RFK Jr. Claims Air America Was More Popular Than Conservative Radio
... which helps explain why conservative radio continues to dominate the airwaves while Air America Radio, uh, went kaput.
During a recent appearance on Tavis Smiley's PBS show, enviro lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose "Ring of Fire" show ran on Air America, made what reasonable souls among us might construe as a questionable claim.
Here's Kennedy responding to a question from Smiley on how liberals can better hone their message (video clip after page break) --
SMILEY: How do the people get the facts to deal with the issues that you're raising, that I'm raising, and others are raising consistently?
KENNEDY: Well, you know, there's ways to do it nowadays. You can, you know, I mean, I do it in my own way which is, I don't use computers a lot. That's what my kids do. But you get, and you know, if you go to certain sites you'll get, you'll get truthful information, but it's really, I don't think we have the infrastructure yet to really deliver that kind of information in a targeted way that, information that is critical of corporate power.
So much of the media's really dependent on corporate money, so you're not going to see, like Air America failed not because it wasn't popular. In every jurisdiction where it was operating it was beating out right-wing radio. There was a huge appetite for it. The problem was, it couldn't get advertising because the corporations, the oil companies, the biggest advertisers, the pharmaceutical companies, which is now 70 percent of the, of the revenue for, for, news shows on TV, is pharmaceutical companies. And so it's very hard to criticize them on the news. Automobile companies, which is the other big player, and many other, these companies won't, wouldn't advertise, they all boycotted Air America.
So Air America was like, you know, relying on, like, you know, hair growth products and this kind of stuff and they were scrambling for money and they couldn't find it and it killed them.
I don't pretend to be an expert on the machinations of radio markets across the country, but consider me skeptical. Air America was so popular, Kennedy claims, with a "huge appetite" among the public for its content , yet it could not line up advertisers because of that ever-so convenient bogeyman, corporate America.
A claim like this begs for specifics -- where and when did Air America Radio outdraw Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, etc., for listeners?
This wasn't quite the take on Air America's demise as reported by Brian Stelter in the New York Times on Jan. 25 2010 --
The nearly six-year-old network, which suffered from merry-go-round management and repeated financial shortfalls, halted production on Thursday evening, only one hour after staff members were told they were losing their jobs.
... In an interview (Thom Hartmann) said he found Air America to be "spectacularly incompetent" at running a radio network and gaining an audience, and left Air America last year for a lesser-known syndication company. "We've been far more successful since we left," he said.
In interviews last week a half-dozen former Air America employees cited similar complaints, namely that a series of owners and managers lacked the necessary broadcasting business expertise.
... Air America's problem, said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers Magazine, was not knowing "whether they were a political campaign or a broadcasting company."
"They ended up not being terribly good at either," Mr. Harrison added.
The article curiously lacked any mention of a corporate "boycott" depriving Air America of advertising.
The Times also cited the losses of Al Franken and Rachel Maddow as contributing to Air America's downfall, as did Hartmann and Randi Rhodes departing for other companies.
(h/t, IHatetheMedia.com)
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Comments
RFK Jr. really needs to kick that crack habbit
Submitted by Dave. on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:56am.
And could we please rid ourselves once and for all of this completely worthless family of commie hypocrites from the depths of Hell itself?
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Add . . .
Submitted by Gat New York on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 10:10am.
"And could we please rid ourselves once and for all of this completely worthless family of commie hypocrites from the depths of Hell itself?"
I would only add anti-Semitic to that characterization. Old Joe Kennedy was an anti-Semite and as ambassador to England turned a blind eye to the holocaust.
Ah, it's so obvious!
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:00pm.
That's how they managed to stay on the air all this time!
Oh wait.....
-Jon
Advertise
Submitted by grammajane on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:01pm.
Who would ever want to advertise on a radio show no one listened to. Kennedy made it sound like Air A head a huge audience. If they had such a huge audience, one would think advertisers would run for the chance to sell their products on Air A. Just another arrogant, elite Lib lying through his teeth
Advertise
Submitted by grammajane on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:01pm.
Who would ever want to advertise on a radio show no one listened to. Kennedy made it sound like Air A head a huge audience. If they had such a huge audience, one would think advertisers would run for the chance to sell their products on Air A. Just another arrogant, elite Lib lying through his teeth
This dope, and his cousin -
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:11pm.
This dope, and his cousin - the other whiny queebie - are proof that the inbred bloodline gets diluted...........and also gives credence to 'the sins of the father' statement - or, the sins of the family, in this case. If these idiots name weren't 'Kennedy'...........they would just be some other drug-addled, delusional, clueless trustfunders.
Oh, wait a minute..............they ARE!!!! Hahahahahahahaha!!!
