Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an
American radio network specializing in
progressive talk radio
Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independe ...
. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010.
The network was founded as a left wing alternative to counter talk radio with a right wing perspective.
Air America featured programs with monologues by on-air personalities, guest interviews, call-ins from listeners, and news reports. Several shows had million plus audiences, and multiple weekday presenters continued on in radio, television, or politics after their time on Air America. For example, in 2008, ''The
Thom Hartmann
Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pr ...
Program'' had 1.5–2 million unique listeners a week and ''
The Lionel Show'' had 1.5–1.75 million unique listeners a week. Hartmann,
Randi Rhodes
Randi is both a given name, and a nickname in the English language, popular in North America and Norway. It is primarily a feminine name, although there is recorded usage of the name by men. It may have originated as a pet form of '' Miranda'' o ...
, and
Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy (born July 1, 1942) is a progressive American radio broadcaster based in Atlanta. Previously his show has been carried by WSB (AM) Atlanta, WLS (AM) Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, ...
later had shows on other radio networks.
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...
started his "
WTF podcast" by trespassing in Air America's studios after the network's demise, before moving to Los Angeles.
Al Franken
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
went from his show to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
, and
Rachel Maddow moved her show to television on
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
.
The network was financially troubled, however. A scandal involving nearly $1 million in loans from a
Boys & Girls Club in New York secretly transacted by
Evan Cohen came out in 2005 and was a source of negative publicity. The loans were repaid, but in October 2006, mounting debts forced Air America Radio to file
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company was bought by New York real estate investor
Stephen L. Green and his brother
Mark J. Green
Mark Joseph Green (born March 15, 1945) is an American author, former public official, public interest lawyer, and Democratic politician from New York City. Green was New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner from 1990 to 1993 and New York Ci ...
, who purchased the network in March 2007 for US$4.25 million.
The company eventually changed its name from Air America Radio to Air America Media and lastly to just Air America, an effort to establish itself as a broadcaster on multiple media sources including television and the Internet, and one not merely relegated to radio. Always primarily a radio network, on January 21, 2010, Air America went off the air citing difficulties with the current economic environment. It filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...
and liquidated itself. Bennett Zier was the company's last CEO including through the bankruptcy and liquidation.
Sometime after the network's closure, Newsweb Corporation (owned by Chicago entrepreneur, political activist, and philanthropist
Fred Eychaner
Fred Eychaner (born c. 1945) is an American businessman and philanthropist.
Eychaner is the chairman of Newsweb Corporation. He was included in ''Chicago'' magazine's 2014 list of the 100 most powerful Chicagoans. In 2005, the ''Chicago Tribune ...
and owner of Chicago's
WCPT progressive talk radio station) acquired ownership of the branding.
Programming overview
![Ron Reagan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Ron_Reagan.jpg)
Air America Media's progressive talk
radio programming
Radio programming is the process of organising a schedule of radio content for commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting by radio stations.
History
The original inventors of radio, from Guglielmo Marconi's time on, expected it to be use ...
consisted of news, talk, comedy, interviews, guest editorials, and listeners' telephone calls. The talk portions featured some extended host
monologues in the classic talk radio format. Live and pre-recorded comedy routines, featuring various comedians, were also aired. As with most
syndicated broadcast networks, local affiliate stations were able to air select programs or the entire schedule, subject to contractual arrangements.
Format
The shows followed a half-hour format from six minutes past the hour to 28 minutes after the hour followed by a ''hard break'' for six minutes until 34 minutes past the hour. The final hard break occurs at 58 minutes past the hour, leading into the news at the top of the hour. There was also a floating break in both the first and second half-hours. Local stations could run their own commercials, local news and weather or other features during the breaks.
News
Air America featured its own news summary breaks at the top of each hour, with content from wire services such as the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
(AP) and
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
(UPI). Some affiliates used other news services or would run their own newscasts during the six-minute "news hole" at the top of the hour. AAR later switched to
AP Radio Network News, and finally Free Speech Radio News. These newscasts ended on June 29, 2007, with local stations signing up with other radio news networks.
Public affairs and editorials
The
public affairs programs tended to closely follow current happenings in the news, with monologues and reflections offered by the hosts and their guests. Listener comments by phone or the Internet were worked into these segments along with the interviews.
Music
Although better known for its political shows, Air America also featured a couple of music oriented shows on weekends. ''
On the Real'' featuring
Chuck D had a strong music focus. ''
The Steve Earle Show'' (which ended in 2007 with Earle moving to
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings.
Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially lau ...
) mixed music with political commentary.
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...
was a guest host on the network at least once. Also, most of the talk shows had their own theme songs, used
bumper music
Bumper music, or a bump, is a term used in the radio broadcasting industry to refer to short clips of signature songs or theme music used to buffer transitions between programming elements, typically lasting no longer than fifteen seconds. It is ...
to segue between commercials and segments, and played political novelty songs. Theme songs and bumper music were generally commercially released rock music.
Weekday programs
Air America produced sixteen hours of weekday network programming. The entire schedule was carried on the network's
internet stream, and affiliates may have carried some, most or all shows.
The network's schedule as of Mid-2009:
*A one-hour webcast, ''
Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder'', aired weekdays from 3-4PM Eastern.
