Death Knell of Air America

[sharkman]

Air America was the second coming. Air America was going to beat conservative talk radio at its own game. Air America couldn't win over listeners and is now twisting in the wind. In spite of everything Al Frankin could think of and some of the hissy fits he threw to draw attention to the network.

It was dead on arrival, anyone who's a conservative could see this. To get neutral or conservative friendly coverage, all there is is Fox. That's it. That's why conservative talk radio has done so well. There's no other choice.

Liberal coverage, however, is everywhere all the time. Air America had to compete with eleventy billion channels on TV, and couldn't do it. Like no duh. Yet another attempt to shut up the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Mike Reagan, Michael Savage... failed because liberals just don't get it.

Maybe they'll go back to a previous strategy of legislation forcing 'equal' time on each and every radio station that has a conservative show. Keep trying fellas...

[Higgly]

Fox neutral? Good one. Conservative talk radio has done well because nobody at the office wants to listen to these freaks.

[sharkman]

Fox neutral? Good one. Conservative talk radio has done well because nobody at the office wants to listen to these freaks.

Ah, the uninformed. Rush Limbaugh alone commands an audience approachiing 20 million. These are people tired of the bias on TV and would actually rather listen to the radio if it's not left wing regurgitation.

[Michael Hardner]

Conservative talk radio has done well because nobody at the office wants to listen to these freaks.

I thought it was because only old people listen to AM anymore...

[Spencer Collins]

It's all about sponsorship..very few liberal talk shows have corporate sponsors. The market controls the media except for PBS and NPR. Even those venues are in trouble. Freedom of speech has really never been free. America has always been for sale to the highest bidder.

[M.Dancer]

I had even less interest with Air America than the Leafs.

[Black Dog]

To get neutral or conservative friendly coverage, all there is is Fox. That's it. That's why conservative talk radio has done so well.

If its conservative-friendly, then it's not neutral, is it?

Liberal coverage, however, is everywhere all the time. Air America had to compete with eleventy billion channels on TV, and couldn't do it. Like no duh. Yet another attempt to shut up the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Mike Reagan, Michael Savage... failed because liberals just don't get it.

First: how is/was Air America an attempt to "shut up" any of the right wing blowhards and proto fascists you named? Second: what, pray tell, don't liberals "get"?

[America1]

It's all about sponsorship..very few liberal talk shows have corporate sponsors. The market controls the media except for PBS and NPR. Even those venues are in trouble. Freedom of speech has really never been free. America has always been for sale to the highest bidder.

What a joke, you know less than nothing. AAR was very well publicized and had plenty of sponsors in the beginning. After people started listening to the shrill, America hating fools they put on the radio, people ran away in droves.

[America1]

what, pray tell, don't liberals "get"?

how to make money in the radio business for starters.

[M.Dancer]

what, pray tell, don't liberals "get"?

how to make money in the radio business for starters.

What? Like Standard Broadcasting? Chum?

[America1]

what, pray tell, don't liberals "get"?

how to make money in the radio business for starters.

What? Like Standard Broadcasting? Chum?

Standard Broadcasting and Chum are both Canadian broadcasting orgs, so I don't see their relevance in a US political forum section in a thread about about Air America failing. I guess I cold have been more specific in my criticism of Liberal AMERICAN radio being a failure. Specifically those that put out Liberal talk radio.

BTW, what is the name of a successful Canadian liberal talk radio host/program?

[Drea]

Talk radio is not so popular here. There's less sensationalism in Canada. We respond to the level-headed talk show hosts or newscasters, rather than the emotional rantings of the American hosts.

Nutbars abound on American radio and TV -- Rush Limbah, Howard Stern, O'Reilly, Coulter... These people are pure emotion. (I'd bet they all have high blood pressure )

They attack character and stifle debate. If one doesn't agree with their positon on any given issue -- the "host" launches into an insulting tirade.

That just doesn't fly in Canada.

[sharkman]

Talk radio is not so popular here. There's less sensationalism in Canada. We respond to the level-headed talk show hosts or newscasters, rather than the emotional rantings of the American hosts.

Nutbars abound on American radio and TV -- Rush Limbah, Howard Stern, O'Reilly, Coulter... These people are pure emotion. (I'd bet they all have high blood pressure )

They attack character and stifle debate. If one doesn't agree with their positon on any given issue -- the "host" launches into an insulting tirade.

That just doesn't fly in Canada.

