Air American is dying and it never got off the ground.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...nderson18apr18,...


"Why the Liberals Can't Keep Air America From Spiraling In
By Brian C. Anderson

The liberal Air America Radio, just past its first birthday, has
probably
enjoyed more free publicity than any enterprise in recent history. But
don't
believe the hype: Air America's left-wing answer to conservative talk
radio
is failing, just as previous efforts to find liberal Rush Limbaughs
have
failed....


....Wait a second, you say, didn't I read that Air America has expanded
to
more than 50 markets? That's true, but let's put things in perspective:

Conservative pundit and former Reagan official William J. Bennett's
morning
talk show, launched at the same time as Air America, reaches nearly 124

markets, including 18 of the top 20, joining the growing ranks of
successful
right-of-center talk programs (Limbaugh is still the ratings leader,
drawing
more than 15 million listeners a week).


And look at Air America's ratings: They're pitifully weak, even in
places
where you would think they'd be strong. WLIB, its flagship in New York
City,
has sunk to 24th in the metro area Arbitron ratings - worse than the
all-Caribbean format it replaced, notes the Radio Blogger. In the
liberal
meccas of San Francisco and Los Angeles, Air America is doing lousier
still....


....Unable to prosper in the medium, liberals have taken to denouncing
talk
radio as a threat to democracy. Liberal political columnist Hendrik
Hertzberg, writing in the New Yorker, is typically venomous.
Conservative
talk radio represents "vicious, untreated political sewage" and "niche
entertainment for the spiritually unattractive," Hertzberg sneers.


If some liberals had their way, Congress would regulate political talk
radio
out of existence. Their logic is that scrapping Air America would be no
loss
if it also meant getting Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and Bennett off the
air."