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...
and
Sam Seder hosted the show from the actual break room at Air America Media in New York. Breakroom Live aired its last show on July 15, 2009.
Weekend programs
On many Air America affiliates, weekends featured repeats and highlights from the network's weekday shows, combined with new original programming and some syndicated shows produced independently.
Original network programming for weekends included:
* ''Marc Sussman's Money Message'' (9–10a.m. ET Saturday)
* ''
State of Belief'' with
Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy (10–11a.m. Saturday; rebroadcast 7–8p.m. ET Sunday)
*''Freethought Radio'' with
Dan Barker
Daniel Edwin Barker (born June 25, 1949) is an American atheist activist and musician who served as an evangelical Christian preacher and composer for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor are the current ...
and
Annie Laurie Gaylor (1–2p.m. ET Saturday)
*''
Go Vegan'' with
Bob Linden (2–3p.m. ET Saturday)
* ''
Ring of Fire
The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...
'' with
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American environmental lawyer and author known for promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. Kennedy is a son of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President ...
and
Mike Papantonio
James Michael Papantonio (born October 24, 1953) is an American torts lawyer, television presenter, radio talk show host and writer. He has been inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame.
As a professional trial lawyer, Papantonio co-hosts ...
(3–6p.m. ET Saturday)
* ''
7 Days in America'' with
Carlos Watson and
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of '' Th ...
(6–7p.m. ET Saturday; rebroadcast 9–10a.m. ET Sunday)
* ''
Radio Nation
''GRITradio'' was a weekend radio show hosted by writer and long-time radio host Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders (born 5 December 1961) is an English broadcast journalist living in the United States who presents the weekly, long-form interview ...
'' with
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders (born 5 December 1961) is an English broadcast journalist living in the United States who presents the weekly, long-form interview show ''The Laura Flanders Show''. Flanders has described herself as a "lefty person". The brother ...
(1–2p.m. ET Sunday)
* ''
Politically Direct'' with
David Bender
David Bender is an American political activist, author and former host of the talk radio show '' Politically Direct'' on Air America Radio.
Political activism
David Bender's five-decade career as a political activist began at the age of twelve w ...
(4–7p.m. ET Sunday)
* ''
The Steve Earle Show'' with
Steve Earle (10–11p.m. ET Sunday)
* ''
On The Real'' with
Chuck D and
Gia'na Garel (11p.m.–1a.m. ET Sunday)
Former programs
* ''
The Al Franken Show
''The Al Franken Show'' was the flagship talk show of the former talk radio network, Air America Radio. Hosted by Al Franken, it featured commentary and interviews arguing for liberal positions on the issues of the day, and comically poking f ...
'' (noon–3p.m. ET) Aired March 31, 2004 – February 14, 2007. Originally called ''The O'Franken Factor''. Franken left the show in order to run for the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
.
* ''
The Majority Report'' (7–10p.m. ET) Aired March 31, 2004 – September 15, 2006. Co-hosted by
Sam Seder and
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''.
Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
* ''
The Randi Rhodes Show
''The Randi Rhodes Show'' is a talk radio show hosted by Randi Rhodes. The show combines her progressive political commentary with listener participation and live interviews. It was originally broadcast on Air America Radio, Nova M Radio, and ...
'' (3–7p.m. ET, later shortened to 3–6p.m. ET) Aired March 31, 2004 – April 3, 2008. Moved to
Nova M Radio
Nova M Radio, later known as On Second Thought, was a radio syndication service providing progressive talk programming. Founded as Nova M Radio by Sheldon and Anita Drobny in 2006, its stated purpose was to purchase, own, and operate underper ...
on April 10, 2008.
* ''
Morning Sedition ''Morning Sedition'' was a three-hour radio program that premiered April 1, 2004 and ran until December 16, 2005, in the United States. It was hosted by comedian Marc Maron and New York radio veteran Mark Riley. Prior to June 2004, the show was a ...
'' with
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...
,
Sue Ellicott, and
Mark Riley (6–9a.m. ET) Aired April 1, 2004 – December 16, 2005.
* ''Unfiltered'' with
Chuck D,
Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead (born August 5, 1961) is an American comedian, radio and television personality, and blogger. A native of Minnesota, Winstead is the co-creator of ''The Daily Show'' along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer.
Ear ...
, and
Rachel Maddow (9a.m.–noon ET) Aired April 1, 2004 – April 1, 2005.
* ''
The Mike Malloy Show
''The Mike Malloy Show'' is a syndicated progressive radio talk show hosted by long-time radio personality Mike Malloy. Malloy came to talk radio in 1987, moving from his position as a writer and producer at CNN. He is married to producer Kathy ...
'' (10p.m.–1a.m. ET), Aired August 2, 2004 – August 30, 2006. Moved to
Nova M Radio
Nova M Radio, later known as On Second Thought, was a radio syndication service providing progressive talk programming. Founded as Nova M Radio by Sheldon and Anita Drobny in 2006, its stated purpose was to purchase, own, and operate underper ...
on October 30, 2006.
* ''
Springer on the Radio
''Springer on the Radio'' was an American radio program broadcast from WCKY (AM), WCKY and later WSAI in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati from January 17, 2005 to December 5, 2006 and syndicated nationally on the Air America Radio network from April 1, ...
'' with
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...