And Airhead America??? Yean, I've actually listened to it - for laughs. Of course, I didin't notiice when it was off the air - after spending teen club money and DNC money and public money and anything else they could scam................................in fact, I wouldn't have known it was ON the air except that I found a rerun of it one night after surfing untl dark, and Al (da smirk) Franken was on - jeez, what a piece of work he was!!! How the hell could that guy be elected to ANY office???
Oh, wait a minute..........Boy Blunder is our President!!!!
RFK Jr.
Submitted by jessieH on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:25pm.
I'll start believing him when he admits his uncle was a murderer. The gov't can cover it up all they want. History will not forget.
And I'm sure...
Submitted by Tuari on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:32pm.
And I'm sure that RFK is currently recording his appearance on the show on BetaMax, which he thinks was more popular than VHS. He'll watch it while drinking Pepsi Clear, which was apparently more popular than regular Pepsi. Bleeping cancer to society. :P
→ Tuari
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:41pm.
According to police and probation records, RFK Jr. prefers Coke.
Hey, great! NB managed to
Submitted by jdhawk on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:39pm.
Hey, great! NB managed to capture a diatribe between a heroin addict and a liberal nincompoop.
Because Kennedy was rich and politcally well connected he got community service when busted with an amount of heroin that would be consider enough to charge anyone else with felony distribution and a long jail sentence in a state prison. He got probation and community service instead.
Smily should talk about popularity? If he wasn't supported by our tax dollars, he would be in the unemployment line like the Air America idiots. Instead he drones on and on each night running through the latest DNC talking points.
By the way, Rush Limbaugh has never had either an oil company or a drug company as advertisers. In fact, most of his advertising is from relatively fringe companies. Yet, he manages to "eke out" a 10 million plus dollar salary each year with the show broadcast in every important market in the country. He garners millions more from his magazine, web site membership, and hilarios "products" (Club Gitmo T-Shirts, parodies on CDs, etc.). His current advertisers are a gold company, a computer backup company, a company where you can unload your unwanted electronic stuff and finally a company that sells beverages online.
Rush got a raise
Submitted by ckc1227 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 4:41am.
"Yet, he manages to "eke out" a 10 million plus dollar salary each year with the show broadcast in every important market in the country."
He's up to about $40 million a year, not including stuff he runs on the side like the new tea company he just started.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121504302144124805.html
I used to listen...
Submitted by JohnK on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:42pm.
I used to listen to Air America from time-to-time, just to see what they were putting out. And, I remember noticing that most of their ads were "public-service" ads, from social agencies and government agencies. Ads such as anti-smoking, pro-nutrition, anti-bullying, and such. I remember thinking that, probably, mainline advertisers for consumer goods wanted nothing to do with them. And, that it was probably their programming that was the reason.
revisionist history
Submitted by agingcynic on Sat, 06/25/2011 - 11:57pm.
when you can convince yourself that JFK was a hard left Democrat, anything is possible. And they had the nerve to say that W was "born on third base but thought he hit a triple". Compared to RFK Jr., he was Horatio Alger.
Wow. RFK is either delusional
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 12:25am.
Wow. RFK is either delusional or a blatant liar who thinks Smiley's audience is too stupid and indoctrinated to know that he's lying. Either one - the Kennedy clan has been coasting on JFK's myth for way too long now.
I choose "All of the above."
Submitted by falcon on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 10:42am.
n/t
“I will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership, that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose.” – Ronald Reagan, July 17, 1980.
RFK Jr. should be on the Cartoon Network
Submitted by Galvanic on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 12:27am.
This dork carries more baggage than a Boeing 747. He has no more credibilty than any other recovering drug addict.
And he looks like hell
Submitted by killa37 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 12:48am.
And he looks like hell too..............whatever he's on isn't doing him any good mentally or physically.
Yeah, he could
Submitted by misterbee241 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 5:29pm.
take Ted Turner and Al Gore with him.
Bobby Jr
Submitted by Eagle101 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 12:28am.
Let's talk about wind farms eh Bobby? You phony p***k
Each day I become more convinced . . .
Submitted by Benjamin on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 12:44am.
These liberals exist in an alternate universe. How else can one explain something like this story, and their current proposals to raise taxes and do another stimulus?
When I heard that Air America was going off the air ...
Submitted by HelloDare on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 1:38am.
over the radio in my car, I switched to the local Air America station to hear what they had to say.
The host was lamenting that there wasn't a good leftist voice in this country. "I'm a social democrat or a democratic socialist or whatever, but I'm not really that far left. What this country needs is a viable Communist Party to keep everybody honest."
How many capitalists are going to advertise on a station that spouts that kind of garbage?
