AIR AMERICA CANCELS ANOTHER HOST - SOUNDING LIKE KIRO'S BIG MISTAKE.

[ABQTom]

From:
http://talkingradio.blogspot.com

AIR AMERICA has cancelled the Young Turks - 6a-9a - apparently, two of the three hosts have ALREADY been cancelled by Air America, so just one host left as of this week.

When you're in the radio business, how do you expect to save your company from bankruptcy by throwing away your own talent - Ryley, Maron, Franken, Lamphear, Malloy, The Young Turks, Seder, Garafallo, etc.?

Reminds me of KIRO cancelling most of their liberal hosts. Progressive Talk AM 1090 was neck and neck middays, sharing listeners with KIRO and the NPR stations. Mike Malloy was even beating KIRO evenings, after they fired Mike Webb.

Incredible.

Jones' Bill Press will take advantage of this, just like 1090 took advantage of poor management at KIRO.

 

[TalkDawg]

It should not remind you of that at all. The Young Turks was the worst show in the history of that network and they have had tons of dawgs. I love Rhodes and Thom Hartmann, but that show was embarrassing. A good morning show can set the table for the rest of the day. I don't have access to the numbers nationwide but I would bet they were near the bottom for their stations.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

From:
http://talkingradio.blogspot.com

AIR AMERICA has cancelled the Young Turks - 6a-9a - apparently, two of the three hosts have ALREADY been cancelled by Air America, so just one host left as of this week.

When you're in the radio business, how do you expect to save your company from bankruptcy by throwing away your own talent - Ryley, Maron, Franken, Lamphear, Malloy, The Young Turks, Seder, Garafallo, etc.?

Reminds me of KIRO cancelling most of their liberal hosts. Progressive Talk AM 1090 was neck and neck middays, sharing listeners with KIRO and the NPR stations. Mike Malloy was even beating KIRO evenings, after they fired Mike Webb.

Incredible.

Jones' Bill Press will take advantage of this, just like 1090 took advantage of poor management at KIRO.

Malloy is being syndicated by Nova M and the program is still be carried in Seattle on WPTK.

Franken quit to run for the DFL nomination for the US Senate from Minnesota.

Garofalo left after a falling-out with co-host Seder which was affecting their work on-air. It's not clear whose decision this was but she was not fired out-right, did return to the network later as a guest and is back to acting.

Mark Riley now co-hosts a local morning show on Air America's New York station (the station does not carry The Young Turks).

I'm not sure what your point is here: Are you saying Air America (or any other station or syndicator) should not make changes in their line-up - ever? Or are you saying the specific changes they made did not improve the line-up?

 

[radiosaur]

Air America is still on the air?

 

[ABQTom]

"I'm not sure what your point is here: Are you saying Air America (or any other station or syndicator) should not make changes in their line-up - ever? Or are you saying the specific changes they made did not improve the line-up?"

AAR didn't have a good lineup to begin with, never listened to outside critics and consultants, and consequentially are facing budget problems with host departures.

From day one, they would have been better served to go with Jay Marvin, Jay Diamond, and Alan Colmes, and the old I.E. network (Hartmann, Collins, Werbe, Stephan, Skinnner), and forget Franken, Lamphear, Ryley, Maron, Rhodes, Maddow, Malloy, Garafallo, Seder, and The Young Turks.

These latter hosts (except Rhodes, Maddow) are no longer with the company, and most stations delay Rhodes and Maddow because Ed and Hartmann get better ratings.

 

[jaymarvin]

Anyone could see that coming. We had dropped the show a long time ago.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

AAR didn't have a good lineup to begin with, never listened to outside critics and consultants, and consequentially are facing budget problems with host departures.

From day one, they would have been better served to go with Jay Marvin, Jay Diamond, and Alan Colmes, and the old I.E. network (Hartmann, Collins, Werbe, Stephan, Skinnner), and forget Franken, Lamphear, Ryley, Maron, Rhodes, Maddow, Malloy, Garafallo, Seder, and The Young Turks.

These latter hosts (except Rhodes, Maddow) are no longer with the company, and most stations delay Rhodes and Maddow because Ed and Hartmann get better ratings.

They are facing budget problems because the made less than they spent. Only the federal government can do that.

Hartmann is still "with the company."

So is "Mark Ryley" (sic).