(9pm- midnight ET), Aired April 1, 2005 – September 18, 2006. Broadcast via Air America Syndication until December 8, 2006.
* ''
Politically Direct'' with
David Bender
David Bender is an American political activist, author and former host of the talk radio show '' Politically Direct'' on Air America Radio.
Political activism
David Bender's five-decade career as a political activist began at the age of twelve w ...
(8–9p.m. ET) Aired 2005 – May 2007, then combined with ''The Mark Riley Show'' into ''The Air Americans''.
* ''Air America Mornings'' (5–9a.m. ET) umbrella name for Air America's morning drive-time shows: The Mark Riley Show and The Rachel Maddow Show.
* ''
The Mark Riley Show'' (5–6a.m. ET) Aired January 2006 – May 2007, then combined with ''Politically Direct'' into ''The Air Americans''.
* ''
This Is America with Jon Elliott'' with
Jon Elliott, (11p.m. – 1a.m. ET) Aired September 2006 – May 15, 2009.
* ''
The Young Turks
''The Young Turks'' (TYT) is an American progressive news commentary show on YouTube that additionally appears on selected television channels. TYT serves as the flagship program of the TYT Network, a multi-channel network of associated web s ...
'' with
Cenk Uygur
Cenk Kadir Uygur ( ; ; born March 21, 1970) is a Turkish-American progressive political commentator, media host, attorney, journalist, and politician. Uygur is the creator of ''The Young Turks'', an American left-wing, sociopolitical, progressi ...
(6–9a.m. ET), Aired September 18, 2006 – January 15, 2008.
* ''
The Thom Hartmann Show'' (noon–3p.m. ET) Aired March 2007 – February 28, 2009. Replaced the Al Franken Show. Moved to the
Dial Global
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company ...
network.
* ''The Air Americans'', hosted by Mark Riley with contributors David Bender, Laura Flanders, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Mike Papantonio. (8pm-midnight ET) Aired May 21, 2007 – August 2007.
* ''American Afternoon'', featuring revolving celebrity guest hosts such as
Richard Belzer
Richard Jay Belzer (born August 4, 1944) is a retired American actor, stand-up comedian, and author. He is best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/Sergeant, and DA Investigator John Munch, whom he has portrayed as a regular cas ...
,
Joy Behar,
Ron Reagan
Ronald Prescott Reagan (born May 20, 1958) is an American liberal political commentator, writer, radio personality, television host, and dancer. He is a former radio host and political analyst for KIRO and Air America Radio, where he hosted hi ...
, and
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1 ...
. (3–6p.m. ET) Aired April–June, 2008. Aired as a replacement for Randi Rhodes, later replaced by Doin' Time with Ron Kuby.*
* ''
EcoTalk
''EcoTalk'', formerly ''TrashTalk'', was a radio show on the Air America Radio network, hosted by Betsy Rosenberg. Rosenberg is a long-time radio journalist, she spent much of her career with CBS Radio, specifically the "environmental issues" rep ...
'' with
Betsy Rosenberg (9–10p.m. ET), the show moved from the weekends to weeknights effective September 18, 2006. Show removed from weekday schedule May 18, 2007, and may resurface eventually on Sunday mornings.
* ''
The Kyle Jason Show'' (two hours)
* ''Liberal Arts'' with
Katherine Lanpher
__NOTOC__
Katherine Lanpher (born 1959) is an American writer, journalist, broadcaster, and podcaster, who came to national prominence as the co-host of the Air America Radio program ''The Al Franken Show'' in 2004 and 2005.
Early life and educ ...
(one hour)
* ''
Mother Jones Radio'' with
Angie Coiro
Angie Coiro is an American talk radio host. She is the host and senior producer of ''In Deep with Angie Coiro'' (formerly known as ''The Green Show''). Prior to that, she was the host of '' Mother Jones'' Radio on Air America Radio. The program wa ...
(one hour)
* ''So What Else Is News?'' with
Marty Kaplan
Martin Kaplan (born August 21, 1950) is an American professor. He teaches at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism and is the founding director of the Norman Lear Center for the study of the impact of entertainment on society ...
(first daily for one hour; later weekends for two hours)
* ''
The Time Is Now'' with
Rev. Dr. James Forbes
Syndication
On September 8, 2005, Air America Radio formed a separate syndication division, designed to offer additional programming and services to both progressive talk and other talk/music formats. Air America Syndication was used to syndicate
Thom Hartmann
Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pr ...
, and later ''
Springer on the Radio
''Springer on the Radio'' was an American radio program broadcast from WCKY (AM), WCKY and later WSAI in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati from January 17, 2005 to December 5, 2006 and syndicated nationally on the Air America Radio network from April 1, ...
'' which aired at the same time as
The Al Franken Show
''The Al Franken Show'' was the flagship talk show of the former talk radio network, Air America Radio. Hosted by Al Franken, it featured commentary and interviews arguing for liberal positions on the issues of the day, and comically poking f ...
and
The Sam Seder Show respectively on the regular network lineup. Springer ended his show on December 5, 2006, and Franken's ended on February 14, 2007. On January 29, 2007, Air America announced that Hartmann would replace Franken on the regular network lineup. When Air America entered bankruptcy, there were no programs syndicated as a part of Air America Syndication.
