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Pardon me for the lateness of this but it has to be advertised for people like RESIDENT DIDO Waypointbiafra.
Franken launches liberals' Air America RadioPosted on Wednesday, March 31 @ 16:18:44 CST by gotpoety
Liberals added their voice to talk radio Wednesday as comedian Al Franken launched the Air America Radio Network with "The O'Franken Factor" show, offering a sharp contrast to conservative hosts like Rush Limbaugh, who dominate the airwaves.
Franken brought the network to life at noon with his opening: "Broadcasting from a bunker 3,500 feet below the bunker that (Vice President) Dick Cheney is in, this is Air America Radio." That was the opening salvo, according to network chief executive Mark Walsh. He added he got "chills up my spine" listening to the start up of the network that can be initially heard in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Bernadino, California, Portland, Oregon, XM Satellite Radio and over the Internet at www.airamericaradio.com. Franken's three-hour program featured interviews with former Sen. Bob Kerry of Nebraska on the Sept. 11 commission and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, a satirical piece on airport security in London and call-ins from listeners, including former Vice President Al Gore. Walsh said the goal was to provide a liberal voice that has been missing on the airwaves and to present it in such as way as "to make you laugh. You will giggle when you listen although we will be tackling serious subjects." He said the aim of the network was not simply to derail the reelection bid of President Bush. "We're not regime change radio," Walsh said. "We do want to make a buck. We expect to go profitable in year three." Besides Franken, a former comedy writer and performer on "Saturday Night Live" and the author of the bestseller, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," the network will also feature hosts such as actress Janeane Garofalo, rapper Chuck D, and Robert Kennedy Jr. Director of sales Jacqui Rossinsky said advertisers already signed up included the Internet company Lenders Direct, American Urban Radio Networks and Warner Books. Rossinsky said the network would likely draw a younger audience with more female listeners than rival talk shows. "We have a female host on every show. We deal with issues that women want to hear about, and younger audiences for the same reason," she said. "You're going to hear about events of the day and you're going to laugh. "Our marketing research says there's a hole (in the market) the size of a Mack truck and we're gonna drive through it." The "O'Franken Factor," a title that sends up conservative broadcasting rival Bill O'Reilly's program on Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, will also be heard in Minneapolis to reach listeners in Minnesota where Franken grew up. Walsh said other stations would be added soon, with San Francisco joining on April 15. "We clearly have a political tilt," Walsh said. "It's obvious we are in direct philosophical conflict with virtually every other talk show host today. "The fact is that we're not seeing media buyers say 'screw you, we buy Rush.' There's an openness in media buyers." Air America is armed with $30 million in investor cash and a $30 million credit line is being used to lease AM stations. "I think what you'll see in a short time, is that we will close deals with traditional consumer goods companies," said Walsh. "Liberals buy beer, they drive trucks, they take vacations, they have arthritis. We're also consumers."
___________________ BIAFRA MUST RISE AGAIN. LONG LIVE BIAFRA!! Posts: 1080 | From: California, USA. | Registered: Oct 2002
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June 01, 2004 Al Franken Tops Rush in New York It may be close to broke, but Al Franken and liberal sounding board Air America Radio seem to be winning the ratings race against its more established, more conservative competition, particularly among the younger demographic that advertisers lust for. An “extrapolation analysis” of the most recent Arbitron rating service numbers shows that in head-to-head competition in New York during the liberal radio network’s first month on the air, Air America’s “O’Franken Factor” beat Rush Limbaugh among 18-to-34 year olds as well as the 25-to-54 year old set. The April audience estimates are based on a third-party analysis of the Arbitron data called "extrapolations." Though extrapolations are commonly used as a snap shot of a station’s performance, they are considered preliminary and have a greater margin of error than final Arbitron numbers. On Chicago’s WNTD-950 AM, where Air America was taken off the air after only 28 days in April, the fledgling network helped that station increase its average share of 25-to-54 year-old listeners from a 0.1 percent share in February to a 2.0 percent share in April. Air America was abruptly taken off WNTD due to a billing dispute with the station’s owner, but the network is actively seeking a new frequency in the Chicago market. The network also lost its Los Angeles affiliate and is yet to return to the airwaves there. In the New York 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. match-up, the Air America affiliate, WLIB-1190 AM, edged out Limbaugh's local station, Disney-owned WABC, among both 25-to-54-year-olds and 18-to-34-year-olds. In the 25-to-54 demographic, WLIB garnered a 3.4 share to WABC's 3.1; among 18-to-34-year-olds, WLIB won sevenfold with a 2.9 share to WABC's 0.4. In Chicago, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a period that includes Franken's show, “The O’Franken Factor,” WNTD garnered 3 percent of 25-to-54-year-old listeners, versus a 4.8 share for WLS-890 AM, which airs Rush Limbaugh in that time period. However, given Limbaugh’s long history and loyal audience, the spread was much narrower than most industry experts predicted. "If this is how we're doing now, imagine what things will be like when we actually know what we're doing," Franken said. If the numbers hold up in the final Arbitron tally, Air America could prove to be the most successful radio launching since the ratings system’s inception. Posted by Kevin Kelton at June 1, 2004 08:27 PM
___________________ BIAFRA MUST RISE AGAIN. LONG LIVE BIAFRA!! Posts: 1080 | From: California, USA. | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
Is about time somebody equalized the Loud mouth Rush Limbo, since drugs couldn't do it, May be Al Franken might be the one to do it. I am waiting to hear what our own Resident Right wing Conservative, Waypoint will have to say on this issue.
posted
Was this Rush Limbaugh of a guy not the same guy his wife dumped not long ago?
I wonder what a woman would want to share a roof with the INTOLERANT, cum 'conservative' Waypoints/Limbaughs of this world.
Thank God I dont need to listen to the sort of thrash being dished out by that dude called Limbaugh and their gang of TERRORISTS. Terrorism is not only what you do, it may also include THE HATE/LIES YOU SPREAD.
Posts: 997 | From: Germany | Registered: Mar 2001
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Yes it is the same guy. But you forget to add a DRUG Addict and a Hypocrite to his resume. This is the same guy that says that all Privilege should not be extended to all drug users' medical informations, that they all should be shot or put away and throw the keys away but when it revealed that he is a DOPE and CRACK addict he changes his tune as to medical record information, his attorney argues Physician-Patient privillege as well as that Rush's medical information is privileged.
Go figure this DOPE HEAD out.
___________________ BIAFRA MUST RISE AGAIN. LONG LIVE BIAFRA!! Posts: 1080 | From: California, USA. | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
Where in the HECK is this FOOL WAYPOINT1???? All he knows is to call people names but when there is an apportunity for him to engage in an intelligent debate he avoids the discussion and hides.
Where are you Waypoint? Come out Waypoint!!
___________________ BIAFRA MUST RISE AGAIN. LONG LIVE BIAFRA!! Posts: 1080 | From: California, USA. | Registered: Oct 2002
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How would you feel if one curses the way you do? Do unto others what you would like others do unto you--that's not much to ask for. You've been losing it lately. Take it easy, young man!
___________________ No Man is an Island Posts: 60 | From: New Haven, Conn. USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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