Air America could be off WLIB in NY after 3/31

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The progressive network Air America, heard locally on WLIB (1190 AM), is seeking to deflect reports that WLIB may change formats when its Air America agreement expires at the end of this month.

"It is business as usual at Air America Radio," said a statement late yesterday. "We will not, nor have we ever discussed, our confidential negotiations with third party companies, investors or others in a public forum. We have no plans of leaving the New York City airwaves and plan to be on in New York for many years to come."
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http://www.nydailynews.com/03-07-2006/entertainment/ent_radio/story/397287p-336752c.html

The old Fairness Doctrine made sure every radio and TV station had equal time for opposing views. That was a pain to have to deal with on the broadcasting side. Instead we need equal number of stations. For every radio station that carries Rush, Hannity, etc. we need a station to carry Randi, Al, Schultz, etc. If a market has three right wing stations, then three other stations should be forced to carry progressive radio shows.

Something is wrong with AAR on the management side to be losing this many stations. I can't put my finger on it because I'm not on the inside. But content is not the problem. Listeners are not the problem. There are plenty of them. But AAR is being put on throwaway stations and that's not right. Put AAR on WLW in Cincinnati instead of WCKY. WCKY pre-empts AAR for U of Kentucky sports. Who in Cincy wants to listen to that? In Atlanta, AAR is on WWAA 1690. Huh? I never heard of that station before AAR went on the air. It should be on WGST. No one listens to Kimmer anymore. Put Randi on in his place and ratings will skyrocket. Businesses that take chances thrive. Those that don't suffer. And it is a shame that radio stations won't take a chance on AAR because they are afraid to succeed.

I live in Atlanta and AAR is on 1690 AM.... Most of the time the reception is so weak you can hardly hear it... And after 5PM you can not get it at all.

I always have to stream AAR because of that.

As far as I know, they have lost a whopping two stations when fundies bought out the local affiliate. There's nothing AAR could have done about that.

OTOH, they started off with five stations two years ago. Now, they have eighty. That doesn't exactly suggest that "something is wrong with AAR on the management side," if you ask me.

Radio_Guy said
"Something is wrong with AAR on the management side to be losing this many stations."

How many stations have been lost due to bad AAR management? I can't think of any, so please let me know.

I do know AAR has been on the air for about 2+ years and has tripled the number of original stations in that time.

AAR seems to be coming on and off of stations all the time.

If that happens would be a huge blow to the station, would hate to see it leave too. They must be doing something wrong over there. That network should be doing well, there is no excuse for whats going on.

WLIB is owned by a very good company...Inner Urban broadcasting...one of the few remaining minority-owned stations left in the country. The company took a major gamble in bringing AAR on and replacing established, money-making programs two years ago. This company should be commended for taking the risk at a time when no one else would and the owners faced an uncertain future with a station they didn't control, run by many people who had never sat in front of a microphone before. The fact WLIB and AAR survived and thrived is a great story for both sides.

Hopefully the two will come to an agreement on a new contract, but I've seen this situation develop too many times...and sadly, it'll be one AAR faces as it continues to grow and expand. Sometimes it's a good thing...as the format will move to a bigger and stronger facility while in other cases market will fall as stations are sold or feel there's a bigger "format hole" in the market.

Honestly, a majority of these format changes...even to christian...are financial, not political. Many of the AAR affiliates are "stand-alone" AM stations, competiting against far larger, stronger and bigger companies. It's a tough go for a political talk station to get advertisers, even in the good times...and thanks to mr. boooosh, radio revenues tanked following the dot com boom in 2000 and hasn't recovered since. Many small station owners have turned to selling their airtime...some have tried AAR, but most go with the cash and carry holly rollers...they pay the bills on time and no one complains.

It takes a special breed to work in radio today. Property values are way over-priced, deregulation has turned your radio dial into the private plantation of Clear Channel, Infinity, Capstar, Disney and other huge corporations and local radio has all but vanished.

Hopefully some new technologies now starting to come to market will change radio just like CDs changed the recording industry. In addition to satellite radio, soon, you'll be able to use your IPOD, PDA or Cellphone as a radio...and that will spell doom to the many small stations that can't adjust and open the door to a new generation of bigger and better stations.

AAR has chosen not to purchase stations (a very, very wise move) and be a program provider. They partner with the large companies and that's led to AAR's biggest successes. By not having to carry the debtload of overpriced radio properties or the costs of maintaining individual stations (rent, electricity, payroll) they've conserved their resources to go into making the network grow.