History
Beginnings
In late 2002 Chicago entrepreneurs
Sheldon Drobny and
Anita Drobny, angered at the firing of their favorite radio host,
Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy (born July 1, 1942) is a progressive American radio broadcaster based in Atlanta. Previously his show has been carried by WSB (AM) Atlanta, WLS (AM) Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, ...
, decided to try to get Malloy syndicated nationally. At Mike's behest they called Atlanta-based radio executive Jon Sinton and requested a national berth for Malloy. The Drobnys hired Sinton as CEO of AnShell Media, and the three went about raising money. The first official fundraiser was in October, 2002 at the home of
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of '' Th ...
. The gathering was enthusiastically attended by many Hollywood notables. Sinton's brother, broadcaster Carey Bruce Sinton, suggested calling the venture Central Air, a name that stuck until just before launch.
Around this same time, Democratic political operative
Tom Athans
Tom Athans (born 1961) is an American media executive. He is the co-founder and former CEO of Democracy Radio, an organization that created and produced progressive talk radio shows that included ''The Ed Schultz Show'' and ''The Stephanie Mille ...
and radio industry veteran Paul Fiddick launched
Democracy Radio Democracy Radio was an American nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Tom Athans and Paul Fiddick, which aimed to address what its founders saw as political imbalance on American commercial radio. The concept was to develop and incubate progr ...
in Washington, D.C. Democracy Radio was an organization founded in September 2002 dedicated to creating political balance on America's commercial radio airwaves. Its concept was to develop, fund and incubate progressive oriented talk programming and retain well established radio networks to market the programs to stations around the country. Democracy Radio developed and produced talk shows that launched the national careers of
Ed Schultz
Edward Andrew Schultz (January 27, 1954 – July 5, 2018) was an American television and radio host, political commentator, news anchor and sports broadcaster.
He was the host of '' The Ed Show'', a weekday news talk program on MSNBC fro ...
and
Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Catherine Miller (born September 29, 1961) is an American political commentator, comedian, and host of '' The Stephanie Miller Show'', a Progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles, California, by WYD Media Management and s ...
.
AnShell announced its intentions publicly in a ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article in February 2003 in which writer Jim Rutenburg interviewed Jon Sinton about the need for a balanced national discussion. Sinton, the Drobnys and their associate,
Javier Saade, a
Harvard Business School grad and venture capitalist, continued to raise awareness but little money throughout 2003 by spending time in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Sinton met repeatedly with
Al Franken
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
to convince him to become the network's anchor talent. Franken did not commit to the enterprise, as he was worried about its sustainability.
After mentioning actress and activist
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''.
Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
during an appearance on
Judy Woodruff
Judy Carline Woodruff (born November 20, 1946) is an American broadcast journalist who has worked in network, cable, and public television news since 1976. She is the anchor and managing editor of ''PBS NewsHour''. Woodruff has covered every presi ...
's ''Politics Today'' show on
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, Sinton received a call from Garofalo stating her interest in hosting a show. On a fundraising trip to Los Angeles, Sinton, at the suggestion of Al Franken, met with ''
Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fro ...
'' co-creator
Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead (born August 5, 1961) is an American comedian, radio and television personality, and blogger. A native of Minnesota, Winstead is the co-creator of ''The Daily Show'' along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer.
Ear ...
, and she would later co-host one of the original shows and be the first program manager.
In November 2003, Sinton's brother Steve Sinton left
Clear Channel's talk radio division to join AAR as vice president of programming and operations.
Meanwhile, none of these talent agreements were finalized, as fundraising was difficult. The reputation of the effort was coming under duress and scrutiny, as it was announced but not taking shape. A further complication was that AnShell found itself competing against Democracy Radio for investors. During a trip to Washington, D.C., former
Clinton chief of staff John Podesta
John David Podesta Jr. (born January 8, 1949) is an American Political consulting, political consultant who has served as Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden for clean energy innovation an ...
suggested a young lawyer, David Goodfriend, who introduced the Drobnys and Sinton to his former college roommate,
Evan Montvel Cohen
Evan Montvel Cohen (born 1966) is an American businessman living on the island of Guam. He was a founder and the first chairman of the liberal Air America Radio. Cohen has worked primarily in the broadcasting industry and in politics.
Early life ...
, who had profited from advertising and research companies in the Pacific Rim. Having taken the idea as far as they could, the principals sold AnShell Media to Cohen and his partner,
Rex Sorensen, a broadcaster from
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, US, who formed
Progress Media, with Cohen as chairman, and
Mark Walsh as CEO; Sinton's title remained as president, but his impact on day-to-day operations was reduced after the sale to Cohen
Launch and rapid growth
From the hiring of Goodfriend and Walsh in the fall of 2003, the network began to take shape. Al Franken and Garafalo finally agreed to contracts, and in short order the company was able reach agreement and hire Winstead, Chuck D, comedian Marc Maron, media attorney Carl Ginsberg, and many more people. In early 2004, talent, engineers and producers were hired, a lease was signed with New York's
WLIB
WLIB (1190 AM) is an urban contemporary gospel radio station licensed to New York City. WLIB is owned by Emmis Communications, along with sister stations WBLS (107.5 FM) and WQHT (97.1 FM). The three stations share studios in the Hudson Square ...
creating a New York home and affiliate, and, at noon Eastern time on March 31, the newly renamed Air America Radio Network was launched.
