The Radio Equalizer: Brian Maloney

07 June 2006

Atlanta, Air America Radio, Al Franken

ADIOS, ATLANTA

Air America Loses Major Market, Franken Remains





As we first reported in March, Air America Radio is kissing Atlanta goodbye.

With the exception of Al Franken, the liberal radio network's talkers will soon be without a home in the area, after a new owner took control of WWAA-AM. Plans for the outlet were announced today.

While running Air America programming, the station was perpetually stuck at the bottom of the ratings cellar. So far, an attempt to find a new home for the network has failed.

Now under the control of area businessman Joe Weber, WWAA will run his unusual music mix, in addition to Franken, according to the Atlanta Journal- Constitution's Rodney Ho.


In an interview with former AAR executive Jon Sinton, Ho is fed a record- setting amount of corporate manure (thanks to Pat Riotic for the tip):


Joe Weber, who recently purchased WWAA-AM/1690, will be migrating his eclectic music format (everything from Pavoratti to Springsteen, Beethoven to Aretha) from 1160 starting Monday June 12. 1690 has run liberal talk show syndicate Air America the past couple of years. Weber is planning to keep only Al Franken from noon to 3 p.m.

He says his focus is on mornings and drivetime and by keeping Franken, he hopes to grab a few of those Air America fans. This does mean no more access to Rachel Maddow, Janeane Garafalo, Jerry Springer and Randi Rhodes unless you have XM Satellite radio or you can listen online. 1160, which Weber also owns, will simulcast until he creates a new format there. He wouldn’t say what he’s going to put there.

Jon Sinton, Atlanta-based president of Air America, said he’s seeking a replacement station in the area but doesn’t have a deal set with anybody yet.

In 2004, a group of liberal investors created Air America as a counterpoint to the conservative talk show hosts that dominate the airwaves such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham. Besides well-known non-radio types such as Franken and actressa and comic Garafalo, Air America included acerbic Randi Rhodes and former WSB-AM talker Mike Malloy, an Atlantan who is heard at nights.

The network struggled through financial and management problems in its first year and is not yet consistently cashflow positive, Sinton said. “Having started a bunch of radio stations, I know you need at least 36 months to build a business,” he noted.

Nationally, Air America is now up to about 88 affiliates, reaching two-thirds of the American population, up from 48 percent a year ago. It draws more than 3 million listeners a week. Among its strongest cities include Portland, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles and Denver where major radio companies such as Clear Channel, Entercom and CBS are able to promote the network, Sinton said.

WWAA-AM ranked 28th in the most recent spring Arbitron book, tied with conservative talk station 920/WGKA-AM, but Sinton noted that the average Air America’s listener spends far more time with the station than typical radio listeners.


For the record:

Jon Sinton is a former Air America executive who now works as a consultant for the firm. He is not the current company president.

Air America's previous corporate parent was created in 2003, making the outfit about three years old. Sinton's "36 months" are just about up, yet things are getting worse, not better.

Here's a funny line: "...is not yet consistently cashflow positive..." Let's see a single month that came anywhere near "cashflow positive"!

We've already debunked the "88 affiliates" nonsense, placing a true figure in the low seventies.

Of the cities listed, only Portland is a source of bragging rights for Air America. Boston's a particularly bad example: it generally hovers at or near last place there.

Sinton excuses the bad ratings this way: "...but Sinton noted that the average Air America’s listener spends far more time with the station than typical radio listeners."

If it had a high rate of Time Spent Listening (TSL), however, that would bump up WWAA's overall ranking, as TSL is a component of ratings statistics.

Ouch!


ALSO: At Newsbusters, 15 seconds of Al Franken.

Your Amazon orders that begin with clicks here, regardless of your final purchases, are vital to supporting this site's efforts. Thanks again! Note: Amazon is now shipping copies of Ann Coulter's Godless.

Road signs: David A Lunde for the Radio Equalizer

16 Comments:

  • The sad part is that since this guy says he's keeping Franken, AAR will continue to proudly list WWAA as an affiliate.

    By Blogger BF, at 07 June, 2006 23:01  

  • "...is not yet consistently cashflow positive..." Let's see a single month that came anywhere near "cashflow positive"!
    Brian: You have never once produced a corporate balance sheet for AAR. This isn't surprising (they are, after all, a private company), but you're making insinuations without any data to back them up.

