yellowwing
03-25-04, 12:09 PM
Leftwing broadcasters take to airwaves
Wed Mar 24, 3:35 PM ET
By Holly Yeager in New York, Financial Times (http://news.ft.com/home/us/)
Liberal radio station hopes to ride a wave of perceived antipathy to the Bush administration and so succeed where other leftwing broadcasters have failed. From a cramped 40th floor office on Park Avenue, Mark Walsh is plotting a radio revolution.
There are empty fizzy drink cans and coffee cups everywhere. Someone in blue jeans is sitting on the floor, tapping at a laptop. Pieces of paper are taped all over the walls. The plac e has the look and feel of a political campaign. And it is one, of sorts.
With a small band of performers, writers, technicians and investors, Mr Walsh is taking a set of unmistakably leftwing voices to America's airwaves, where the right reigns supreme.
Air America radio goes on the air next Wednesday, initially in four cities - New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles - as well as by satellite and over the internet. By the end of the year, Mr Walsh hopes to be in 36 markets, through a combination of station leases and purchases, syndication deals and other arrangements.
"You couldn't ask for a better time to launch," said Mr Walsh, chief executive of the fledgling network.
Al Franken, the comedian-turned-author who will be Air America's top personality, has put it more plainly: "Bush is going down in November."
So far, conservatives are showing no signs of fear. "This country is based on the principle of free speech, so we wish them well," said a spokesman for Fox News, where Bill O'Reilly, a popular talk radio host, also has a television programme.
Air America faces an uphill battle as it tries to win listeners and advertisers in a tough market. But, with liberal authors such as Mr Franken on the bestseller list and an infusion of cash into new left-leaning political groups, there are signs that the time may be right.
"People hate Bush. They're so furious," said Eric Alterman, a liberal media critic. "They just want to be surrounded by reinforcement. They want that in their car radio, in the book s they pick up - it's just a consuming thing."
Listeners in search of those views today have only a few places to turn. While National Public Radio, the US public radio network, is seen as liberal, it doesn't offer the same satiri cal commentary that conservative talk radio stars such as Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Mr O'Reilly provide.
"Democrats are not going to listen to liberal radio because they feel they have to," Mr Walsh said. "Our product has to entertain, it has to inform, it has to be funny and it has to be serious, all at the same time." To prove it has sharp edges, Air America is calling its first programme of the day Morning Sedition, a direct jab at NPR's Morning Edition.
Mr Walsh, a veteran of HBO, America Online and the Democratic National Committee, was volunteering for Democrat presidential contender John Kerry's campaign when he joined the radio n etwork last autumn. While he has no formal ties with the Kerry camp, the "Bring it On!" slogan that Mr Kerry has adopted appears on some Air America posters.
The group has raised $25m in equity, mostly from wealthy individuals who, Mr Walsh said, made their investments "based on belief and business".
A separate arm, called Equal Time, which has $30m in debt capacity, will acquire and operate radio stations. The group expects to lose money in its first two years and become profitab le early in its third.
Past efforts to provide a liberal voice on radio have not worked for several reasons. Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor, and attorney Alan Dershowitz had shortlived shows that were sandwiched between conservative talkers. And while Mr Limbaugh and others rose to prominence in the 1990s by tapping into anger some had for then-president Bill Clinton, "we had no rage to drive our listeners", Mr Walsh said.
Matthew Felling, of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a Washington research group, agreed that the time was right to launch a liberal radio network. But he disagreed with Air A merica's comedy-based approach. "If you never present your message in a straightforward way, people won't be able to determine what part of your message is humour and what is fact," he said. "You won't be taken seriously, or as seriously as you should be."
But Mr Walsh is a confident campaign manager. "We have to become a media brand so rapidly that we stop competition, because there will be competition," he said. "Once we prove that so mebody is going to listen to this stuff, there will be a lot of Johnny wannabes."
Wed Mar 24, 3:35 PM ET
By Holly Yeager in New York, Financial Times (http://news.ft.com/home/us/)
Liberal radio station hopes to ride a wave of perceived antipathy to the Bush administration and so succeed where other leftwing broadcasters have failed. From a cramped 40th floor office on Park Avenue, Mark Walsh is plotting a radio revolution.
There are empty fizzy drink cans and coffee cups everywhere. Someone in blue jeans is sitting on the floor, tapping at a laptop. Pieces of paper are taped all over the walls. The plac e has the look and feel of a political campaign. And it is one, of sorts.
With a small band of performers, writers, technicians and investors, Mr Walsh is taking a set of unmistakably leftwing voices to America's airwaves, where the right reigns supreme.
Air America radio goes on the air next Wednesday, initially in four cities - New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles - as well as by satellite and over the internet. By the end of the year, Mr Walsh hopes to be in 36 markets, through a combination of station leases and purchases, syndication deals and other arrangements.
"You couldn't ask for a better time to launch," said Mr Walsh, chief executive of the fledgling network.
Al Franken, the comedian-turned-author who will be Air America's top personality, has put it more plainly: "Bush is going down in November."
So far, conservatives are showing no signs of fear. "This country is based on the principle of free speech, so we wish them well," said a spokesman for Fox News, where Bill O'Reilly, a popular talk radio host, also has a television programme.
Air America faces an uphill battle as it tries to win listeners and advertisers in a tough market. But, with liberal authors such as Mr Franken on the bestseller list and an infusion of cash into new left-leaning political groups, there are signs that the time may be right.
"People hate Bush. They're so furious," said Eric Alterman, a liberal media critic. "They just want to be surrounded by reinforcement. They want that in their car radio, in the book s they pick up - it's just a consuming thing."
Listeners in search of those views today have only a few places to turn. While National Public Radio, the US public radio network, is seen as liberal, it doesn't offer the same satiri cal commentary that conservative talk radio stars such as Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Mr O'Reilly provide.
"Democrats are not going to listen to liberal radio because they feel they have to," Mr Walsh said. "Our product has to entertain, it has to inform, it has to be funny and it has to be serious, all at the same time." To prove it has sharp edges, Air America is calling its first programme of the day Morning Sedition, a direct jab at NPR's Morning Edition.
Mr Walsh, a veteran of HBO, America Online and the Democratic National Committee, was volunteering for Democrat presidential contender John Kerry's campaign when he joined the radio n etwork last autumn. While he has no formal ties with the Kerry camp, the "Bring it On!" slogan that Mr Kerry has adopted appears on some Air America posters.
The group has raised $25m in equity, mostly from wealthy individuals who, Mr Walsh said, made their investments "based on belief and business".
A separate arm, called Equal Time, which has $30m in debt capacity, will acquire and operate radio stations. The group expects to lose money in its first two years and become profitab le early in its third.
Past efforts to provide a liberal voice on radio have not worked for several reasons. Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor, and attorney Alan Dershowitz had shortlived shows that were sandwiched between conservative talkers. And while Mr Limbaugh and others rose to prominence in the 1990s by tapping into anger some had for then-president Bill Clinton, "we had no rage to drive our listeners", Mr Walsh said.
Matthew Felling, of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a Washington research group, agreed that the time was right to launch a liberal radio network. But he disagreed with Air A merica's comedy-based approach. "If you never present your message in a straightforward way, people won't be able to determine what part of your message is humour and what is fact," he said. "You won't be taken seriously, or as seriously as you should be."
But Mr Walsh is a confident campaign manager. "We have to become a media brand so rapidly that we stop competition, because there will be competition," he said. "Once we prove that so mebody is going to listen to this stuff, there will be a lot of Johnny wannabes."