Doug Stephan, last I saw, was on over 400 stations (the number may include both his weekend show and his morning show). He's done better on his own. They probably couldn't afford him. Same for Alan Colmes, who in addition brings with him considerable baggage from his TV performance as Hannity's whipping boy.

And they probably paid too much attention to consultants and critics. They went out and spent money for name recognition (Franken and Garofalo) and got people without experience in or a career commitment to radio. On the other hand, while nobody was paying attention, Democracy Radio spent a lot less money during its short life, got two people few had heard of and got the two most successful syndicated liberal talk shows.

 

[amfmxm]

Stephanie Miller. She's doing mornings on two of Air America's largest-market stations right now--KTLK in LA and KKGN in San Francisco. A proven talent. A proven winner in major market radio.

As opposed to the Young Turks. I'm guessing they got the gig because they were somehow associated with Mark Green in NYC politics, or had been banging around the lower echelons of NYC talk radio. They were not horrible--they just weren't particularly good. No detectable sense of humor.

I'd love to be able to hear Steph on XM 167's feed of Air America.

If she's good enough for morning drive in Los Angeles & San Francisco, she's good enough for mornings on Air America.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

If she's good enough for morning drive in Los Angeles & San Francisco, she's good enough for mornings on Air America.

She's too good for mornings at Air America. She's doing better with Jones. Air America would be a step down. Look how they managed to de-rail Lionel's career.

 

[amfmxm]

If she's good enough for morning drive in Los Angeles & San Francisco, she's good enough for mornings on Air America.

She's too good for mornings at Air America. She's doing better with Jones. Air America would be a step down. Look how they managed to de-rail Lionel's career.

Don't confuse the medium with the message. Right now, AAR is the biggest stage/venue/vehicle available for progressive talk. AAR needs to negotiate the deal with Jones to add her--and Ed Schultz--to the network. In other words, they continue their deal with Jones... and Jones can enable AAR's carriage of those programs.

Sure, it can be done! Money talks, BS walks. So Stephen Green needs to sell a mid-town Manhattan building to get it done. Get it done.

I'm not an apologist for Air America Radio. I am, however, someone who thinks progressive talk radio is critically important to the continued existence of America as a democracy and the light of the free world. However it happens. And whoever gets it done.

One of progressive talk's real problems, right now, is that it is mostly still "preaching to the choir." It's reach--whether through AAR or Jones--is largely limited to the left & right coasts (with notable exceptions like Madison). In its quest to function in the advertising-supported world of commercial radio, it continues to focus on The Converted.

Progressive talk needs to reach the Great Unwashed. You know... the Flyover States. Gotta stop thinking in that damn box.

 

[SeanMGilbow]

I just started hearing Bill Press with WVKO picking him up. Jones Radio put together an excellent trifecta with Bill, Steph and Big Eddie since they all appeal to listeners on the opposite side of the fence, as opposed to Air America's history of appealing to the base.

Having said that...I wish Cenk the best with the new venture. The logical move would be to simulcast former AAR host Mark Riley and Richard Bey, who now host a show on Air America's flagship station, WWRL in New York, in the 6 to 9 a.m. slot.

Then again, Lionel used to do morning drive on WABC. Perhaps Phil Boyce could shed some light on that.

 

[ABQTom]

Then again, Lionel used to do morning drive on WABC. Perhaps Phil Boyce could shed some light on that.

And, Jay Diamond did morning drive on WABC. Likewise question for Phil Boyce. Diamond should do mornings on Air America to replace the Turks.

 

[willcail]

Well AAR have talent but MGT can't run a radio network. Untill WVKO AM realign their dishses , then I hope that they will air Thom Hartman 3-6PM.

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

Lots of people used to work at WABC ranging from Alan B. Colmes (twice) to Mike Gallagher.

Some people her seem to think Phil is infallible, the Fred Silverman of talk radio. Actually, Phil seems to practice programming by trial and error. He has thrown (metaphorically) a lot of talk shows and hosts at the wall and a few of them have stuck.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[jackandcoke]

AAR needs to get outside the NYC circle of "people who have been on-air in New York." There is talent west of the Hudson. Fargo? LOL!!!!

As my primary source for Air America is XM (the closest "affiliate" is hundreds of miles away), I've begun to find Lionel generally acceptable, but just barely. He's REALLY New Yawk! The "Young Turks" were just plain unlistenable.

XM cherry-picks Big Eddie from Jones and records Hartmann for same-day playback at 8 PM.

