AAR's bankruptcy is NOT DOES NOT REFLECT LEFT WING RADIO FAILURE

[LSK]

AAR started with a deep hole because of the Evan Cohen situation. Everyone should see 'Left of the Dial' to get a sense of the financial problems AAR had since its infancy.

AAR has not been run well, yet its ratings are very good for a radio network that has been run horribly.

The right wing will quickly pounce on this story as proof that Left Wing Radio doesnt work.

Left wing radio has not worked in the past because it was always on radio stations that carried 20 hours of right wing radio and 4 hours of left wing radio. People expect to hear right wing radio on right wing radio stations and that is why random left wing radio shows have failed in the past.

Also lets keep in mind that the right wing has a 20 year head start in the radio wars.

If you want to tell me that left wing radio is a failure, please do not cite AARs financial problems, but rather show me the ratings.

[Hugin]

1. I really don't care if the Right Wing pounces on this...

To do so would have little or no effect on the bigger picture.

I'm thinking it has been obvious to the investors that there is
something to this progressive radio stuff. It'll live on.

But, not via AAR.

[RebelOne]

4. Sean Insannity will definitely pounce on this.

I just know he will be salivating about it on his radio show today.

[Hugin]

5. He's not long for this world...

Only until President Pelosi takes office.

I've never listened to 'Insannity'... Not once. I probably couldn't pick his
voice out of a group of voices.

[LTR]

2. I don't think it's a failure

Though I predicted a while ago that AAR would eventually be sold to an outside party.

AAR's a strong brand name in the format, and I think it would be attractive to a prospective buyer.

And no, I don't think a future buyer would water it down anymore than AAR is currently doing. Likely, an aggressive management team would likely beef it up, without the baggage of the various executives running the joint now.

Jones seems most obvious to me, since they already have some sort of a business relationship with AAR (they handle ad sales). Another player could be former Clear Channel exec Randy Michaels and his company Radioactive. His company currently manages the Ed Schultz Show. Michaels is aggressive as hell, and turned Jacor into a monster radio owner, prior to cashing out to Clear Channel. Guys like these know how to make money out of maverick concepts.

I for one, feel that a strong owner that knows radio is AAR's best hope for survival. The current management is a complete mess.

[ronnykmarshall]

17. and another RIGHT ON!!

:yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause:
:yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause:
:yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause:

[karmaqueen]

3. Not many people can get it where they live.

I have never been able to pick it up on a radio. I stream it all day on my computer.

[Hugin]

7. It's available everywhere in the U.S. via XM Satellite Radio...

That's how I listen.

[LSK]

9. there is a station in most of the major US cities

NYC, Chicago, LA.

http://www.airamerica.com/stations

[JoDog]

11. True, but

In the 3rd largest market in the US, Chicago, AAR has only a daytimer license. That means that under the law, they can only broadcast from dusk to dawn. Which in December in Chicago means from about 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Efforts to get a broader license have failed. Also, the signal is weak--the transmission comes from the Northwest suburb of Crystal Lake, and many of the southern and western burbs have problems picking it up.

I think that to make good on the start it's had, AAR will need investors willing to pour in the money it takes to improve the technical things that are holding them back, grease a few palms for broadcast licenses and such. Often companies that go into bankrupcy take an immediate dip in value, making them more attractive to buyers. If we're lucky, maybe a group of sympathetic investors will be able to buy it. But on the flipside, it could also make it more vulnerable to a buyout by folks that would purchase it just to shut it down.

[LSK]

14. yes I know, im your neighbor

Hello from Roselle. I can only get 850 in my car, but not in my house. But I can stream AAR.

[JoDog]

15. Ahhh yes, the car curse

I'm near the northern border of Illinois (a little north of Roselle in McHenry County) and it a rare day that I can get it in my home. And I'm only about 30 miles from the transmission source.

But if we don't get some sun soon it won't matter, 'cause I'll turn into a mushroom!

[ronnykmarshall]

18. and if they re-group and/or someone buys them ..

expect MORE stations.

[napi21]

10. So do I. I used to be able to get it, although not clearly, in my car.

Never could pick it up in the house! AAR was aired over a weaker power station here in Atlanta. i just stream it because I at least can get a clear broadcast instead of constant fading and static!

Then the damn station was sold, and they only carry Frankin now. The rest of the time is either religious programming or classical music!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. 'Left of the Dial' was that on HBO?

If so, I saw it and agree with you that their financial problems began pretty much at inception. I was surprised they'd hung on for so long.

It's quite true, their financial issues are not reflective on progressive radio as a product, but rather on their poor management as a business.

[LSK]

8. yes, that is the name of the HBO documentary

It is available on DVD now. I purchased my copy from Tower Records in June.

[SoCalDem]

12. And most major airlines have also gone bankrupt

and continue to fly:)

[DinahMoeHum]

13. Bankruptcy doesn't mean the end. Just look at GW Bush. . .

for inspiration.

:evilgrin::sarcasm:

[ronnykmarshall]

16. Right ON!

:yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause:


I swear, this place is so full of "oh woah is me"-ist that it's become a joke.

[lgn19087]

19. How are its ratings?

They have a station in my market (Philly) but I often can't pick it up. Are its ratings any good?

[LSK]

20. I havnt checked in a while

Last I heard was that Randi was kicking Hannitys butt in NYC.

You can search this site for radio ratings: http://www.arbitron.com/home/content.stm

[Swamp Rat]

21. (((Hey AAR management!)))

Bring back Mike Malloy and I will listen again.

[geomon666]

24. I think it's too late for that bro.

Like it's been said over and over again. AAR is a business and in this day and age, we expect businesses to f*** over everybody, even the supposedly progessive ones. Nah, this is beyond Malloy now.