While I'd be sad to see AAR leave WLIB...since it's been a great arrangement for both operators...this is business. Surely with the ratings the format has generated, the format should be able to find another NYC AM station to move to...and hopefully owned by a larger chain that can give the format a long-term home.

The real issue here is the growth and survival of Progressive radio. AAR is just one small part of that landscape. There are hundreds of small college and non-profit stations...ones that feature programming from Pacifica and Democracy Now that are a real hidden asset that is very much ignored by many, but just like the christian stations, could be mobilized into a tremendous voice and training ground for radio talent. But that's another post for another day...and chances are no one cares.

You are correct in noting that the company that owns WLIB is not your average radio station consortium. It is owned by a very progressive, solidly Democratic family. Percy Sutton, the founder, was a WWII Black Army Airforce hero, then a lawyer and the borough president of Manhattan.

Sutton was so progressive that he was counsel to Malcolm X.

This was a good deal for Inner City broadcasting, because according to Pierre Sutton, black people had stopped listening to WLIB's African-American and Caribeean talk format. Also the company has a money maker in WBLS, so leasing WLIB for guaranteed cash income (about $2.5 million a year, I think) was a wise move.

This is just a wild guess, but I think the dispute has nothing to do with money. WLIB negotiated to maintain a racially balanced cast of on-air personalities, something very important to the civil rights dynasty that owns the station. They basically required AAR to keep on Mark Riley and Wayne Gillman who were their news talk stars. Hence Morning Sedition. In the beginning they also had Chuck D in the afternoon. They also hired a former WNYC newsreader who is African American (forget her name).

The Suttons are, from what I understand, loyalists, and they may be trying to enfoce the deals about tenure they made when they leased the station.

Since then AAR has basically marginalized all the people of color at the station, although they seem recently to have hired Felipe Luciano, one of the deans of the NY Latino journalistic community.

It is just a guess, but I think the dispute is more about people and their tenure than about money.

I am very much familiar with Percy Sutton and all he's done to revive Harlem. I was going to mention WBLS, but that's another story.

I was aware there was a lot of friction caused since previously WLIB was the only black and carribbean talk and info station in the city and no one has picked up the slack. I wasn't aware that there was an arrangement for AAR to try to integrate some of these people into the network, but that does explain why they brought on Chuckie D (I think that's his name) in the beginning.

The internal politics may be a major sticking point on a new agreement and I can very much understand it. In a previous lifetime, I worked in a brokered operation where the tensions between various groups create real bad working conditions that can lead to parties going their own way.

The good news is the changes that are upcoming with Disney dumping many of their big talk stations to Capstar. While I don't expect the right wing spewers to vanish from WABC, there are several floundering big NYC signals that could use that .5 or so boost flipping to AAR would give them. While it would be a shame to see the AAR-Inner Urban partnership split, it may be a good thing in the long-run for AAR...just like how their satellite deal, while pissing many off here initially, has given them a stable platform to grow in that universe.

We have similar AAR owners here in Chicago...a local operator who is a very loyal Democrat. His problem is he has no clue on how to operate radio properties...overspent for his stations, made some bad hiring decissions and is trying to run the operation on a shoe-string with no local programming and little promotion. But at least it's there...so I better not bitch. Spending a week in Tucson without being able to hear AAR was painful (even though the local hate radio was funny to listen to).

Thank you for your insight and reply...

Cheers...

Pacifica and Democracy Now own their stations, if I understand correctly.
Salem Communications owns 100 stations and all are broadcasting right wing programing.
We need someone with a ton of money to do the same for us.

As I was once told...rich people don't get that way by giving their money away.

I've long advocated using the resources already existing in communities all across the country and use that to empower new voices that can spread the truth and break the information filter firmly in place by the corporate broadcast monopolies. Almost every city has an alternative or Progressive college or non-profit station that quietly chugs along...a great resource that can provide for the Progressive community the same voices that the religious right gets from their thousands of "educational" stations.

In most cases a donation at these small operations will go a long, long way...but also they can always use volunteers...and that's a great way to get into the station and possibly into a studio. It can also be a lot of fun...just don't think of getting rich.

