Another Air America Failure story

[Skynet74]

Looks like WHJJ is getting out just in time.



Radio station can't sell
any ads for Air America
Manager makes plea to liberals, noting Rush Limbaugh sold out

------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: September 12, 2005
9:12 p.m. Eastern

A California radio station is pleading for advertisers to sponsor the liberal programming of the Air America shows it broadcasts, while noting the conservative Rush Limbaugh show is virtually sold out on its sister station.

"For liberal programming to continue ... you need to support it," said an ad by KOMY station owner Michael Zwerling, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

"You can't be coy in this business," said Zwerling. "You have to spell it out, especially in Santa Cruz where everybody thinks they deserve everything."

Zwerling brought Air America to the Central Coast region of California in July, and during initial negotiations, he says network executives refused to allow Al Franken to share a dial with syndicated radio host Michael Savage, known for statements such as "liberalism is a mental disorder."

"As soon as I said Michael Savage, the door slammed shut," Zwerling said.

And even though there's been some letters and calls of appreciation, not a single business has purchased air time specifically during Air America's slot since its debut.

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh, who is broadcast on sister station KSCO, gave some advice to Zwerling today on his nationally broadcast show, suggesting he ask for donations.

Limbaugh then said perhaps the best way to support the liberal broadcast was to find a local Boys & Girls' club, and "tell them you need an operating loan" for some unspecified purpose, referring to the recent scandal involving Air America allegedly siphoning money from such a club in New York City




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[raccoonradio]

> Looks like WHJJ is getting out just in time.

Yep I heard mention of this on Rush Limbaugh's show last night *
(*--he's rebroadcast post-midnight via WBAL)
Meanwhile, when this subject is brought up on messageboards for AAR
affiliates (by conservative intruders like me ) or other messageboards,
the general reaction to the Gloria Wise scandal is "WHAT scandal?"

Someone on the conservative messageboard Free Republic said they talked to
a salesman for an AAR affiliate who confided that AAR's a tough sell due to
low ratings/listenership. A reply to a post on Radio Equalizer's blog said
that liberals tend to be anti-capitalism, yet one would think the likes
of Ben and Jerry's, Starbucks, Rolling Stone, or other advertisers would be
flocking to advertise on AAR stations. BUT why would they advertise on
stations where the hosts and callers would be constantly putting down
"big corporations"?

The book South Park Conservatives ("I hate conservatives but I really
f--- hate liberals," says one of the creators of the show) pointed to
a SP episode where the coffee chain "Harbucks" comes to the town
to initial resistance but eventual acclaim, after people realize they
do a good job--and it's up to little Kyle to point out "big corporations
are good", etc.

But do big (or small) companies want to advertisize on AAR? We'll be right back after these...er, PSAs...

<P ID="signature">______________
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[talkjim]

> Looks like WHJJ is getting out just in time.

You would love to think the end is near for AAR--you've been saying so since Day 1, and the network has continued to grow in spite of your negativity.

Here's the bottom line on WHJJ's flirtation with liberal talk, and I make these comments with respect for those involved at the management level and on-air:

It was a half-hearted attempt from the get-go, and its failure will lead many to believe that progressive talk can't work in Providence, when in fact, the format did not get a fair test.

Rather than perceiving the WHJJ alteration as a true commitment to a progressive talk format, many listeners, with some justification, simply saw it as a glorified budget cut that resulted in a reduced commitment to locally-originated programming, and in fact, a successful local host was replaced with syndicated programming. Much of the chatter on this board dealt with the failure of the station to replace John DePetro with a local presence.

Don Imus and his worn-out, slow-moving locker-room humor was hardly an appropriate lead-in to a day of progressive talk, and while Arlene Violet is a talented host with a ton of market equity, her continuing presence hardly signaled that WHJJ was making bold moves into previously untested territory. Some progressive talk stations have managed to create some excitement and stimulate some new sampling with promotion that uses words like "revolution" to describe the format, but by continuing to use Imus and Violet, WHJJ was never in a position to do such a thing.

Just two cents from a guy who has been around the block a few times.
>
>
>
> Radio station can't sell
> any ads for Air America
> Manager makes plea to liberals, noting Rush Limbaugh sold
> out
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Posted: September 12, 2005
> 9:12 p.m. Eastern
>
> A California radio station is pleading for advertisers to
> sponsor the liberal programming of the Air America shows it
> broadcasts, while noting the conservative Rush Limbaugh show
> is virtually sold out on its sister station.
>
> "For liberal programming to continue ... you need to support
> it," said an ad by KOMY station owner Michael Zwerling,
> according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
>
> "You can't be coy in this business," said Zwerling. "You
> have to spell it out, especially in Santa Cruz where
> everybody thinks they deserve everything."
>
> Zwerling brought Air America to the Central Coast region of
> California in July, and during initial negotiations, he says
> network executives refused to allow Al Franken to share a
> dial with syndicated radio host Michael Savage, known for
> statements such as "liberalism is a mental disorder."
>
> "As soon as I said Michael Savage, the door slammed shut,"
> Zwerling said.
>
> And even though there's been some letters and calls of
> appreciation, not a single business has purchased air time
> specifically during Air America's slot since its debut.
>
> Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh, who is broadcast on sister station
> KSCO, gave some advice to Zwerling today on his nationally
> broadcast show, suggesting he ask for donations.
>
> Limbaugh then said perhaps the best way to support the
> liberal broadcast was to find a local Boys & Girls' club,
> and "tell them you need an operating loan" for some
> unspecified purpose, referring to the recent scandal
> involving Air America allegedly siphoning money from such a
> club in New York City
>
>
>
>
> end
>

 

[Scribbler]

Not A "Failure" At All

The story about Air America's supposed "failure" in Santa Cruz, California was from the right-wing World Net Daily, which conveniently "forgot" to include the following from the newspaper article (in the Santa Cruz Sentinel) that it referenced:

Many businesses buy ad time for both KOMY and KSCO to avoid alienating customers with political extremes, [station general manager Michael] Olson said.

In other words, advertisers ARE buying time on the Air America affiliate, in conjunction with their buys on the right-wing station.

Meanwhile, Olson said he never expected Air America to be an instant hit with advertisers.

Advertisers, he said, plan budgets many months in advance and Air America has been playing on KOMY less than two months.

Olson said it’s too soon to rush to judgment, though he believes Air America will one day hold its own.

"Will it get as many listeners as Rush? I doubt it," Olson said. "Personally, I don’t think Al Franken is as entertaining as Rush, but I do think he will pick up a nice audience."