Losinig Franken at this stage actually may turn out to be less of a blow than people think.
The initial plan of AAR was to load up on celebrities and figure that would build credibility. It did succeed in getting them initial sampling and about one or two promising books, but stunted the network's growth afterward because a lot of the celebs proved they were not able to handle the radio medium or would take too long to learn it.
They'd have been better off trying to build more slowly with genuine radio professionals who understand the medium, people like Stephanie Miller, Jay Marvin, Joe Madison or Jay Diamond who have credibility with progressive-minded listeners and would have complemented the one proven pro they did start with, Randi Rhodes.
Franken was the best of the celebrity bunch, he grew a lot during his time at AAR. Others like Janeane Garofalo and Chuck D. never really found their form and it hurt the network after drawing in some initial sampling. And Jerry Springer, although he was clearly at home in the medium and actually did a pretty good show while he was there, was hurt by his notoriety more than helped by it at least in this context. As long as he also remained on TV doing the show we all know him for, he was never going to get traction with a more serious-minded, upscale target audience for issue talk.
Now the last of the celebs is on the way out the door. He did his part by helping the network get off the ground and helping carry it through its roughest moments. He probably knows as well as anyone that he has to move on now, both for his personal ambitions and for AAR to get to the next level. Assuming Mr. Green is willing to assist the enterprise with his deep pockets and build a team of pros both in front of and behind the mike, the network now has a better chance to get to the next level.
