Air America Kills “Breakroom Live”

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Source: Mediaite

By Rachel Sklar

This is sad, slightly bewildering news: Air America is taking the delightful “Breakroom Live” off the air. Announced: Yesterday. Last show: Yesterday.

The show, daily at 3pm, is a live webcast starring Air America stalwarts Sam Seder and Marc Maron, both of whom are accustomed to having shows canceled on Air America, but still. The hosts announced the move — where else? — on Twitter, and engaged in a final show that was only slightly bitter (Maron: “I don’t give a fuck - I’m so tired of giving a fuck, I can’t even tell you”).

What doesn’t make sense is why. The show is good - really good - with great production values, a smart, funny banter between the hosts and great guests (Thomas Ricks, Matt Taibbi, Nate Silver), tailor made for Air America’s progressive audience. When the show launched, Air America CEO Bennett Zier said it would be “a building block for Air America in becoming a multimedia company.” Guess not. (Zier did not return an email sent last night asking for comment, nor was an email to Air America sent this morning returned.).

Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/air-america-kills-breakroom-live/

---

Mark Green's reign of error continues

[lapfog_1]

1. Err America strikes again.

I listen to progressive talk radio nearly 12 hours a day... with breaks to watch KO and Rachael on MSNBC. It's the only thing that keeps me sane. But if ever there was an opportunity to build a "brand" and keep the top talent and have a really good radio/media network, Air America had it. And blew it over and over again.

Killing this program with Sam Seder is just so stupid.

[hlthe2b]

8. Do Maron and Seder have any options?

Seems the Young Turks were able to make it as an independent webcast for quite a while... This sucks.

[lapfog_1]

9. I hope so... so many are doing now without the support of

a network sponsor or packager. Mike Malloy is a prime example. Peter Collins is rumored to be doing the same, but I haven't heard the start date yet and I'm on his email list. Jeff Farias is also rumored to be trying this webcast only route, but I've lost track of him (and never cared that much for his show). I'm sure there are others.

Radio still generates more ad revenue, but subscription service (Malloy asks for $.25 a show) makes sense.

[ihavenobias]

27. Yep.

When I signed up I loved Hartmann, TYT and Rachel (and I always liked Seder and Ring Of Fire). Then one by one they slowly left/were canned, etc. Hartmann leaving was the last straw and I didn't renew my annual subscription.

[regnaD kciN]

2. "What doesn’t make sense is why..."

A question that might lead to an answer: how many AAR affiliates and syndacatees carried the show? To be honest, up here in the Northwest, this is the first time I ever heard of it (I didn't even know Seder had a new weekday show). 3 P.M. would mean noon on the west coast, and virtually every AAR-style station up here runs Ed Schultz from noon to three. If that's the case in too many places, it would doom any show up against it -- as Ed is becoming one of the big media stars on the left at this time. It would be like a new right-wing show trying to go up against El Pigbo -- pretty much doomed from the start.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

4. It didn't air on affiliates, it was a webcast

It started up when AAR canceled Sam's morning show, which was doing fairly well in the ratings (Sam was starting to get invites to TV about the same time Maddow took off)
He was replaced with Lionel, who was eventually axed for Montel (Lionel was brought back after a month to the 6a.m. slot, which has been vacant since The Young Turks were canned)
Neither Montel or Lionel (or any of the current AAR lineup - Clout, Kuby, Reagan) have any buzz and aren't exactly burning up the airwaves.
One has to wonder exactly what is going through the heads of management over there. They've driven of Randi Rhodes, Mike Malloy, Marc Maron, Janeane Garofalo, Sam Seder, Cenk, Thom Hartmann, Liz Winsted, Steve earle and countless others in favor of the most lifeless lineup imaginable.

If it weren't for RFK Jr. and Papantonio on the weekends, the whole network would be irrelevant.

[orleans]

3. i never listen to aar anymore. those who run it are assholes. n/t

[ClearPresentDanger]

5. Err America is right

I listen to KPOJ in Portland, so basically it's now Dial Global with Thom Hartmann, Ed, & Randi*. What AA talent I hear like Bill Press, Ron Reagan and some of the weekend crew are uninspiring and repetitive. And DG is just a syndicating service, they put Neil Boortz next to Ed like they don't know/care about the difference. I do hope their Wash DC station takes off though. Haven't heard enough of their talent to make up my mind (Jack Rice?)


*I guess Randi isn't dial global, don't know who.

http://www.dial-global.com/

[DAMANgoldberg]

6. Lineup for National non-AAR

all times Eastern Daylight:

Dial Global:
Bill Press 6-9A, Stephanie Miller 9-12N, Thom Hartmann 12-3P, Ed Schultz 12-3P (Neal Boortz synd. 9-12N, Atlanta show 830A-1P and Clark Howard 1-4P synd. and Atlanta)

Clear Channel/Premiere:
Randi Rhodes 3-6P

Independent/Self Syndication:
Mike Malloy 9-12A

Sirius/XM:
Alex Bennett 9-12N, Mark Thompson 5-8P (Lynn Samuels don't count, anti-Obama)

[hlthe2b]

7. A few glimmers there, but also lots of garbage...

I don't think there is a single AAR show left on XM (and don't get me started about the Sirius "Left" BS that has now invaded, replacing far better former content from XM).


Progressive radio has truly gone in the crapper

[Nickster]

10. AAR is still around? Who knew?

[cadmium]

11. I think they are following a formula

of so-called "alt media" Most of the hosts now are libertarian/independant, cynical, and do a series of bland homogonized shows. Robert Kennedy seem like the lone liberal democrat left on the network. Papantonio is an independant.

