In order for Air America programming to be heard on any radio station, that station must first take the significant step of changing its format. Getting more than 67 and counting radio stations to change everything they broadcast, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the opportunity to carry Air America's programming is far more substantial an accomplishment than getting 124 right-wing radio stations to switch out one three-hour conservative talk show for another.
In Los Angeles, KFI, the station carrying Rush Limbaugh, lost nearly 15% of its market share, dropping from a 4.6 to a 3.9. KABC, another conservative talk station continuing the pattern for right-wing radio, fell from a 2.3 to a 2.1. Air America’s brand-new affiliate KTLK, 1150 AM, gained in the first quarter of its existence, going from a 0.3 to a 0.8, an increase of more than 140%. Most in the radio business say that it takes 18 months for a new station to establish a consistent ratings pattern, but if early indications mean anything, AAR is in for tremendous success in the nations #2 radio market.
The liberal talk format has shown great success in other cities as well. Seattle's newly talk-formatted KPTK, doubled in the winter book, Portland's KPOJ AM grew 1000% in audience share. In conservative San Diego, KLSD AM went up 73%. Denver's KKZN AM was up 300%. Other markets with similar success include: Boston, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Sacramento and Columbus. Thus, right-wing talk is declining while left-wing talk is catching on almost instantly.
The reasons for the shift are not clear, but one of them may be the different approaches of right-wing and left-wing radio. Right-wing radio focuses on attacking Americans (i.e., liberals, Democrats, gays, muslims, and hippies). Left-wing radio focuses on attacking policies (i.e., the war in Iraq, the budget deficit, the environment). The ad hominem attacks by right-wing talkers on other Americans have become tiresome, non-entertaining, and frankly un-patriotic. This may be one of the reasons many people are starting to tune them out. Unless there is a plan B for right-wing radio in the future, for instance by having Rush Limbaugh broadcast from a prison cell, the decline will likely continue.
Balletshooz
Rights and Freedoms Coalition
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Steve S
we got sirius radio network specifically to hear Air America so when we came across a blog yesterday filled with irate people who did the same thing only to find out that the Sirius network dumped Air America (or vice versa) and that Sirius has joined XM as being primarily right wing satellite radio.
Has Air America been relegated to LA A.M. radio yet? We just never seem to get it anywhere else. I'll have to link to that blog, if I can find it, apparently Air America is just blowing off the thousands who lost coverage and are complaining.
2 - billy
i got lucky. i have xm, so it is still there, and also in la am. they are pretty good. its a shame they arent on both satellite providers but it is inevitable since these two companies are in competition.
does sirius still have left wing talk?
3 - Eric Berlin
Steve -- Air America runs on AM 1150 in LA. The only reason I realized that was because it used to be a sports station and just happened to be programmed in my car's radio.
While it's AM, the signal is much stronger than the original station it ran on, before it got yanked during the company's early financial troubles.
4 - Phillip Winn
"Right-wing radio focuses on attacking Americans ... Left-wing radio focuses on attacking policies"
Since this in itself represents an attack from the left against people on the right, it would be amusing were it not so sad.
I'd like to think that someday "we" can move beyond this finger-pointing and discuss the issues rationally, but partisans on both sides would rather attack the other side.
Sigh.
P.S. For those lamenting their inability to get Air America, you can get most shows Air America shows time-delayed via podcasting. The page I just linked mentions that iTunes won't handle the URLs, but individual shows are still available there, like The Al Franken Show.
5 - Margaret Romao Toigo
Slowly, but surely, times are changing.
An increasing number of Americans are beginning to realize that they have had their fill of authoritarians and their hateful rhetoric.
I think you're absolutely right about how, "The ad hominem attacks by right-wing talkers on other Americans have become tiresome, non-entertaining, and frankly un-patriotic." And you and I are obviously not alone in that sentiment.
Developments such as this one are indicators and predictors of a significant backlash against the popularity of authoritarian ideology and its anachronistic prejudices.
I fully understand how difficult it is to resist the temptation to gloat about news like this rather than to simply report the facts and let them seep in so that moderate folks do not become turned off due to their perception of bias.