    By Blogger Justin, at 08 June, 2006 06:46  

  • As to the "cashflow positive" question, perhaps AAR had a positive cashflow for the month when they stole the money from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club.

    By Blogger Rich in MT, at 08 June, 2006 08:27  

  • "...is not yet consistently cashflow positive..." Let's see a single month that came anywhere near "cashflow positive"!

    Brian: All your consistent reporting on AAR's finances is starting to bear fruit. Dropping Atlanta is proof that a radio station cannot stay in business by running PSAs all day long. In order to run the business profitably, the radio station needs hard cash generate from legitimate paid advertisers (which AAR is sorely lacking).
    .

    By Blogger The Benson Report, at 08 June, 2006 09:22  

  • This isn't surprising (they are, after all, a private company), but you're making insinuations without any data to back them up.

    Since AAR is constantly looking for bailouts, losing stations, and has little advertising, it is entirely fair to insinuate that their cash-flow situation is negative, and entirely fair to challenge them to show otherwise.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 08 June, 2006 09:57  

  • justin said:

    "Brian: You have never once produced a corporate balance sheet for AAR. This isn't surprising (they are, after all, a private company), but you're making insinuations without any data to back them up."

    You correctly nailed the issue with respect to AAR's financials, although I would interpret Brian's "Let's see a single month that came anywhere near 'cashflow positive'" comment as a challenge to AAR's "suits" to open their books to the public.

    And if not the public, why not the employees? There are real benefits that may be gained by doing so....

    By Blogger Ironman, at 08 June, 2006 10:04  

  • Brian, I suppose you will have to pull the latest rant from rightwingwhiner due to his language, but I'd like to say that his posting is informative.

    It shows how a lefty has to revert to profanity when he realizes he has lost the debate. It is especially enjoyable to read about his 40 imaginary non-existant friends. Maybe his father is imaginary as well?

    By Blogger The Benson Report, at 08 June, 2006 10:41  

  • RWW,

    Then why come to this site? All it seems to do is raise your blood pressure.

    By Blogger Snowed In, at 08 June, 2006 11:03  

  • The Zarqawi execution has the left a bit unhinged today, so we'll cut them some slack. RWW's language use is a problem, however.

    By Blogger Brian Maloney, at 08 June, 2006 11:32  

  • i WILL PEW HATE THER SAME WAY THAT LITTLE WHORE DOES.

    I doubt it. Ann Coulter is coherent, witty, and knows how to spell and punctuate.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 08 June, 2006 12:51  

  • 4. U.S. Marines were cleared of allegations of slaughtering civilians at Ishaqi.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 08 June, 2006 21:33  

  • The obscene language is really starting to get out of hand. I don't want to have to delete comments, but soon may have no choice.

    This site has one of the most open policies around when it comes to comments, but it's really being tested by a couple of people right now.

    By Blogger Brian Maloney, at 09 June, 2006 00:00  

  • I agree with The Benson Report except what puzzles me is how rightwingwhiner can lose a debate when he is the only one speaking?

    By Blogger Pat Patterson, at 10 June, 2006 02:10  

  • I think Franken is the worst host on AAR -- too bad they're not keeping Springer. So therefore, I will no longer be listening to the station (I live in Atlanta).

    Enjoy that "music mix" or whatever you're going to program on your station!

    By Blogger John Peltier, at 10 June, 2006 10:23  

  • Pat Patterson said: "I agree with The Benson Report except what puzzles me is how rightwingwhiner can lose a debate when he is the only one speaking."

    RWW does more damage to his own side's positions with his rants than any of us could do with our facts or logic.

    By Blogger SierraSpartan, at 10 June, 2006 20:01  

  • WCKY 1530 AM in Cincinnati? I always wondered what station I pick up when I'm driving late at night. I couldn't get 1690, but lo and behold another AAR affilate came in just fine.

    I'm bummed, since I liked Randi on the ride home, even if she made me pull out my hair at times.

    Actaully, I haven't been this bummed since I lost Mark and Mark in the morning.

    Oh well...more NPR I guess. It's the only news I can get anymore that doesn't start out with the who got shot list, followed by the who got robbed list, and ended with the who burned down list. Seriously, Atlanta news is the pits.

    By Blogger Steve, at 15 June, 2006 07:31  

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