Thursday, April 27, 2006

Air America losing NYC flagship station

Maybe this is why Al Franken moved to Minnesota. Did he know he was going to lose his Manhattan studio?

New York of course is a very liberal town, and Air America has never enjoyed good ratings there. But as Media Week reports, Air America's New York ratings may soon register as a "zero," because its flagship station, WLIB, is pulling the plug on the liberal talk network.

Air America Radio will lose its New York flagship station, WLIB-AM, on Aug. 31. While the left-leaning radio network’s original lease for the Inner City station ran out March 31, AAR managed to get an extension which only lasts until Aug. 31, according to an informed source.

Through an agreement with ICBC, WLIB will be operated as a joint venture and programmed by P1, a company run by former Clear Channel and Jacor Communications executive Randy Michaels. Michaels is expected to program a progressive-talk format, but replace AAR’s network programming with more local programming. A likely addition to the new lineup: Ed Schultz, the left-of-center talker syndicated by P1.

“To be clear, Air America will not go silent on the New York City airwaves. We do not, however, comment on hypothetical speculation,” said an AAR spokesperson.

If you're in New York's Grand Central Station beginning in September, look for some screaming nuts with a portable sound system. That may end up being New York's Air America outlet.

Technorati tags:

No comments: