Possible Turmoil Inside Air America

Internal Dissent?

On-Air Hints, Plus Springer's Cincy Performance


Is Air America host Randi Rhodes having a hard time containing her frustration with the network?

After the Radio Equalizer's piece featuring a Rhodes memo demanding a private jet to accommodate her Texas travel needs, a number of people pointed out her increasing on-air irritation with the company.

I've been wondering just how long Air America's hosts could keep up the facade of peace and harmony. At what point do the floodgates open?

Reaction was swift to the release of Rhodes's memo, where conservatives such as Captain Ed blasted their lack of concern over $875,000 in diverted taxpayer funds, which apparently went to company coffers.

The money, intended for the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, has not been repaid by Air America Radio.

If they can't manage to repay it, as Al Franken says, how can they afford corporate jets?

Liberals were either silent, or accused me of inventing her memo. The Radio Equalizer has not been contacted by Rhodes or Air America Radio.

Discussions of Randi's unhappiness actually originated from the left, in forums such as Democratic Underground and industry chat site Radio-Info.

The DU conversation, featuring Randi's supporters, mirrored some of the emails I've been receiving. From LibInTexas:

something happened on Monday of last week. I didn't hear the show as I was working, but apparently they had a big technical glitch while Randi was in Atlanta and they had to go to a "best of" for the remainder of the show.

Now, this is all speculation, but it looks to me like he (Tim) got the blame for it and AAR canned him. Randi has been dropping subtle hints about what a mess AAR is and how she's not real happy right now. I can guess that she's been told not to talk about it on the air.


Industry discussions follow the same line, that her producer was fired and a new one is being sought. My emailers also reported hearing these on-air "hints".

Rhodes apparently hasn't yet been able to clear the hurdles necessary to make the Crawford trip and there's no indication Air America's corporate jets will be waiting for her on the runway.

If Rhodes continues to gripe, will it lead to others doing the same?

It's getting harder to figure out what's still holding together this house of cards.

A liberal radio insider thinks Rhodes has exposed what's really wrong with Air America, a disconnect between their actions and the underlying ideological cause:

To simply say they're doing this Texas protest to distract from the (other) story is certainly supported by Rhodes calling the situation "Woodstock".

But I would also say that this is what Air America is about, a real horrible life story (Cindy Sheehan's) that's just ratings and fun for them, it goes way beyond just the story of Gloria Wise Boys And Girls Club, with or without it, the culture of AAR is simply about money.

Meanwhile, KSFO/San Francisco talk host Melanie Morgan's group Move America Forward is organizing a counterevent, to take on Cindy Sheehan's Crawford circus, that has Rhodes so excited:

Next week Move America Forward will be leading a caravan to Crawford, Texas - to present an alternative voice to that of Cindy Sheehan, who has become the heroine of the "Blame America First" crowd.

The Move America Forward's caravan (the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour) will consist of family members who have loved ones fighting in the war against terrorism - stationed in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

The truth is that the men and women in military and their families are the strongest supporters of the war on terrorism, and they do not agree with the message or antics of Cindy Sheehan.

Their voices must now be heard - and with your help we will make sure they ARE heard. It is also important to note that every time there are stories that Americans do not support the troops fighting in Iraq it emboldens the terrorist insurgents fighting there.

We cannot allow MoveOn.org, Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan communicate a false sense of weakness to the terrorists overseas.


In Air America performance news, The Cincy Post weighs in with a rare, honest piece (for the MSM) on the network's local ratings and that of Jerry Springer himself. Especially interesting: it's Springer's hometown, where he was once mayor.

From Rick Bird's article:

Jerry Springer's radio talk show is hardly setting the city or the country on fire. Likewise the new liberal talk station WCKY-AM (1530), launched in January with Springer as its star attraction, remains barely a blip on the local ratings radar.

Nationally the liberal network Air America has mixed results since it launched 18 months ago with much media attention amidst a polarizing presidential campaign with the network positioned as the counterweight to conservative talk shows that dominate the nation's airwaves.

But programmers and sales managers, both at WCKY and New York-based Air America, continue to dismiss sluggish ratings insisting radio audiences take time to build with success or failure measured in years, not week.

In the latest Arbitron ratings covering April-June listening period, WCKY dropped from a 1.0 share in the winter quarter to a .08 in total listeners. The station ranked 22nd - down from 19 - among 34 rated stations in the market.

The report says 40,800 listeners sample WCKY in the course of a week. That compares to the 372,900 that check out No. 1-rated WLW during a week. WLW again finished first with a 9.9 share. WCKY did show a slight increase in 25 to 54-year-old listeners moving from 23rd to 20th place.

Arbitron ratings for the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekday time period indicate that is the station's highest rated period, which includes the last two hours of Springer's show and the first two of Al Franken's, but still with a measly 1.1 share.

That time period fell from a 1.6 share in the winter book.

Springer hasn't picked up many stations and if he can't pull it off where he's known best as a political person, how would it ever get better elsewhere?

AAR/Franken by Darleen Click, City Kid$ by George Adair, Same 'Ol Bull by Pete at IHillary. Thanks again for your Amazon orders. They help to defray the Radio Equalizer's costs for an upcoming site upgrade.