Here's the ultimate kick-ass progressive talk lineup (Eastern Time): Steph Miller, 6-9 AM; Tom Hartmann, 9 AM-noon; Ed Schultz, noon-3 PM; Rachel Maddow, 3-5 PM (why only two hours???); Randi Rhodes, 5-8 PM.

Yeah, I'd swap Rachel & Randi's current posiltioning. Maddow's show moves--Randi leans more toward 20-minute monologues... more tolerable during evening hours, don'tcha think? When you can lean back and sip on your gin & tonic and calmly consider whether she's making any sense...

 

[Julius Leonard Marx]

Here's the ultimate kick-ass progressive talk lineup (Eastern Time): Steph Miller, 6-9 AM; Tom Hartmann, 9 AM-noon; Ed Schultz, noon-3 PM; Rachel Maddow, 3-5 PM (why only two hours???); Randi Rhodes, 5-8 PM.

Yes! That's why most stations run it or some very close variation.

I don't know why some people obsess about Air America and want them to pick up Big Ed or Stephanie Miller. Most local stations already carry them. Big Ed was in syndication four months before Air America launched. Jones Radio is a player in the business; Air America is a joke. What Thom Hartmann and Randi Rhodes should do is wake up, smell the coffee and jump ship; go with a distributor who knows what they are doing. Air America is just holding these two back. Both are getting the short end of the stick, especially from Big Ed. Not necessarily because Eddie does a better show but because his people are better at getting his show cleared and at selling time in it.

It's been said here before but apparently not everybody gets it. Air America doesn't matter. What stations clear matters.

 

[gr8oldies]

Reaching the great unwashed? "Progressive" radio isn't a mission field for gosh sakes "Do you accept the Democratic Party as your Lord and Savior?"

 

[amfmxm]

Reaching the great unwashed? "Progressive" radio isn't a mission field for gosh sakes "Do you accept the Democratic Party as your Lord and Savior?"

Sure it is. "Put your HANDS on the radio!" Religion and politics--the two subjects not to be mentioned in polite society--and the two subjects dominating radio in 2007. Those of us still playing music are getting crowded off the dial...

 

[kaufcom]

Right now, AAR is the biggest stage/venue/vehicle available for progressive talk. AAR needs to negotiate the deal with Jones to add her--and Ed Schultz--to the network. In other words, they continue their deal with Jones... and Jones can enable AAR's carriage of those programs.

AAR has been bleeding listeners since the bankruptcy last year. At the end of 2006, AAR hosts accounted for 65% of lib talk listeners. They close out 2007 with 45%.

I'm not an apologist for Air America Radio. I am, however, someone who thinks progressive talk radio is critically important to the continued existence of America as a democracy and the light of the free world. However it happens. And whoever gets it done.

So if AAR goes out of business in 2008, lib talk will survive. Rhodes goes to Nova M, Hartmann self syndicates and Maddow goes to MSNBC. They are the only hosts who are getting ratings.

Tom said

These latter hosts (except Rhodes, Maddow) are no longer with the company, and most stations delay Rhodes and Maddow because Ed and Hartmann get better ratings.

Not true. Randi gets better ratings than Ed and Thom. In fact, she's the highest rated syndicated lib talk show host.

 

[ABQTom]

Tom said
Quote
These latter hosts (except Rhodes, Maddow) are no longer with the company, and most stations delay Rhodes and Maddow because Ed and Hartmann get better ratings.

Barooosk said
Quote
Not true. Randi gets better ratings than Ed and Thom. In fact, she's the highest rated syndicated lib talk show host.

Tom replies
According to Talkers Magazine, Ed Schultz gets higher ratings than any host on Air America, including Randi. However, barooosk, I will not dispute your survey, here's why: As a well informed talk radio analyst and writer, you are entitled to developing your own survey methodology on "Talking Radio," and you might be correct. We need many more people to do these surveys other than Talkers Magazine. Indeed, in the world of science, there truly is no perfect way of measuring any phenomenon accurately.

barooosk - Would you have any estimates as to the ratings of Bernie Ward? The skywave covers all of WA, OR, CA + Las Vegas, NV + Reno, NV, and Alaska and into part of Mexico. The KGO skywave terminates about 2 hours east of Flagstaff on I-40 on the way to Albuquerque. I would guess that it covers Idaho, but I'm not sure about Salt Lake City, UT. It doesn't cover New Mexico or Colorado.