Not so fast. In Canada Coulter can't get a word in edge wise when she's being interviewed, or more accurately, attacked. Conservative viewpoints are shouted down and treated with derision. This isn't on talk shows so much, but on TV news shows. I don't know of any right view talk shows on radio in Canada although there might be a few.

Canada is too politically correct to have the freedom for giving just any perspective a platform.

[Drea]

Not so fast. In Canada Coulter can't get a word in edge wise when she's being interviewed, or more accurately, attacked. Conservative viewpoints are shouted down and treated with derision. This isn't on talk shows so much, but on TV news shows. I don't know of any right view talk shows on radio in Canada although there might be a few.

Canada is too politically correct to have the freedom for giving just any perspective a platform.

Have you ever heard or read any of Coulter's comments? She is an extreme nutbar and of course her opinions would be attacked in Canada. She hates Canada. The Canadian public has no use for her tripe. I wish I would've gotten to see that! Dang I missed it. What station was this on?

We do have more than the CBC. Why doesn't Can West give her a "platform"? Because the Canadian public would simply change the channel and Can West would lose viewers.

I wasn't saying only conservatives are nutbars. Howard Stern is a nutbar from the other perspective. His nutty opinions don't fly in this country either.

We are simply more level-headed and less emotional than the American public (in general). In America a person is either left or right, the issues are black or white. There is no middle of the road political views. In Canada, thankfully, we have perspectives from both sides AND the middle. There is no middle ground in George Bush's America.

And you are correct -- Canadians are much more politically correct -- we don't like extreme opinions. We don't like to be pushed into the "yer either with us or against us" mentality.

[sharkman]

Not so fast. In Canada Coulter can't get a word in edge wise when she's being interviewed, or more accurately, attacked. Conservative viewpoints are shouted down and treated with derision. This isn't on talk shows so much, but on TV news shows. I don't know of any right view talk shows on radio in Canada although there might be a few.

Canada is too politically correct to have the freedom for giving just any perspective a platform.

Have you ever heard or read any of Coulter's comments? She is an extreme nutbar and of course her opinions would be attacked in Canada. She hates Canada. The Canadian public has no use for her tripe. I wish I would've gotten to see that! Dang I missed it. What station was this on?

We do have more than the CBC. Why doesn't Can West give her a "platform"? Because the Canadian public would simply change the channel and Can West would lose viewers.

I wasn't saying only conservatives are nutbars. Howard Stern is a nutbar from the other perspective. His nutty opinions don't fly in this country either.

We are simply more level-headed and less emotional than the American public (in general). In America a person is either left or right, the issues are black or white. There is no middle of the road political views. In Canada, thankfully, we have perspectives from both sides AND the middle. There is no middle ground in George Bush's America.

And you are correct -- Canadians are much more politically correct -- we don't like extreme opinions. We don't like to be pushed into the "yer either with us or against us" mentality.

Yep, I've read many of Coulter's comments, and I've had the advantage of seeing them in context, something that critics fail to supply when they're making up their sound bite lists. Can West doesn't give Coulter a platform because she's an American, for one thing. But conservative Canadians like Ezra Levant don't get offered shows in Canada for the simple reason that the pointy heads in Canadian media are mostly leftists, and only want their viewpoints advanced. In Canada, being a conservative is politically incorrect if you're in the media. Hence the left wing pablum we hear day in and day out.

We are more level headed and less emotional than Americans? Please. Try listening to viewpoints of the left fringe coming from Jack Layton or the greens, and the militant attitudes of their followers. Or right fringe for that matter. Also, in America, there is right, left, and MODERATE.

[Electric Monk]

On the way to work I switch between the CBC, Air America, and an ultra-conservative Seattle station. I find that a large number of the ads on Air America try to tie in to the political beliefs of the listener as a way of selling product. I.E. "We are a progressive business that doesn't like what the bush administration is doing, so please buy our laptops." On the ultra-conservative station I don't hear any of this, just the standard spiel. I'm wondering what this is an indicator of?

P.S. Drea, here's a snippet from the Coulter interview on the CBC.

[Drea]

Also, in America, there is right, left, and MODERATE.

Ahhh, Sharkman, there's the rub. Who do these moderates vote for? They have 2 parties, not 3... Poor buggers in the states "either yer left or right, right or left, with us or against us. They have no way to vote in centrists!

And Monk,

that is a symptom of America. Americans are not stupid they know when they've been duped. They have been duped by GW Bush and his cronies.

Marketing companies know this and take advantage of it. It has nothing to do with the tinfoil hat theory that the media has a leftwing bias.