More Kennedy waste
Submitted by Truestar on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 1:58am.
This moron is a lawyer??? My 13 year old is more articulate. Not only is he blatantly lying, he can't seem to put together a coherent thought without sounding like Spicoli. DUDE!
Drugs are the only answer.
Submitted by Avitar on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:00am.
We need o legalize drugs to allow RFK jr. to save money on the illegal stuff his is taking now.
Cocaine's a helluva drug
Submitted by Thoreau on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:36am.
Cocaine's a helluva drug
Indeed it is
Submitted by hydrodynDM on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:55am.
Cocaines a hell of a drug.
These latter day Kennedys are nowhere near the
Submitted by gmaniac1 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 4:16am.
conservative thinkers that their fathers were. They definitely spent way too much time with their murdering dysfunctional uncle!
White trash with money
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 4:30am.
If you consider all the Kennedys from 'ol man Joe on down through the current crop you can see a definite deterioration of quality. JFK was fully competent. RFK less so. Teddy? definitely not Presidential qualified. But move to the brothers kids on down... not only are they not presidential qualified but they aren't even mediocre congress qualified.
Sirius/XM Radio does not put
Submitted by ricklail on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 7:28am.
Sirius/XM Radio does not put out ratings for their programs. But I would like to see how the conservative talk Patriot stands up against The Left, POTUS and the other left leaning channels. The Patriot should win because of Hannity, The Great One- Mark Levin and Glenn Beck. Too I'd like to see how poorly Rosie does. Some of the programs like Bill Press and that fruitcake Mike what's his mane can only be heard on The Left or the internet.
Down here in the South we'd say Kennedy was full of shitite. How wolud you say that in New England speak?
Up heah in New England
Submitted by ThisnThat on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:11pm.
we'd, uh, say that Mistah Kennedy has no idear what he's tawking about.
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
Corporate money?
Submitted by Radical1979 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 7:38am.
How the hell do the Kennedy's keep getting away with acting like they are sticking up for the average guy when they have tons of money invested in, you guessed it, corporations. This is a family who does everything they can to keep their own money and avoid giving it to the government, yet they portray themselves as being for the little guy. Right.
This guy should do public
Submitted by fatboy on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:25am.
This guy should do public service announcements as he is a walking testimonial to how drugs scramble your brain.
I'm sure
Submitted by Bob K on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:39am.
that Kennedy suffers from "McGovern Syndrome". He thinks Air America was a big hit because everyone he knows listened to it....or at least claimed they did for liberal credibility. I suppose the solution next time the liberals try radio would be to first make sure laws are in place to force big money advertisers to buy their spots. I know............ a Advertising Fairness Doctrine. LOL
really?
Submitted by cyborg0012 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 9:32am.
What color is the sky in his world?
Didn't The Tubes...
Submitted by stratman on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 10:26am.
...write a song about this idiot: "White Punks On Dope"?
Advertising, ratings and management go hand in hand
Submitted by falcon on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 10:53am.
You first have to have management that can take the concept and sell it. Then you have to have advertisers willing to advertise on the concept (and if you have good salespeople, that's fairly easy). Then you have to bring in the listeners - who then hear the ads, go buy the products, then the advertisers advertise more, etc., etc. Radio is not that hard if you boil it down to those elements. However, the "management" of Air America was more interested in pushing their liberal agenda, and when it became clear to potential advertisers that's where they were headed, even Herb Tarlek couldn't sell spots. And they did very little promotion, so there were few listeners anyway. Air America was set up to fail from day one, and yet RFK Jr claims they were "more popular" than conservative talk radio?
Somebody be on the lookout for black holes, because somebody jumped through one and put all the liberals in the same alternate reality. (With apologies to JJ Abrams and "Star Trek".)
“I will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership, that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose.” – Ronald Reagan, July 17, 1980.
What choo drinkin' there, dude?
Submitted by SaguaroJack on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 11:19am.
RFK Jr has followed Uncle Teddy from koolaid to 180-proof moonshine, neat.
As drunk as a Lord Kennedy....
Submitted by Jack Bauer on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 12:33pm.
NB needs to reinstate the Caption Competition", starting with this loon... I suggest
"Is it happy hour yet? Drinks are on me!"
All of the above Mr Obama? --- How about ALL OF THE BELOW, instead.
What's really sad is that...
Submitted by Rackie on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 1:38pm.
... Junior is probably not the most loopy member of the Kennedy clan. Money really is wasted on the rich.
Then let's bring back the Fairness Doctrine
Submitted by ThisnThat on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:15pm.
so that Conservative radio can claw its way back to even.
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
is his brain fried
Submitted by ohio granny on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 2:22pm.
