Why Air America Failed (El Rushbo's Exclusive Look At Demise Of Liberal Radio Network Alert)

Rush Limbaugh.com ^ | 10/13/06 | Rush Limbaugh

[goldstategop]

Rush Limbaugh's exclusive look at the demise of the much hyped liberal radio network Air America. It comes down to two reasons: first, the libs ran this as a 527, a political organization and second, there was never a coherent business model behind the venture. Liberals have been trying to duplicate Rush's success since 1988 and they still can't figure out his secret. Actually, it has more to do with belief in your business than the ideology. But if you don't like your product, do you think it will really sell? Liberals don't even like what they do for a living, so how they can they convince other people its good for them. Just ask Al Franken if he made any money off the ill-fated Air America misventure. Its really as simple as Marketing A B Cs. So to Dead Air America - normal Americans can finally say good riddance!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[FormerACLUmember]

Excellent post. Rush however failed to note the criminal nature of Air America looting (literally) widows and orphans: $900,000 stolen from the Gloria Wise charity in NY City.

[proud_yank]

Well, you're looking at this rationally and logically and you're not looking at it from the liberal mind-set.

LOL! Great quote.

[CMailBag]

Error America is alive and well,
they just call it HARDBALL now.

[goldstategop]

It was a racketeering scam and con game and the people who lost the shirts off their backs where the ones who kept it running despite the warning signs. No wonder Sheldon Drobny and George Soros aren't interested in continuing to prop it up. They may be liberals but they didn't get to where they are today by investing money to lose it. Any bets Franken and the other radio hosts will be paid for their work any time soon? It was just an embarrassment for the Left.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[unkus]

LOL-right on.

[marron]

Rush's success is due to the fact that he undeniably has talent, and a good analytical mind.

But the success of conservative talk radio in general owes a lot to simple demographics. If you imagine a 50-50 country, the left half of the country has been well serviced by a long list of media outlets. We've had only one, until recently. Left-leaning media fights for market share with every other media company, they must share their 50% of the country among them, so they are lucky to get into double digits. A typical conservative talk show host has no competition at all, there is no other conservative outlet, the whole 50% is his.

Air America's competition was not Rush, it was Oprah. And CNN, and everything else on TV and Radio. They were never competing with Rush, and I don't think they ever understood that. Rush's success, beyond his personal talent, is due to the fact that demographically he has no competition out there.

Fox's success is due to a similar dynamic. There are many left-leaning TV broadcasters; there is only one Fox. The leftist broadcasters have to compete with all their brothers for market share; Fox is the only choice for their half of the country. MSNBC gets killed in the ratings because they compete with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and on and on down the line. Fox stand alone in its demographic.

[umgud]

You really need to cruz the DU thread on this. Indescribable.

[upchuck]

They got $4 million dollars in assets? I have that much in my checking account! ... I'm just kidding about the $4 million in the checking account but, folks, that's embarrassing.

I wonder if he said that, and meant it, and then had second thoughts.

Given the bucks that Rush is paid, his having $4M in a checking account would not surprise me.

[kjo]

With NPR, why would a liberal need AA?

[Billthedrill]

I get the impression that some people expected Air America to succeed because it deserved to, and that it deserved to because Rush succeeded. It's as if some weird sort of "social justice" mandated equal success just as it demands equal distribution of material goods, and that failure was not merely a market result but an act of oppression on the part of an audience who had by God better listen or else. You can't run a lemonade stand on that basis.

[randog]

Any bets Franken and the other radio hosts will be paid for their work any time soon? It was just an embarrassment for the Left.

What's funny is that Spankin' Franken has to ride this dead horse to the bitter end to save what little face he has left. He was so cocky and arrogant at the beginning. His words are going to be a gold mine of one-liners for conservative commentators for years to come.

[quantim]

I heard that call when driving through a white-out squall in northern MI this afternoon - when Rush made the remark about 4 million in his checking account (Air America's assets) I had to pull over. Not because I couldn't see the road, but because I couldn't stop laughing enough to stop my SUV from going over the guardrails.

[flynmudd]

Worth every dime.

[proud_yank]

There is nothing funny about what they did, but is nice seeing them go under.

Anytime libs open their mouth, whether or not they realize it, they are embarrassing themselves!

[proud_yank]

Do you have a link? I can only stand so much DUmpster diving.

[mvpel]

So, who won the Air America Dead Pool?

[massfreeper]

As Ann Coulter once said about Air America radio, the biggest thing they don't have that conservative talk radio has is a built-in audience... people driving to and from some sort of job in their cars!

[Triggerhippie]

Wow. They are beyond stupid at DU. Those pinheads probably have a tough time spelling "I.Q."

I can't believe someone actually posted this 'idea':

123. where are the damned advertisers? boycott companies that don't advertise

Every company that doesn't advertise on Err America? He won't be doing much shopping, I guess...

[TASMANIANRED]

Rush has a different kind of competition.. It is called work.

Most conservatives are on the job during his on air hours.