The internet also offers a great alternative in the future as new innovations will take this medium from the wired to the unwired world in the near future. Also, there's a long-due day of reckoning for many conventional broadcasters. Radio licenses became cattle futures...with prices being run-up by the large corporates to freeze out competitors and raise their stock prices. The bill collector has been standing at the door for a while now and another year of the boooosh economy with rising interest rates could force the large monopolies to either fire sale or close stations. Stay tuned...

Coordianation is the key here.

You mentioned some obscure stations at the end of your very good info regarding how the business of radio works. What I do not understand is how come they are obscure to begin with? How come AAR is having to fight to stay around in some places? If at least 30% of the population term themselves "progessive" and many more agree at least in part with their ideas, why would not there be huge radio hits that everybody knows about with ratings like that slimeball Rush? Why don't we have any nationally known radio stars who are considered movers and shakers? (Rush certainly is among conservatives) Why would WABC here in NY do so well every afternoon with Rush and that idiot Hannity and AAR be way behind them in ratings? Is it that liberals don't listen to the radio? Or are they just no interested in politics these days? I really do not get what is going on in general around the country. You would think there would be a general sense of outrage, but I see little of that and it disturbs me. The lack of progessive radio is part of what bothers me.

All of these "new technologies" involve one thing -- pay-to-listen radio. Personally, I don't think a lot of people are going to go for that. Oh, sure, you'll have a number of hipper-than-thou "early adopter" techno-snob types that will make this the hot new thing for awhile, but I really doubt that a majority of Americans are interested in, essentially, acquiring yet another monthly cable bill (or considerably higher cellphone bill) just to listen casually in the car. And, in case you haven't noticed, there are a lot of Americans who don't own iPods or PDAs, and have no interest in doing so.

Furthermore, as I wrote about once before, this will do nothing for recruitment of new listeners who aren't already so hooked on AAR that they will gladly shell out for satellite radio or one of your "new technologies." We need those people to, someday, casually scan the dial (on free radio), come across AAR, and like what they hear. That's not gonna happen if you have to get a monthly subscription to listen in the first place.

WEVD is a radio station owned by the Jewish Forward newspaper. They used to do some liberal talk interspered with infomercials. But a couple of year ago, they made an agreement with ABC that allowed ABC to run the station and turn it into sportstalk.

The Forward ought to turn the station over to Air America instead. That way they could still make some money while lso supporting liberal media. It would also give Air American a boost, because WEVD (formerly WHN) has a styrong signal that reaches well into otehr sections of the northeast.

It may be difficult to break the management contract with ABC. But maybe not, if the sportstalk station isn't doing well....ABC's agreement should have not been legal anyway, since ABC already controls a significant numnber of New York stations already.

They're not going to dump or move ESPN radio which has done well with Mike and Mike for AAR.

You're probably right, but it sucks.

The kind of arrangement ABC Radio has is totally contrry to the intent of basic broadcast policy for many decades, which was to limit the number of stations any one company can control in a particulr market (and nationwide).

Disney just completed a deal to merge with Capstar radio...giving control of WABC to Capstar but they will retain control on ESPN Radio and Radio Disney properties. Both those operations are low budget, big money makers. ESPN Radio is sold in conjunction with TV and print...allowing the network to lock up major sporting events rights from competitors.

The Forward is out of the radio business...and it's not the first time they sold out. Their original AM frequency was sold to a Christian group in the early 80's and they traded their full-market FM signal for the 1050 spot and cash in the early 90's.

FCC rules allow a company to operate up to 5 AM and FM stations in a market...and the WEVD sale was a two-step deal (similar to the one Disney worked with the New York Times when they bought the former WQXR/WQEW). Part one was a "LMA"...or partnership deal where the Forward still held the license but Disney took over the station (and the Forward got a lot of cash)...then Disney excercized an option and purchsed the facilities and the license outright.

All the transactions are listed here:

http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=427516

Air America is being successful in being a program provider, not a station owner/operator. It was a smart move as it freed up money for talent and marketing rather than maintaining stations and debt service. The downside is that means bouncing around from station to station, market to market...and is part of the growing pains that the network will have to endure to survive.

Maybe that means that station will pick up several AAR shows.

Franken said on his show today they are not having problems in NYC.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

I wonder where he's going to land.

...was that AAR "doesn't own a penny to WLIB."

Which would debunk Moron...I mean Moloney's claim that WLIB is going to drop them because AAR is failing financially, but still leaves open the possibility that there may be a split for other reasons (the ever-present "creative differences").