People sitting there watching TV, say to themselves "Hey, we're not the only ones who think Bush is a menace -- I'm gonna buy my laptop there!" If something is on televsion people believe there must be thousands of other people who agree with it.

That's why everyone in America thinks everyone else is living like the Huxtables, while in actual fact most of them are living in trailer parks and have no jobs because their goverment sucks. (sorry for the dig, but gawwwd I'm tired of percieved superiority of the American right)

A year ago, that same laptop was being promtoted as "the patriots choice". "For those who stand up for America!". Or that type of thing.

It's all marketing.

I'm on dialup so can't watch the snippet.

I have watched Coulter on her own show. She is a radical. I've also watched O'Rielly and heard Limbah and Stern on their own shows. They are sensationalists that whip the American public into a frenzy. How, I don't know, maybe something is in the water down there.

[Electric Monk]

Don't get me wrong, I tend to agree with things I hear on two of the three stations much more often than the third, (guess which two). I was just wondering what you folks think the meaning of the difference in ad focus is.

As a side note, the ultra-conservative station brands itself as "The Truth", which I find interesting.

I listen to the CBC to hear in-depth discussion on issues, while Air America and "The Truth", seem to both have their share of rabid partisans, although with "The Truth" in the lead in that category.

P.S. To summarize the Coulter "snippet", she pulled the statement "Canada sent troops to Vietnam" out of her nether orifice and got called on it.

[sharkman]

On the way to work I switch between the CBC, Air America, and an ultra-conservative Seattle station. I find that a large number of the ads on Air America try to tie in to the political beliefs of the listener as a way of selling product. I.E. "We are a progressive business that doesn't like what the bush administration is doing, so please buy our laptops." On the ultra-conservative station I don't hear any of this, just the standard spiel. I'm wondering what this is an indicator of?

As far as the Air America ads go, it sounds like a marketing strategy that didn't work. Much like the network itself.

On youtube, Coulter snippets abound. I was refering to one where the Canadian interviewers tag teamed her and wouldn't let her get a word in edgwise. Typical lefties shouting down opposing views, and in Canada where we are soooo tolerant.

[America1]

Talk radio is not so popular here. There's less sensationalism in Canada. We respond to the level-headed talk show hosts or newscasters, rather than the emotional rantings of the American hosts.

Nutbars abound on American radio and TV -- Rush Limbah, Howard Stern, O'Reilly, Coulter... These people are pure emotion. (I'd bet they all have high blood pressure )

They attack character and stifle debate. If one doesn't agree with their positon on any given issue -- the "host" launches into an insulting tirade.

That just doesn't fly in Canada.

Howard Stern? has almost nothing to do with politics.

Coulter doesn't have a radio or tv talk show. She is a guest many on many shows but she doesn't have one herself.

[America1]

Also, in America, there is right, left, and MODERATE.

I have watched Coulter on her own show.

Really? Interesting, when did/does it air and on what channel?

[Black Dog]

Yep, I've read many of Coulter's comments, and I've had the advantage of seeing them in context, something that critics fail to supply when they're making up their sound bite lists.

Ah yes: "context." Sorry, dude, but Coulter recquires no context. The calculated hate and rage is her whole schtick.

But conservative Canadians like Ezra Levant don't get offered shows in Canada for the simple reason that the pointy heads in Canadian media are mostly leftists, and only want their viewpoints advanced.

If that were true, we never would have heard of Ezra Levant. That's not the case and the world is poorer for it.

Also, in America, there is right, left, and MODERATE.

"Moderate"= not paying attention.

[Black Dog]

Here's an interesting fact: FOX News lost an average of $90 million a year for about five years before turning a profit. Similarily, the Mooney/Washington Times hemmoraghed money for much of its eaerly history, as diod Canada's own right-wing rag, the National Post. So really, profit is not about ideology.

[M.Dancer]

Here's an interesting fact: FOX News lost an average of $90 million a year for about five years before turning a profit. Similarily, the Mooney/Washington Times hemmoraghed money for much of its eaerly history, as diod Canada's own right-wing rag, the National Post. So really, profit is not about ideology.

NP has yet to make a dime and probably never will..........

[Canadian Blue]

Coulters a nutbar, and one of the more ignorant American commentators.

QUOTE

Also, in America, there is right, left, and MODERATE.

"Moderate"= not paying attention.

Well isn't their a spot for people who have some centrist views that aren't grounded in ideology.