But that is how it must be done to ensure that the focus continues to remain on policies, not personalities and partisanship.
6 - Eric Berlin
I can dig where some of you are coming from, but personalities so easily get so tied up into the mix. For example, a major thrust of Al Franken's show is to counter what he sees as many of the unfair attacks by the right, namely by Rush, Hannity, O'Reilley, etc. So it becomes, by its very nature, a personalized and partisan situation.
The Left's position here, as I see it, is that it has been the whipping post of right-wing radio for going on twenty years now, so there's nothing to be done except to fight back.
7 - Matthew T. Sussman
How 'bout we just don't listen to talk radio, period?
Discuss.
8 - billy
i used to feel that way, when right wing radio was the only thing out there. aar is fun to listen to sometimes.
9 - Balletshooz
Phillip: thanks for the useful links.
10 - Eric Berlin
I don't think there's anything wrong with "talk radio," per se... it gets a bad rap when the shrill-ometer and the spin-ometer goes through the roof.
But one of the things that can happen, and that happens with regularity, is that the things that right-wing radio talks about will bubble up into the mainstream media... which can also be fine. But it can also be bad, dangerous, damaging.
11 - billy
the same goes for left wing radio. except the right wingers were up in arms about bill clinton's sex life. the left wingers are now up in arms about karl rove's breach of national security.
12 - Billy Braindeath
Amazing figures. I wonder what's keeping them listening. As an occasional Air America listener I find it hard to believe that they could actually gain audience share. Franken is the most boring man on the radio and Randi Rhodes is so annoying I want to switch to megabitch Dr. Laura just go get something else on the radio.
BB
13 - John Bambenek
One, those figures are not accurate... I've reviewed the data.
Two, liberal talk radio doesn't attack? Gee, the oxycontin crack must be a policy issue. Or Air America's continue bashing of Catholics.
14 - Eric Berlin
Bashing of Catholics? Proof.....
15 - Phillip Winn
Or, if not proof, then at least a more specific descripting than "continued bashing," please.
16 - Aaman
No, there is misplaced punctuation in that sentence.
,Instead of
read as
Still doesn't compute, but more interesting.
17 - Phillip Winn
Hmmm....
T[]o liberal talk radio: Do[]n't attack Gee The Oxycontin. [C]rack must be a policy issue. Or Air? Americas continue bashing of Catholics.
Yeah, you're right. More fun.
18 - billy
the fact that limbaugh is addicted to oxy is not an attack, its a fact.
19 - Phillip Winn
Billy, the fact that the dishonorable Democrat Senator from (insert your state here) repeatedly votes against America's best interests is not an attack, it's a fact.
Not really, of course, but the point is that attacks can take the form of factual statements, too. This post is full of attacks on Americans, while decrying attacks on Americans. Like I said, it would be funny were it not so sad.
20 - TC@LeatherPenguin
You don't know a bloody thing about how Arbitron numbers work, do you? Limbaugh is beating Franken like a redheaded stepchild in LA. And the bulk of those 67 stations currently broadcasting Air America were underperforming, low wattage niche channels owned by the black beast of commercial radio, Clear Channel, who actually charge Franken & Co. for the air time on a number of them. If their ratings don't improve, Clear Channel will switch formats to something else, and Air America will be SOL.
21 - billy
you posted to rush limbaugh's press release. thats real credible. the fact remains aar is up 140% in LA. why would clear channel drop a station that in 3 months gained that much? do they want to fail?
22 - Aaman
We still don't have Air America in Milwaukee, just American Air, and oxycontin
23 - billy
you may not have american air for long if they go the way of united. oxycontin, you will continue to have, as long as there are rush limbaughs out there feeding the demand.
24 - Eric Berlin
Radio is a notoriously difficult medium to break into. So gains over time will signal that AA is here to stay.
25 - Balletshooz
One major point is that if you are Clear Channel in LA, or elsewhere, and you own a station sitting on a 0.3 for years, and then flip it and it jumps to 0.8 overnight, canning the station is the last thing on your mind. Quite the oppositte, which is why AAR is popping up everywhere.