Air America Radio was then the only all-
progressive talk radio
Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independe ...
network. A predecessor, the
UAW
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American Labor unions in the United States, labor union that represents workers in the Un ...
's
I.E. America Radio Network, which was home to hosts such as Thom Hartmann, Peter Werbe, and Mike Malloy, never gained national attention. Its last day on the air was February 27, 2004, only weeks before Air America took to the airwaves. Although not a network, Democracy Radio launched
The Ed Schultz Show
''The Ed Schultz Show'' was a progressive talk radio program hosted by Ed Schultz. It was formerly broadcast from KFGO in Fargo, North Dakota. It was heard on a network of over 100 stations, including seven of the ten largest radio markets. It ...
three months prior to the launch of Air America in January 2004. The
Stephanie Miller Show followed September 2004.
Franken's show was the centerpiece of Air America, and would remain so for a little less than 3 years. The show featured Franken's low-key humor, political commentary, and guest and audience participation.
Randi Rhodes
Randi is both a given name, and a nickname in the English language, popular in North America and Norway. It is primarily a feminine name, although there is recorded usage of the name by men. It may have originated as a pet form of '' Miranda'' o ...
was also in the initial lineup.
AAR became the fastest growing network in modern radio history, increasing its listeners from 120,000 to 400,000 within three months, and reaching 2.137 million listeners per week in 2005.
Difficulties and turnover
At the time it started Air America Radio, ''Progress Media'', (an entity created and completely controlled by Evan Cohen and his former business partner, Rex Sorenson) stated it had secured US$30 million in
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
before its debut. The amount was later estimated by the Wall Street Journal to be closer to US$6 million; Sorensen said that an investor had backed out at the last minute.
Sorensen never identified who the supposed investor was. Sorensen served as the chief financial officer of both Progress Media, and Air America Radio. He had complete control over all funds and banking relationships for the company, and reported directly to the chairman, Evan Cohen. No one else at the company, from Walsh on down, had any control of or input to Sorensen's activities.
On April 2, 2004, the day after launching the network, CEO Mark Walsh departed the offices for good. He had been having a number of disagreements with Evan Cohen about the direction of the company, and in particular about the complete lack of financial transparency in Cohen's business dealings and fundraising efforts. Walsh was a resident of Washington, D.C., and told Cohen that he could not be part of an enterprise run in such an opaque and disruptive fashion. Walsh never returned to the offices while Cohen was chairman, and resigned from the company several weeks later.
Two weeks after the on-air debut of Air America Radio, programming was withdrawn in two key markets due to contract disputes.
Multicultural Radio owned two stations contracted to carry Air America programming, in Chicago and
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...
, California. Air America alleged that Multicultural Radio had sold time on its Los Angeles station to both Air America and another party, and said that that was why it stopped payment on checks due to Multicultural while Air America investigated. Multicultural Radio argued that Air America had bounced a check and claimed it was owed in excess of US$1 million. Air America Radio filed a complaint in
New York Supreme Court, charging
breach of contract and was briefly granted an injunction to restore the network on
WNTD
WNTD (950 AM) is a radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. Its has separate day-time (1,000 watts; non-directional) and night-time (5,000 watts; directional) transmitter locations. It is currently one of ...
-AM in Chicago. On April 20, 2004, the network announced the dispute had been settled, and Air America's last day of broadcast on WNTD was April 30, 2004. The New York Supreme Court ultimately concluded that the injunction was improvidently entered and that Air America Radio's court action was without merit, dismissing Air America's complaint and awarding over US$250,000 in damages and attorneys' fees to Multicultural. According to a subsequent lawsuit filed by Multicultural, Air America Radio never paid the sums ordered by the court.
Four weeks after Air America's debut, its executive vice president for programming, Dave Logan, left the network. One week after those departures, its chairman and vice chairman, Evan Cohen and his investment partner Rex Sorensen, were forced out by the remaining investors. In a tense late night meeting, which included Franken, Saade, the Drobnys, Mark Walsh and other investors, the company found out that it had virtually no assets. It asked David Goodfriend to operate the company while a reorganization was planned and new funds were raised. Subsequently, the company had a number of acting CEO's, including outside investor Doug Kreeger and Jon Sinton for a short period.
As part of a reorganization, the Progress Media board of directors bought the assets of that company, creating a new company, Piquant LLC; at around the same time, the company decided to stop trying to buy radio stations and lease air time, and to allow affiliates to carry programming outside of the network's offerings.
On February 28, 2005, a new CEO,
Danny Goldberg
Gold Mountain Records was a record label based in New York. It was distributed by A&M Records between 1983 and 1985. After 1985, the distributor was MCA Records.
In 1985, the president of the label was Danny Goldberg. Goldberg founded an anti-cen ...
, was named, and in April 2005, Gary Krantz was named president of the network. Ginsburg and Sinton were named co-
COOs with Ginsburg in charge of operations and Sinton running programming and affiliate relations.
In December 2005, over Sinton's objections, CEO Danny Goldberg broke up the network's morning drive-time show ''Morning Sedition'', and let comedian and co-host
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...
