March 11, 2004
It appears that Air America Radio will begin broadcasting at the end of the month. This is the liberal radio talk show network which has been talked about for so long. Their heavy hitter is Al Franken:
Air America's signature broadcast will be "The O'Franken Factor," a midday call-in show hosted by humorist Al Franken. It will air from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., opposite Rush Limbaugh, the nation's most popular talk-radio host.
Here is some of their other programming:
Other shows will feature Lizz Winstead, co-creator of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show"; Florida talk show host Randi Rhodes; actress Janeane Garofalo; rapper Chuck D and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. There will also be periodic national and local newscasts.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out. The answer to the question regarding a demographic receptive to this kind of programming will finally be answered. Industry insiders are still doubtful:
"They have a gargantuan task ahead of them," said Tom Taylor, the editor of Inside Radio, an industry newsletter. "This will debut with small ratings and even smaller revenues."
They are scheduled to be on the air on March 31. Honestly, I would not want to start this kind of venture on April 1st either.
Indeed, according to a survey by Talkers, a talk-radio trade magazine, 37 percent of talk-radio listeners identify themselves as "conservative" or "ultraconservative," whereas 11 percent say they are "liberal" or "ultraliberal."
