Air America Fail

 Story: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/air-america-to-cease-broadcasting-immediately/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100122/ap_on_en_ot/us_air_america_bankruptcy


Air America was doomed from the very start and I am suppressed it lasted as long as it did. What doomed it was a “Failed Concept” that merely an opposing point of view can be successful in Talk radio.

What makes a talk radio show successful or any other show for that matter is compelling and entertaining content. Example: A large audience portion of Rush’s show do not agree with him politically, but listen to him because he is compelling and entertaining. The same can be said for Howard Stern. Huge numbers of listeners found “lesbian strippers” to be distasteful and disgusting but tuned in buy the thousands every day. I listened to Air America and I rarely found it compelling or entertaining. It did not hold my attention. In short its content sucked. I fully expected to be yelling at my radio but found myself underwhelmed and turned the station in short order.

That said, political talk radio, whether Conservative, Libertarian, or Religious, has a coherent philosophy that subjects are discussed within, resulting in consistent discussions that are often compelling. Couple that with a competent host, some good business practices and you will have a marketable show on your hands. Do this with a superior host and you will have a great show worth millions.

Progressive/Liberal talk fails because its underlying philosophy is incoherent, hidden or nonexistent. Even a great host will suck if the underlying content is crappy. For example, Al Franken is a very skilled comedian and host, but he failed because the content of his show was not coherent, compelling or very entertaining.

In short, Progressive/Liberal ideas fail because of its underlying philosophy or lack thereof. Throwing money, “mad skills”, does not change this. Progressive/Liberal talk radio was doomed from the start, assuming a free market of course.

Follow up: From NewsBusters