's contract lapse. While the increased overhead for the show's heavily produced format may have been a factor in the show's demise, Maron claimed that Goldberg did not "get" or agree with the comedy on the show. Maron exacerbated the conflict by calling attention to his situation during the show for several weeks, prompting a petition drive that garnered over 5,000 signatures. This was to no avail, as Maron announced on November 28 that his last show would be December 16, 2005. Maron was offered an evening show, which ran briefly on affiliate
KTLK
KTLK (1130 kHz) – branded ''News/Talk AM 1130'' – is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota. It broadcasts a conservative talk radio format to the Twin Cities radio market and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Th ...
in Los Angeles, but Air America never followed through with promised national syndication and the show was cancelled in July 2006. Goldberg announced his resignation on April 6, 2006, after a little more than a year on the job. Maron guest hosted a few times in 2007, and later co-hosted a webcast program for Air America called "Breakroom Live".
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''.
Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
's last day as co-host of ''The Majority Report'' was on July 14, 2006. Several reasons for her departure were cited (including her outside acting responsibilities). The show ended a few months later.
By the late summer of 2006 Sinton and Ginsburg's influence was marginalized (both would leave in short order).
On August 30, 2006, nighttime host
Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy (born July 1, 1942) is a progressive American radio broadcaster based in Atlanta. Previously his show has been carried by WSB (AM) Atlanta, WLS (AM) Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, ...
was fired from the network. Malloy had hosted a nighttime show from the inception of the network. The show was vitriolic in its criticism of the right wing. Comments included referring to the Bushes as the "Bush crime family"; right-wingers commonly were referred to as "rat bastards" and "pigs". In the two weeks before the firing, Malloy had announced an impending multi-year deal for him to stay with Air America (and to return on the air in New York City). The firing was explained as for financial reasons. Rumours persist that Malloy's criticism of Israel during its bombardment of Lebanon in the summer of 2006 may have played a role. News of his termination was conveyed via a short statement on the homepage of Malloy's website, posted by his wife/producer Kathy Bay Malloy. His final show was on August 29, 2006, filling in for Randi Rhodes. No mention of his firing was made during the broadcast. Malloy's firing drew criticism from Air America on-air talent, including Rhodes and
Sam Seder. It also began a large online campaign, including a petition that had over 17,000 signatures as of October 2006. At the end of October, Malloy resumed his show on a newly created progressive radio network,
Nova M Radio
Nova M Radio, later known as On Second Thought, was a radio syndication service providing progressive talk programming. Founded as Nova M Radio by Sheldon and Anita Drobny in 2006, its stated purpose was to purchase, own, and operate underper ...
.
Gloria Wise controversy
In July 2005, the ''
Bronx News
The ''Bronx News'' is a weekly newspaper that covers the entire Bronx. Founded in 1975, the ''Bronx News'' is known for its headlines and reporting. News stories range from crime, sports, entertainment and politics. The front page appears in colo ...
'' reported that the
Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club
Gloria may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music
* Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise
* Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise
** Gloria (Handel)
** Gloria (Jenkins)
...
of
Co-op City
Co-op City (short for Cooperative City) is a cooperative housing development located in the northeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by Interstate 95 to the southwest, west, and north and the Hutchinson River ...
, a non-profit organization providing services for children and seniors in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, loaned (equivalent to $ in ) to Progress Media, then owner of Air America Radio. It later turned out that there had been four separate transfers from Gloria Wise between October 2, 2003, and March 14, 2004, totalling (equivalent to $ in ), and that no interest was to be paid on these loans.
Since then, the city has suspended further funding of the agency, and
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, h ...
has revoked the group's right to use their name, likeness or logo. At the time the funds were to have been transferred,
Evan Cohen, the founder and first chairman of Air America and the former chairman of the now-defunct Progress Media, was also director of development for Gloria Wise.
In response to this report, Air America Radio's owners at the time, Piquant LLC, issued a press release stating Piquant had "no obligation to Progress Media's business activities", and Piquant, as previously agreed, would "fully compensate" the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club. While Gloria Wise remains under investigation, Air America has since repaid the loan. On May 28, 2008, Cohen was arrested at
Guam International Airport on a warrant from the State of Hawaii. He was indicted in Hawaii for
money laundering and stealing over (equivalent to $ in ) from a
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
-based landscaping company.
''Air America, The Playbook''
''Air America, the Playbook'', a 300 plus page collection of essays, transcripts, and interviews by mostly Air America personalities was published shortly before the 2006 Congressional elections. It was on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for October 8, 2006.
Reorganizational bankruptcy and sale to Green Family Media
A week later, on October 13, 2006, Air America filed for bankruptcy protection under
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
, at the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Air America continued broadcasting while the finances were worked out with the creditors. The company had US$4,331,265.30 in assets and US$20,266,056.23 in liabilities.
Al Franken
Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
alone was owed US$360,749.98 and
Rob Glaser
Robert Denis Glaser (born January 16, 1962 in New York City, New York) is the founder of RealNetworks, which produces RealAudio, RealVideo, RealPlayer, and Helix, among other products and services. Before founding RealNetworks, he had become a m ...
, founder of
RealNetworks, was owed the most at US$9.8 million. The filing had over 25 pages of creditors and showed that the company lost US$9.1 million in 2004, US$19.6 million in 2005 and an additional US$13.1 million by mid-October in 2006.
