Air America's New Outrageous Claims

Is Frankenitis Contagious?

Could Be Time To Quarantine Air America's Headquarters


We've heard some pretty outrageous claims made about Air America's programming in recent months: that it was available to 60% of Americans via radio, that liberal (including non-Air America) talk shows have grown faster than Rush did in his first year.

And we were lectured on the "fact" that radio ratings weren't available to the public, therefore we couldn't possibly know whether the network was performing well, or not.

But all of those gems, with room-clearing speeches thrown in for good measure, came from one mouth: Al Franken's (the Rush comparisons have also been made by other hosts).

So imagine the Radio Equalizer's surprise to find equally over-the-top statements made not by Stuart Smalley, but Air America Radio President Gary Krantz, instead.

Is Frankenitis a contagious affliction? If so, it's time to bring the vaccine to AA headquarters.

An Arizona Republic article by Peter Corbett on Air America's progress, tied to a Randi Rhodes visit to the state, contains some of the most unreal claims yet made about the network's performance.

They include unsubstantiated claims of a large Air America audience and incorrect characterizations of ratings performance in one key city.

Let's pick this story apart line-by-line:


Air America has succeeded in creating a buzz about its liberal format and the idea that talk radio should have different points of view, (Michael) Harrison (of Talkers Magazine) said.

However, it's too early to tell if Air America and other liberal-radio enterprises that have emerged in the past few years are financially viable, he said.

No problem here, yes, they get a lot of press, sure, there's still a snowball's chance they might survive.


Air America struggled financially last summer after its launch in March 2004. But the New York Times observed this week that the network is gaining traction.

Did the Times really say that? Yes, here:


Mr. Franken continues to hedge his bets, partly because Air America seems to be gaining some traction.

"I am not sure that I am running yet," he said, sitting in the concert hall's green room before his appearance. "Part of the calculus is where the radio show goes. I don't want to leave them in the lurch."

Sure enough, there it is in the Times, but there isn't a single shred of evidence to back up the statement! How is it gaining traction? Not a word of explanation.

Now back to the Arizona Republic story:


And it did not hurt that Talkers magazine gave Franken its Freedom of Speech award earlier this month.

Actually, it did hurt Franken, he looked like a fool. Didn't this news reach Arizona?


Gary Krantz, president of New York-based Air America, said the network is financially stable and revenue is growing.

Air America has grown to 64 from 15 affiliates. The liberal talk network is in 18 of the nation's top 20 radio markets and has increased its audience by 265 percent to more than 3 million people, he said.

WOW, here's where Frankenitis takes over! Mr. Krantz, have you been in for a check-up recently? Let's take this step by step:

1. Even if Air America's in 18 of 20 top markets, the stations are tiny and the ratings smaller. What's the significance of this number?

2. Do the 64 affiliates carry ALL of Air America's programming, or just parts of it, even a single show?

3. From where did they get their "three million listeners" claim? From their butts, as Franken likes to say?

Given that not one AAR host ranks in the top 25 for national listenership, how is this possible?

Would they care to back this up with real data for this site, as well as the others in the media who have repeatedly asked for this information? Sixty-four stations with tiny or zero ratings, plus the online listenership, can't possibly equal anywhere near that figure.


That includes Portland, Ore., where Air America is the top-rated talk-radio station in the market.

In the broadest ratings measurement of all listeners twelve and older, as published in Radio and Records, Portland's KPOJ ranks as the number three talk station, behind two conservative outlets. And, they were down in the most recent figures.

I was tempted to blame the Arizona Republic reporter for the huge problems in this story, but I'm not sure it would be fair.

After all, who can expect him to know he's being fed a load of you-know-what? And he did accurately quote the New York Times, as it slobbered all over Franken at an event.

Today, a new radio ratings roll-out begins with New York City, we'll have the latest here after 5pm EDT. As other cities see their data released later in the week, it will be updated.

Air America had better hope for some real improvement this month, because at some point, even the liberal media might discover they're not doing so terribly well.

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