Breakroom Live was not the only recent liberal program loss over there.

David Bender's show Politically Direct ended last month. Bender is really smart and has an in depth understanding of liberal inside baseball. He was a reliable liberal Dem advocate.

Ron Kuby's show was discontinued although he is still with the company. Replaced by an independant Montel Williams in one time slot and replaced totally by independent Jack Rice finally


I dont blame Mark Greene for this shift. My guess is that this has nothing to do with Mark Green. He is off prepping a run for political office and he is a partisan liberal democrat (like him or not). I think this has more to do with an "Alternative Media" canned formula demanded by advertisers and/or the new owners. This is the same thing that happened to Alternative media newspapers that are now mostly cynical pseudo-outrage paplum.

Breakroom was the only reason I was hanging on to my subscription. If that show is gone I'll have to see if I can get a little money back.

[stlsaxman]

16. Oh, i SOLELY blame Mark Greene for this shift... it had everything to do with him.

On the last show of Breakroomlive, the C.F.O makes a brief appearance and basically says- "It wasn't my decision".

Okay then- whose was it? the guy who cleans the bathrooms? that beautiful young woman that is in almost every episode getting coffee? don't think so...

Mark Greene is, if nothing else, ignorant of the talent AAR has fostered in Marc, Sam, Rachel, Kent Jones, Randi, Laura Flanders and others. Now the most talented producer they have, Dan Pashmann, is left to make the likes of Montel Williams exciting...

oy-fucking-vey!

[cadmium]

19. I have my podcast of last Breakroom

live on Ipod -- hopefully will get to listen today. I may end up agreeing with you. Certainly a lot of talent under-appreciated when Mark Green was running the show, but I suspect the shift to boring "independents" and loss of real comic talent is a lot bigger than Green. Green and David Bender are friends. Bender is gone as well as Marc and Sam - I think it is bigger than Mark Green. Alternative news all over the country has gone in this direction many times. This frequently has a lot to do with the company managing their advertising.

Still havent listened to last show so I may hear something that would change my mind.

[stlsaxman]

21. it's sad for me and them- but Marc and Sam act stunned but resolved.

maybe "resolved" is the wrong word but they act like- "well... that AAR for ya..." Sams daughter Milah shows up unexpectedly near the beginning and changes the tenor of the show. Marc says later on that the show would have been completely different had she not shown up.

And thanks for giving a reasoned assessment of Mark Green. I hate him less now (a little anyways).

BRL was a great show.

RIP BRL!

[cadmium]

12. I think they are following a formula

of so-called "alt media" Most of the hosts now are libertarian/independant, cynical, and do a series of bland homogonized shows. Robert Kennedy seem like the lone liberal democrat left on the network. Papantonio is an independant.

Breakroom Live was not the only recent liberal program loss over there.

David Bender's show Politically Direct ended last month. Bender is really smart and has an in depth understanding of liberal inside baseball. He was a reliable liberal Dem advocate.

Ron Kuby's show was discontinued although he is still with the company. Replaced by an independant Montel Williams in one time slot and replaced totally by independent Jack Rice finally


I dont blame Mark Greene for this shift. My guess is that this has nothing to do with Mark Green. He is off prepping a run for political office and he is a partisan liberal democrat (like him or not). I think this has more to do with an "Alternative Media" canned formula demanded by advertisers and/or the new owners. This is the same thing that happened to Alternative media newspapers that are now mostly cynical pseudo-outrage paplum.

Breakroom was the only reason I was hanging on to my subscription. If that show is gone I'll have to see if I can get a little money back.

[cadmium]

13. Another thing: Anna Marie Cox's fawning interviews

with Republicans suck

[Ian David]

14. Lionel has a show, but Marc and Sam do not. WTF!?!?!

Just give them Lionel's slot, but pay the both of them only as much money as Lionel was getting.

Or better yet, give Lionel's slot to Marc, give Montel's slot to Sam.

I'd even settle for Marc/Lionel and Sam/Montel shows.

[cadmium]

15. Pretty good idea. It is

a sad commentary on a supposedly left of the dial network that Lionel may be one of the better shows left. He can be entertaining.

[Ian David]

17. Oh, Lionel is a great host. Just a terrible human being. n/t

[cadmium]

18. I dont listen enough to notice the

terrible human being side of him. I find him annoying when he tries to hard to tweak liberal/progressive orthodoxy -- too forced. I think he is great at discussing legal / constitutional controversies.

[robcon]

20. Why does everyone think it's political?

When the ratings, or the affiliate coverage, or the ad sales, or the costs/profits, are in distress, you cancel the show.

I couldn't find any ratings for the show on Google, but Occam's Razor would suggest it's the audience/costs/profits/outlook for growth for the show that caused the cancellation.

[stlsaxman]

23. it wasn't a radio show- it was a web cast. hence no ratings to find.

ErrAmerica was saying BRL was a move to expand into the "new digital media". oh well.

[robcon]

24. Thanx, stlsaxman

I assumed - and you know what that makes me ;-)

[stlsaxman]

26. you are welcome, robcon...

besides- it's "you AND me". and in this case it was neither of us! :hi:

[DainBramaged]

22. Air America lost me when they 'fired' Randi.

And now I own a new XM so I am not trapped by the local AM stations and heir bullshit.

[cadmium]

25. New Air America Show

"THEIR COMIN" TO GET YOUR GUNS"

kidding

[troubledamerican]

28. Any "Breakroom Live" archives anywhere?