I can see past the sheeps clothing now and see AAR for what it really is. A modern day American corporate entity. Dollars are the bottom line and believe me, they will do any and everything they can to make money.

We were duped man. We really were.

[LaPera]

22. Evan Cohen is a republican...

I think he purposley fucked things up and put AAR in a hole, so republicans could say once and for all time..."See liberal radio doesn't work." (Which is about as dumb a statement a human being could make...But then, we're talking about republicans here).

Questions were raised about Cohen's previous ties to the Republican Party on Guam. Cohen dismissed concerns about his political past by saying he was a committed "progressive" and that Republicans on Guam were "left of Paul Wellstone." Although, later Cohen was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001 only to make a recovery and that spurred him to focus on progressive causes. Mark Walsh, a co-investor and executive at Air America Radio, said he found Cohen's cancer recovery story impressive." On May 7, 2004, both Cohen and Sorensen left Air America Radio. It was widely reported that Cohen and Sorensen were forced out, after disagreements over how much money was raised.

Around May 2005, Multicultural Radio, a creditor seeking to enforce an earlier default judgment against Air America Radio, brought a complaint in New York Courts against some of the former and current officers and directors of Progress Media and Piquant LLC, the successor company to Progress Media. Evan Cohen and Rex Sorensen are named in that lawsuit. The lawsuit was dropped in early 2006. The parties publicly announced a settlement had been reached.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Montvel_Cohen

[Octafish]

23. Vital we help keep up the momentum.

Welcome to the Media Revolution

[Liberal In Texas]

25. Your sig line: "AAR Bankruptcy.." They did not go bankrupt.

FOX was in the red for years. (They bought my station and I worked for them, I know.)

Give them some time to work it out. They don't have the deep pockets that O'really accuses them of having.

I am thankful that they are just there.

I agree with the body of your post, but the sig line is a bit alamist.

[sandnsea]

29. Remember when Fox only had Married with Children

Way back in 1987, they made fun of being on Fox is how bad Fox was. I thought whoever was launching Fox was insane. Well, he was insane, just not quite the kind of insane that I thought at the time.

[LTR]

26. Looks like AAR's not filing bankruptcy

ThinkProgress has retracted their original story:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/15/franken-no-bankruptcy/

[KharmaTrain]

27. Even Ratings Aren't A Fair Barometer

I agree with most of what you say. I've been posting on this topic for a long time...and the problems of Progressive Radio.

As I've said, and you sorta do, AAR's problems are emblematic of what's happening to radio in general. ABC just cut ties with Hannity and have been letting go of people left and right over the past couple months...similar situations are happening at other companies. Radio revenues have suffered greatly in recent years coupled with huge debts the large broadcast corporations racked up in their mad frenzy to buy every license and competitor in sight. The future doesn't look much brighter as there's still no clear path to the digital future and competition from internet radio is looming over the horizon.

AAR's ratings really can't be compared to the hate radio shows. First and foremost are the longer established hate shows are carried on more stations...many that have the power of your blow dryer...but they're on enough large stations that its impossible to go anywhere in this country now and not be able to hear a hate talk show or three on the dial. Progressives, Liberals and Democrats fell asleep during these years and expecting AAR to play catch-up is silly. If anything AAR should be a platform to encourage other forms of Progressive radio to grow.

Also, many AAR stations were "rimshots"...weak signals that didn't cover a complete metropolitan or survey sampling area. Or some were restricted by drastically lowering their power at night or going off the air altogether. AAR got caught in a catch 22...it couldn't grow without better ratings, but it couldn't get better ratings unless it was on better signals, but because it wasn't getting the ratings it couldn't get on the bigger signals, thus couldn't make the money they had hoped to make to enable the network to grow. It's not that the business model was bad, just very short-sighted...not unusual. I've worked with many broadcasters and program producers/providers who were so mezmerized about getting on the air they had no clue on how to stay there or how to make it grow.

Unfortunately Al Franken appears to be AAR's total marketing effort and there's been a lot of wasted time and expense on the satellite radio situation. Hopefully things will quiet down on the AAR front for the meantime as the big 4th quarter begins (a major reason for much of the changes)...and it's gonna be a crucial time.

No, Progressive Radio didn't fail...just the effort to reach out to listeners has. AAR and Franken & Rhodes can't be the sole face/voice of "Progressive Radio". More programs need to be developed and the more local the better. Once Progressive talk digs in on the local level, it can start generating revenue and entrench itself in markets across the country...opening up all sorts of opportunities and greatly leveling the playing field.

More can be said on this topic, but I've spewed enough, again...

Cheers...

[politicat]

28. The ratings are good... the ad sales department is the problem.

I've been listening off and on to the local station since it opened shop, and to the stream from time to time as well. The major problem as I see it (hear it?) is that AAR spent far too much on talent and management and far too little on getting a good team of regional advertising sales people on the ground. They also didn't really get any solid marketing people involved in the ad sales process.

I know that radio stations have to sell ad space to whomever will buy it, but radio stations can make some general rules about what an ad needs to sound like. And for that matter, they had to be able to sell space to people other than hypnosis CDs, the penis enhancers and get out of debt by holding your breath on Tuesday mornings from 6 to 6:10 tapes. If the rock stations can get ads from car dealerships, grocery stores and nightclubs, AAR stations can do so as well... if they sell themselves, and sell their demographic.

Their demographics always missed. I never heard a single product that any of my AAR friends listened to that any of us would buy. If the ad sales people are missing their target market so badly that they're advertising products that the market won't buy, then of course, AAR is going to get stuck with terrible revenues.