark Says:
October 21st, 2005 at 8:45 am
Smith, wait a minute - Ryan is one of the good guys! I think you misunderstood his point…
16 Smith Says:
October 21st, 2005 at 10:12 am
Sorry about that. Been up since 4:00 this morning. Maybe I’m the one that needs the foil hat…the extra heat might make my brain kick in. =D
17 Mark Says:
October 21st, 2005 at 10:16 am
Hey, happens to all of us…you can put the tin foil hat up, you’ll never be able to compete with the likes of bbbustard and nate…have a great one!
18 Dave Says:
October 22nd, 2005 at 10:28 am
The other reason Frankin’s comments should not be disputed:

Since Frankin will claim only to be “satire,” his comments do not need to be viewed as fact. Remember the defense against O’Reilly. Anything he says can be tossed aside since he’s “just a satirist.”

He really was the perfect choice for the role. Assuming Tom Davis (remember Frankin and Davis) and Tim Kazerinski were not available.
19 Seton Motley Says:
October 24th, 2005 at 7:52 am
The ongoing, on-air demise of but the latest “liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh”.

More people read their VCR operator’s manuals than listen to Air America.

As Mister Limbaugh the Barber would say, “Next”.
20 Claudia Ryan Says:
October 26th, 2005 at 9:14 pm
Rush has been on the air for years. What was his audience share after only a year on the radio?

That’s what you need to compare. New stations are coming on board to AAR every week.

Give us the same number of years Rush has had and we’d have a very large audience, too.

I’ve never been able to understand why so many people are so enamored of a drug addict. He gave most of his radio shows while he was high as a comet and probably as full as dust and ice.

And how can people admire a man who made fun of a 12 year old girl in front of millions of people on his short-lived tv show? What a guy. Says a lot about his character.

Rush is a pilonidal cyst on America’s airwaves.

But that’s just my opinion.

Popular? Sure. But so was Father Coughlin.
21 Claudia Ryan Says:
October 26th, 2005 at 9:20 pm
Warning to conservative talkers: objects in the rear-view mirror may be closer than they appear.

Rush Limbaugh better not look in the rear-view mirror because he might not like what he sees coming up from behind. Despite fictitious and cherry-picked press releases from Rush Limbaugh’s syndicator Premiere Radio Networks, Rush Limbaugh is faltering across the country. In Florida, Limbaugh’s home state, the trend is even more pronounced, as the newly formed “liberal talk radio” station Air America Radio is exploding in popularity almost overnight.

The most recent Arbitron ratings are out for the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market and they spell bad news for Rush Limbaugh and other “conservative” talkers. The Arbitrons are by no means definitive proof of the success of a business venture, but they can be a good indicator of the general trend in the audience and market share of a radio station.

In the Spring 2005 reporting period, Rush’s station WIOD-AM has a 2.8 listener share, down a whopping 33% from his 4.2 share in the Fall of 2004. Air America Radio, on the other hand, has a 2.0 share in Spring 2005, up a grand total of 66% since the Fall of 2004. While Rush Limbaugh fans may take solace in the fact that he still maintains a narrow advantage in Florida over the upstart, liberal Air America, one must also consider that he has had a 20 year head start to build a listener base, which is traditionally slow to develop in AM talk radio.

Adding to Rush’s woes, aside from his doctor shopping criminal prosecution, which is still pending, is the fact that the Arbitron statistics are rolling averages that represent data from past ratings periods as well. Thus, for the newly formed Air America Radio to already be posting significant gains in such a short amount of time says a lot about the devotion of its ever-growing listener base. Moreover, the data included in the Spring 2005 Arbitron includes time periods where Air America Radio was off the radar, which overall should skew the data downward and makes their increase to a 2.0 share an understatement.

source:http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/10/214541.php
22 Mark Says:
October 26th, 2005 at 9:59 pm
Claudia, who said anything about Rush Limbaugh? Rush is doing just fine, but I’m not a big fan, frankly…that’s beside the point. The point is Air America is a big giant flop, and you’re spinning us here…sorry, no takers on my side…
23 B. Samuel Davis Says:
November 30th, 2005 at 6:29 pm
I like the canned answer in the long post above. The left’s utter disregard for the truth never ceases to amaze me. In a few short months AAR will have had a full two years to find an audience. No rational person could take AAR’s ratings and claim that what they have done is a success. To even argue that AAR is anthing other than a dismal failure is simply…irrational. In fact, you have to wonder why AAR keeps claiming to be successful when by any objective yardstick, they have simpy been…well.. unsuccessful. In fact it’s rather frustrating, and rather telling of the left’s ability to face reality. Sort of like losing election after election for ten straight years, and then claiming that the polls were rigged. Or something. All I can do is shake my head and wonder about such people. But I do know that you aren’t going to win hearts and minds by insisting that two and two somehow make five!