***Breaking News***
Air America Radio Gets a Makeover
Well, it’s taken over three years, but Air America Radio finally has a user friendly website, where you can find information about the network and interact with the hosts.The liberal talk radio network launched its website today and will introduce a new ad campaign in conjunction with the official "re-launch" of Air America 2.0 on May 21.
At that time, all 12 AAR hosts will air some 30+ taped interviews with prominent headliners-- including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Gloria Steinhem and Mike Bloomberg --who discuss their thoughts on the Iraq war, campaign finance reform and the ’08 election, among other topics.
The new campaign even has a slogan – "Become an Air American." and a new logo.
According to AAR Prez Mark Green "the completely redesigned website will give AAR listeners another platform to participate in the progressive movement through an interactive blog where they can read and give commentary on topical issues of the day,"
The network's hosts will begin to regularly blog on the new site. Nancy Scola, who has been chosen to head up the blog, is a Brooklyn-based blogger and writer who has served as a congressional aide and a presidential campaign staffer. Scola writes widely online, on everything from the latest in technology policy to the rebuilding of New Orleans.
The network will also be kicking off a new "I'm an Air American!" ad campaign in various radio trade publications, featuring the actor Paul Newman, as well as several of the AAR hosts.
AAR is now in the midst of programming makeover.
On Monday, the Lionel Show launched in the 9 AM to 12 Noon EST time period formerly occupied by Sam Seder.
"The Air Americans" hosted by veteran Mark Riley, with correspondents Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Mike Papantonio, David Bender and Laura Flanders, airing at 8p-12a weeknights. New weekend shows including "Seder on Sunday" from 4-7 PM and "7 Days in America" 6-7 PM Saturdays, with Arianna Huffington, Mark Green, Bob Kerrey and Bob Shrum will also be launching over the next few weeks.
Green said that this new AAR phase in has three goals:
"First, we’ve created an even stronger lineup based on proven veterans, like Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, and The Young Turks. Second, we’ve rebuilt the website to create a community and conversation that becomes the go-to progressive bulletin board and social network in the country. And third, we’re asking all progressive patriots interested in talk radio to become 'Air Americans.' "
We have forth and fifth questions.
Will the listening public respond to the new AAR and will they be able to stop (and hopefully reverse) the trend where stations are dropping the lib talk format (23 in the past 14 months!)
3 comments:
I guess we all think recycling is a good thing, but the way AAR recycles talent may be a bit much. The "Air Americans" sounds like it belongs in a green bin (a blue bin in some areas).
AAR making such a fuss over a website redesign sounds like the tail (website) is wagging the dog (radio).
It seems to me focusing some attention on the web site --- even though I liked it the ay it was --- is just coming into modern times. I visit the web site daily, usualy listen by podcast, and stream as much as I listen to the radio. I doubt I'm at all unusual.
And after one week, I like Air Americans. They're trying something different from typical call-in talk radio. It's not so fire-breathing as conservative radio, but that's not what liberals typically want.
Baroosk is not allowing us to comment on his post about John Manzo directly, so I will comment here. Part of the make-over is Manzo's out; Bernstein's in. Manzo is over at Nova M. And there is a good deal of comment on Randi's own message board (linked to the AAR website just to stay on topic here) than Randi will soon follow. Makes sense to me. Lionel was Bernstein's boy at WOR (even though he's called "centrist" or "libertarian" and a lot of traditional liberal's don't know what to make of him). And Manzo was Randi's boy at WJNO. Radio is about hiring your friends.
Without Randi (or Hartmann who has signed with WYD Media) AAR has nothing BUT a website.
The AAR Kool-Aid drinkers are not giving Lionel a chance. Getting Lionel for evenings would have been a good move (a lot of lib talk stations took him from WOR any way). Bernstein has more important things to do than trying to fill every daypart to keep up AAR's fantasy of being a "network" and keeping the turnkeys happy.
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