On January 29, 2007, Air America "signed a letter of intent to sell its business to SLG Radio LLC, an entity controlled by
Stephen L. Green, the founder and chairman of SL Green Realty Corp, a company that controls 27 million ft
2 (2.5 million m
2) of real estate with a market capitalization of US$12 billion". Air America CEO Scott Elberg said of Air America's sale, "We are extremely pleased to have reached this agreement with Mr. Green, which will solidify Air America's future." The sale was completed on March 6, 2007, to Green Family Media, a new company created by Stephen Green and his brother Mark J. Green.
Franken moves on to the U.S. Senate
![Al Franken at Ramstein Air Force Base, Dec 2000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Al_Franken_at_Ramstein_Air_Force_Base%2C_Dec_2000.jpg)
During the bankruptcy, key on-air personality Al Franken decided that he was going to give up his show of three years in order to run for U.S. Senate. He made his official announcement during the last show. Thom Hartmann replaced him in March 2007. Franken won a
close and highly contested election to become the 60th Senator in the Democratic Caucus for the 111th United States Congress.
Air America 2.0
After the sale, major changes were quickly put into place. Stephen Green became the network's chairman, and Mark Green became president of Air America, with a hands-on role. Former chief executive Scott Elberg remained as chief operating officer. Mark Green announced on Thursday, April 25, 2007, that
Westwood One
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...
would take over the handling of Air America's ad sales from
Jones Radio Networks
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...
. In addition, a new lineup was unveiled for the radio network. The top four weekday shows were kept, but extensive changes were made to the rest of the lineup. Green also announced a redesign for the network's website, in addition to a new logo.
On March 14, 2007, the new owners of Air America announced the hiring of longtime radio veteran David Bernstein to be the new vice president of programming. Prior to joining Air America, he was best known as the program director at New York radio station
WOR from 1995 to 2002. In an interview with the ''
New York Daily News'', Bernstein explained his vision of Air America's future as "I don't see our purpose as 'answering' conservative radio or
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
. There's no clear majority in this country today. We want to talk to everyone and help everyone make the right choice." On November 15, 2007, industry news site Radio Online reported that Bernstein was exiting Air America.
After being suspended by Air America management for derogatory remarks toward
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee ...
and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
while off the air,
Randi Rhodes
Randi is both a given name, and a nickname in the English language, popular in North America and Norway. It is primarily a feminine name, although there is recorded usage of the name by men. It may have originated as a pet form of '' Miranda'' o ...
quit the network on April 9, 2008, citing a contract dispute. She was one of Air America's more popular hosts, with a listener base of 1.5 million unique listeners per week built up over 4 years. Rhodes moved to
Nova M Radio
Nova M Radio, later known as On Second Thought, was a radio syndication service providing progressive talk programming. Founded as Nova M Radio by Sheldon and Anita Drobny in 2006, its stated purpose was to purchase, own, and operate underper ...
the next week, and was syndicated by
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. I ...
after Nova M went bankrupt.
![Rachel Maddow in Seattle cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Rachel_Maddow_in_Seattle_cropped.png)
Meanwhile, longtime host
Rachel Maddow was finding her way into television. As a guest host and as a panelist, she appeared on
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
. She started her own show on the network in September 2008, in prime time after
Keith Olbermann
Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer.
Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and r ...
and
Chris Matthews. Her radio show became more of a replay of her television show, and ultimately her radio program became a one-hour show in the mornings.
Maddow didn't want to completely depart from radio. She commented "My relationship with the radio audience is valuable and important. I also believe in what Air America is doing."
Thom Hartmann
Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pr ...
moved his show to the
Dial Global
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company ...
radio network on March 1, 2009. Hartmann had been the flagship program on AAR for a year.
Montel Williams
Montel Brian Anthony Williams (born July 3, 1956) is an American television host, actor and motivational speaker. He is known for hosting the long-running daytime tabloid talk show '' The Montel Williams Show'', which ran in syndication from 199 ...
hosted the new flagship program in Lionel's previous spot, and Lionel moved his show to the 12p.m.–3p.m. ET slot.
Sale and closure
Stephen Green sold Air America Radio in 2009 to Charles Kireker. Mark Green continued as president.
On January 21, 2010, Air America announced that it would immediately cease programming and file for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...
, giving the following explanation on their website:
The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America's business. This past year has seen a "perfect storm" in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection. From large to small, recent bankruptcies like Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...
and closures like that of the industry's long-time trade publication Radio & Records have signaled that these are very difficult and rapidly changing times.
Others involved with Air America or progressive talk radio cite other reasons as the cause of the network's demise. Thom Hartmann left Air America due in part to his dissatisfaction with the network's merry-go-round management. "We've been far more successful since we left," Mr. Hartmann said in an interview after the closure. Several other former employees have made similar complaints, specifically that the management of Air America lacked the necessary broadcasting business expertise.
["Progressive Radio Hosts Say Air America Closing Won’t Affect Them"](_blank)
by Brian Stelter, ''Media Decoder Blog'', ''The New York Times'', January 22, 2010
Progressive commentator
Alan Colmes
Alan Samuel Colmes (September 24, 1950 – February 23, 2017) was an American radio and television host, liberal political commentator for the Fox News Channel, and blogger. He was the host of ''The Alan Colmes Show'', a nationally syndica ...
cited problems with the network's constituent stations:
Because conservatives were so entrenched on heritage stations, the progressives on Air America were relegated to smaller, less powerful, under-performing signals that could not compete with their more established counterparts; certainly not without lots of promotion and time to develop, both of which were denied in most cases.
