Mark Green: Air America 2.0 Begins Today (HuffPost)

[marmar]

Mark Green


03.06.2007
Air America 2.0 Begins Today (2 comments )

Today my family formally purchases and takes over Air America Radio. Why? Because if progressive values were a stock, now is the time to buy.

That hasn't always been true, as the cycle of politics demonstrates. In recent decades, politics seems to have been governed by physics - for every action, there's an opposite and equal reaction.

William F. Buckley Jr. started The National Review in the 1950s to rebut what he saw as the dominance of liberalism in the academy and opinion journals like The Nation and The New Republic. From 1970-72, Public Citizen, Common Cause and the NRDC were all created in reaction to Nixon's depredations. Similarly, People For the American Way grew out of the rise of the Religious Right under Reagan in the mid-80s.
New progressive think tanks over the past 10 years, most recently and prominently the Center for American Progress, were created to counter AEI and Heritage. And, of course, the Huffington Post and Air America were born in reaction to the electronic propaganda of Drudge and Limbaugh et. al.

Air America was a large, smart idea to counter the near-monopoly on talk radio by the far (f)right. But like most start-ups, the business plan collided with reality. Six CEOs over its first three years - and various missteps and misspending - sent it into Chapter 11. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-green/air-america-20-begins-to_b_42707.html

[LTR]

1. Also did a writeup about it on my blog

Spells out AAR's future plans, etc.

http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2007/03/air-america-20-day-one.html

[LSK]

2. they do have a kickass lineup now with Seder, Hartmann, Randi

[renate]

4. the first commenter has a good point about Marc Maron

And the other Mark on Morning Sedition, too (crud! what's his last name?). I really miss those guys.

[Maven]

3. I like this part:

"But it'll be a business with a sharp point of view. The era of on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand liberalism is over -- or as Robert Frost once wrote, "a liberal man is too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel." For all those who worry about messianic misleaders governing on a right wing and a prayer, Air America 2.0 will be an answer. For all those fearful of plutocracy and theocracy, the pro-democracy hosts of AAR's programs will be an answer. If the conservative media continue to spout propaganda and call it news, there's now the alternative of truth, justice and the Air American way."

[marmar]

10. Me too....

n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Asking to cover the Publican convention in NH

was a hoot--should be interesting to see what happens to AAR now.

[Kolesar]

6. somebody needs to start making use of the FM digital radio frequencies

AA would be a great choice for the second or third band of digital programming. They could develop stations that are sidebands to FM music all over the country. The AA demographic can afford new FM receivers, also.

[LTR]

8. It's being done in Sheridan, WY

Only thing is the radio industry has been doing a rather half-assed job promoting it. Look how long it took to get receivers out on the market. Not to mention that they're pretty hard to find. And they're priced pretty steep.

Thankfully, they're starting to get the product on the shelves and bring down the price. Wal-Mart just started selling receivers.

[Kolesar]

9. I hear commercials for HD radio, but the radio receivers are expensive

The Wal*Mart product is barely below $200. I would think they should start at $70 for a good one.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

7. I have voted for Mark several times and am delighted that Air America is in his hands!

His last race was for Comptroller this past November, which he unfortunately lost. The good news is that he should be very capable of keeping Air America solvent!