Is his brain fried or is he just stupid? At some point I think these idiots must realize they do not have any power any more. No one really cares what they think or say. The days of listening to the Kennedys are long past. And not a day too soon either. One of the most dysfunctional families in our nation's history. This is a family whose fortune came from illegal sources (rum running), and have used their power to protect thenmselves from being held accountable for things that any one else would have been jailed for.
I don't need a lecture from someon like RFK, Jr. He is a moron who proves his stupidity every time he opens his mouth.
And RFK Sr. is still more popular to this very day than
Submitted by djwolf12 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 3:50pm.
RFK Jr. It is rather sad that today's liberals, oddly enough, are very sympathetic to Sirhan Sirhan than today's republican party.
I have a hunch that sirhan
Submitted by jkwtrading on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 5:42pm.
I have a hunch that sirhan sirhan was first jihadist, except at the time we didn't know the word. right after killing Kennedy the State of CA changed the death penalty.. Sirhan missed the 72 virgins, by not being executed by the state.
This guy is a
Submitted by misterbee241 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 5:23pm.
total and incoherent moron. He was on radio? Didnt he have a drug/alcohol problem? I guess what few brain cells he has left are running around like squirrels in a cage. He's like Ted Turner. People listen to Ted because of his money and people listen to this idiot because he's a Kennedy.
Drug and alcohol problem? That may have been another...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:09pm.
Kennedy who was, up until recently, a Congressman. Patrick Kennedy, son of Ted, I believe. RFK, Jr. is someone who has wholly succumbed to the "global warming" hoax.
3 generations of idiot Kennedys are enough for one country
Submitted by Paarl on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 5:46pm.
Margaret Sanger....where are you now that we need you !!! ;>)
Paarl of Rhodesia
→ He beat that monkey
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 6:03pm.
I know he had a cocaine problem, Didn't RFK Jr. take ownership of it, and beat that monkey?
You know,you know, youknow
Submitted by psammy on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:03pm.
What the hell is wrong with this idiot,msnbc,come on
That has to be the dumbest thing he has ever said...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:03pm.
and he has a reputation for saying some very dumb things.
RFK Jr. is correct!
Submitted by Grumpy in Arizona on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:40pm.
“Air – America” was more popular than conservative radio!
Additionally:
- The Ford “Edsel” was the most popular car of the late 1950’s!
- Yacht Racing is the most watched sport in the world!
- The sun does revolve around the earth!
- Detroit is the “Vacation Capital” of America!
- The finer restaurants use WD-40 to keep foods from sticking to the pan!
- California is in Disneyland – not the other way around! (Hmmm… I could be right about that one!)
////SARCASM ALERT////
- Grump :o)
RFK "Ring of Fire"?
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:49pm.
Bobby, the jalapeno broke again?
You do know there are similarly shaped INERT objects manufactured strictly for that purpose, don't you?
Your kidding right?
Submitted by Boudin on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 8:57pm.
These clowns out-do each other every single day
blah blah
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 9:24pm.
Just in case anyone needs more evidence that liberals live in a fantasy world...
Fox News
Submitted by Question_Assumptions on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 11:55pm.
He also claimed that Fox News was kept out of Canada because of a law that prohibits lying. The most charitable explanation, but not the most plausible one, is that he inhabits an alternate reality where these seemingly insane statements are true.
Thanks
Submitted by NotFondOfLibs on Mon, 06/27/2011 - 12:26am.
A hearty "Thank you" to RFK Jr. for the laugh of the week. His problem is that he thinks people are just as goofy as he is.
This guy is a Kennedy?
Submitted by Scott Trent on Mon, 06/27/2011 - 8:39am.
He sounds impish. He had a radio show on Air America? No wonder they went belly up. Plus, he has no idea what he is talking about.
"Air America failed not
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 06/27/2011 - 10:15am.
"Air America failed not because it wasn't popular. In every jurisdiction where it was operating it was beating out right-wing radio."
The numbers say you're either ignorant or lying, Robbie the K.
In every media market (not jurisdiction you boob) with maybe one or two exceptions, Air America was getting CLOBBERED by conservative talk radio. Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, & Levin consistently beat Air America in the Arbitron reports. In many markets, re-runs of those shows beat first-run Air America shows. Air America failed for several reasons but the main one is that they never could attract an audience.
In 2005, the Christian Science Monitor reported,
"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 blog "radioequalizer." In the liberal meccas of San Francisco and Los Angeles, Air America is doing lousier still."
Low ratings plagued Air American throughout its existence and no reshuffling or reorganization helped. That, combined with severe mismanagement and many controversies over the 6 years of its existence pretty much killed it.