At some point after the network's closure in 2010, Newsweb Corporation (the owner of Chicago's
WCPT AM band radio station) gained ownership of the network's name.
Ratings
In
Arbitron's Spring 2008 ratings book, stations carrying a majority AAR programming and in markets reporting every quarter averaged a 1.3
share. The highest rated Air America affiliates were
KPOJ
KPOJ (620 AM) is a radio station serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon and neighboring Washington. It airs a sports format, and is affiliated with Fox Sports Radio. Its transmitter is located in Sunnyside, Or ...
in Portland, Oregon (3.7 share),
WXXM
WXXM (92.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts an adult hits radio format, switching to Chris ...
in Madison, Wisconsin (3.5), and
KABQ in Albuquerque, New Mexico (2.6). The lowest rated affiliates were
WDTW and
WLBY in Detroit, Michigan (unmeasurable),
WOIC in Columbia, South Carolina (0.4),
WTKG
WTKG (1230 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, and now owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., Previous to adopting the current calls and format in 1997, the station played country under ...
in Grand Rapids, Michigan (0.5), and flagship station
WWRL
WWRL (1600 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York City. WWRL airs an all-news radio format as an affiliate of the Black Information Network (BIN). The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.
By day, WWRL broadcasts at 25,000 wat ...
in New York City (0.5).
WXXM
WXXM (92.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts an adult hits radio format, switching to Chris ...
in Madison had announced in November 2006 that it would switch to all sports programming by the end of the year. Following backlash from the station's listeners and syndicated hosts, Clear Channel in Madison later backtracked, deciding to leave the
progressive talk format on the station.
Affiliates
As of October 2008, Air America programming was carried on 66 terrestrial broadcast stations, an increase of 10 percent over the previous six months. Thirty-two of these stations broadcast a majority AAR programming. During the first 4½ years of the network's existence, Air America has lost 63 affiliates to other programming or formats. Air America counts any station that carries any of their programming as an affiliate, similar to radio networks such as
ESPN Radio. Stations owned by
Clear Channel Communications had been early backers of the network, and the company used the network as programming for some of its smaller AM stations. However, in the past few years, the network has been moving instead toward replacing Air America on those stations with
Fox Sports Radio (a Clear Channel product), as
WCKY Cincinnati,
KLSD
KLSD (1360 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in San Diego, California. It is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a talk format branded "The Patriot AM 1360". The radio studios and offices are on Granite Ridge Drive in the Serra Mesa neighb ...
San Diego and
WINZ Miami
"On WINZ, progressive talk is gone, but DJ still sounding off"
by Glenn Garvin, ''The Miami Herald'', April 14, 2009 were all once Air America affiliates but are now affiliated with Fox Sports. (There have been a few notable exceptions that have remained with Air America, such as WXXM
WXXM (92.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts an adult hits radio format, switching to Chris ...
in Madison, Wisconsin, which kept Air America after listener protests, and KKGN in San Francisco, where the Fox Sports affiliation is held by another station and there are fewer programming options due to significant competition).
SiriusXM Satellite Radio channel "Sirius XM Progress
SiriusXM Progress is located at channel 127 on Sirius XM Radio and carries a progressive talk radio format. The channel is programmed by Don Wicklin.
America Left (2004–2005)
Channel 167 originally started out as America Left, a channel dedicat ...
" currently broadcasts programs from two former Air Americans: Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy (born July 1, 1942) is a progressive American radio broadcaster based in Atlanta. Previously his show has been carried by WSB (AM) Atlanta, WLS (AM) Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, ...
and Thom Hartmann
Thomas Carl Hartmann (born May 7, 1951) is an American radio personality, author, former psychotherapist, businessman, and progressive political commentator. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Thom Hartmann Pr ...
.
See also
*''Democracy Now!
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
''
*Democracy Radio Democracy Radio was an American nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Tom Athans and Paul Fiddick, which aimed to address what its founders saw as political imbalance on American commercial radio. The concept was to develop and incubate progr ...
*Jones Radio Networks
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...
*The Majority Report with Sam Seder
''The Majority Report with Sam Seder'' is an Internet talk radio program and podcast hosted by Sam Seder. The program focuses on the discussion of current events and political affairs from a social democratic, democratic socialist and a progre ...
, podcast successor to the original Majority Report on Air America
*Nova M Radio
Nova M Radio, later known as On Second Thought, was a radio syndication service providing progressive talk programming. Founded as Nova M Radio by Sheldon and Anita Drobny in 2006, its stated purpose was to purchase, own, and operate underper ...
*Progressive talk radio
Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoints of news and issues as opposed to conservative talk radio. In the United States, the format has included syndicated and independe ...
* Ring of Fire (radio program)
*Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Air America (Radio Network)
Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006
American companies established in 2004
American companies disestablished in 2010
Defunct radio networks in the United States
Progressive talk radio
Al Franken
Mass media companies established in 2004
Mass media companies disestablished in 2010