From The Contra Costa Times, 3/12/05:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/11118934.htm
Air America finally taking off
ONE MIGHT THINK losing the November presidential election might have
deflated the Democrats at Air America, the liberal talk-radio network.
Yet ratings are up, new affiliates are on board and there's a new CEO.
The network teetering on the edge of doom not long after launching
almost a year ago looks like a solid bet to remain solvent in the
fiercely competitive world of talk radio.
Then there's that election, which was likely a blessing, says Michael
Harrison, publisher of talk radio magazine Talkers.
"I can't imagine Rush Limbaugh voted for Bob Dole in '96," Harrison
says.
"Why would he want Dole to win when he had Clinton to beat up on every
day? This is show biz."
The comparisons between liberal Air America --- broadcast on San
Francisco's KQKE-AM 960 and KSAC-AM 1240 in Sacramento -- and the
conservative talk radio revolution of the early '90s led by Limbaugh
are inevitable.
Both feast(ed) on attacking opposition parties holding power.
Both have rallied around one central figure -- comedian Al Franken in
Air America's case -- who's charismatic and funny, yet able to get
lawmakers' attention.
It's a major turnabout from last summer, when Air America was wobbling
just months after its March 31 launch.
Funding was short, five top executives left, and the network lost
affiliates in Los Angeles and Chicago.
The network pushed back expansion in the Bay Area from April to the
end of September.
The network endured, picking up steam with the approaching election.
But instead of suffering an expected post-election letdown as the
holidays approached, ratings at Clear Channel-owned KQKE have
improved.
Ken Kohl, Clear Channel's director of news and talk programming in
Northern California, says KQKE, also known as the Quake, took a .9
market share in November and increased it to 1.3 in December, 1.5 in
January and 2.3 in February.
While still trailing established Bay Area talk stations KGO (6.4
share) KCBS (3.9), KSFO (3.1)) and KNEW (1.3) with about a 1.0 share
overall, Kohl says Franken's morning show and Ed Schultz's afternoon
show are both threatening to break into the area's Top 10 for their
time slots.
Arbitron's latest ratings shows the Quake 26th in the market, well
behind such conservative talk stations as KSFO.
But Kohl says the overall 1.0 number isn't a fair assessment, as
Arbitron rankings come in rolling three-month totals, and the station
has not had a chance yet to register significant numbers.
"We couldn't be happier," Kohl says.
"The Quake is almost an instant success. It's starting to really take
off, and that's with limited marketing."
Kohl's optimistic for a couple of reasons.
Though he wouldn't say how much, Clear Channel figures to dramatically
increase the station's marketing and advertising budget.
The other factor is listener loyalty.
The time listeners actually spend listening to the Quake dwarfs that
of the competition, Kohl says, citing Clear Channel statistics showing
Quake listeners spend 22 "quality" hours listening per week, as
opposed to 17 for KSFO, 14 for KNBR, 11 for KGO and nine for KCBS
listeners.
"It means you have a relatively small group that has found the
station, loves it, and listens for long periods of time," Kohl says.
"Now add the marketing component, which will bring bodies who display
similar tendencies. That makes it a potential monster."
Ratings at the Quake already outpace those garnered under the
station's previous pop-music-standards format, which typically ranged
from a .5 to a 1.5 share.
That format, known by the call letters KABL, has moved to 92.1-FM on
the radio dial.
What executives at Quake's best-known conservative-talk counterpart,
KSFO-AM 560, think of Kohl's numbers could not be determined.
Calls to KSFO were referred to operations manager Jack Swanson, who
was out of town.
Meanwhile, says Harrison, the Talkers magazine editor, Air America has
bigger reasons for optimism.
He calls the hiring of new CEO Danny Goldberg "brilliant."
Goldberg left Artemis Records, which he founded after stints as CEO of
Mercury, Atlantic and Warner Bros. Records.
He's also held leadership positions in the American Civil Liberties
Union and co-produced and co-directed the 1980 "No Nukes" concert
documentary.
"He has a tremendous amount of business sense and a love of the First
Amendment," Harrison says.
"But it's not politics. It's business. They may ultimately use
politics to get listeners, but to succeed, a company better have a
good businessperson running things."
Content doesn't hurt, either.
Limbaugh, whom KSFO broadcasts weekday mornings in the Bay Area, was
recently named the greatest talk radio host in history by Harrison's
magazine.
He revolutionized talk radio by appealing to what was then the
political minority with a fiery blend of conservative politics and
humor, and developing a solid, loyal listener base that created a
radio market niche and helped the GOP gain political power.
The Democrats at Air America now have another four years to replicate
Limbaugh's success.
But while some liberal talk hosts have succeeded on local levels,
notably at Berkeley's KPFA-FM 94.1, the left has not been able to
capitalize on talk radio the way the GOP has.
But Air America is off to a significant start.
It re-launched a station in Los Angeles, and now include 48 stations
in 15 of the country's 20 top markets.
"Air America had the incredibly good fortune of getting Al Franken,"
Harrison says.
"He's the main reason they're creating such a buzz. He has the respect
of the liberal intelligentsia in America. He's just got that stuff
that makes him very important. And (late afternoon host) Randi Rhodes
is a real proven talk radio veteran."
Other personalities on the Air America lineup include Chuck D and
Rachel Maddow, Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder, Mike Malloy and Laura
Flanders.
UC Berkeley professor Pablo Spiller, who researches economics in media
and entertainment, says Air America has a real chance to be a national
pace-setter for the left.
"There's the same amount of polarization out there as in (the early
'90s)," he says.
"The Rush Limbaugh innovation was quite interesting. I imagine there
are as many lunatic Democrats as Republicans. This is really a market
test."
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Welcome to Air America, fellow lunatics.
Harry
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