AIR AMERICA ratings going DOWN, DOWN!

[PretzelWarrior]

That's what some r-wingers on another discussion board are trying to say.

I'm curious if anyone in the biz is hearing early info on arbitron's seasonal ratings report due to come out near the end of January (January 20, I believe. ONLY A WEEK AWAY!)

I'm in Portland and can tell by conservative talk station KXL's desperate ratings attempts (been billboards and TV ads for it like never before) that our affiliate of Air America must be cleaning their clock.

Additionally, where I used to always hear "Fair Housing" and "Don't Do Drugs" PSAs all over the place here on KPOJ 620 AM, I am now hearing commercials from the big boys. For instance, on last night's Majority Report running from 7-10pm I heard McDonalds and Wachovia. In the past I've heard plenty of commercials from car companies, department stores, etc. KPOJ is making money big time.

So....anyone know about ratings for other stations?

[shoelace414]

1. would be nice to know

every time they come out.. both sides say their winning and point to the same numbers.

[Carla in Ca]

64. Hoffmania had this yesterday

More New York Radio Ratings
Good news for WLIB - Al Franken is only 1/2 a ratings point away from Limbaugh in the coveted 35-54 age group (a 2.0 vs a 2.5 share). Randi Rhodes is even closer to Hannity (2.1 vs 2.5). And in the 18-34 age group, she's a sliver away from beating him (1.4 vs 1.5).

The kids love her...

<http://www.hoffmania.com/blog/2006/01/more_new_york_r.html>

[davepc]

90. and WABC has one of the strongest signals on the east coast

while LIB's sucks.

[insane_cratic_gal]

2. I'd like to know too

My husband though he's a moderate Dem..listens to Limbaugh .. in pittsburgh most of the stations are talk radio. He always says Air America's ratings are doing badly. Which I believe is a O'Lielly talking point and not truthful. So any evidence I can throw him to dispel that would be very nice!

Oh we just got Thom Hartmann Show on AM radio. At least I just discovered it!

[PretzelWarrior]

4. holy cow. a moderate dem that listens to Rush

that must be tough. Well, I listen from time to time on morning drive to Thom Hartmann's local show (he's in Portland now and based out of KPOJ) and then I believe he does a later national show. He's pretty good

[insane_cratic_gal]

7. Oh yes it is!

We have some arguments at times.. But on Limbaugh he knows it's all bullshit most of the time. But ya I often have to correct him because his info in spun waaaaaaaaaaaay to the right.

Like with Abramoff, Plame, Alito, etc. He tells me what Limpy said and I fix all of the spin.

Thom is great I listen to him while I'm down stairs working out.

[PretzelWarrior]

20. yep. this is the problem with people. they're used to their radio station

and it takes some saturation and maybe some CONTROVERSY...something to get people to the point of changing stations to listen in and find the refreshing alternative.

Hope he likes the change if he makes it.

[Swamp Rat]

12. Thom Hartmann is one of the BEST!

Ask your SO to listen to Hartmann for a while and turn off LimpBalls. After a while, if he goes back to listening to the Fat Idiot, he won't be able to stand him... IT for a second! :D

[shireen]

30. Hartmann is a treasure! n/t

[Greyhound]

3. Surely there are many DUers that have access to the book...

maybe they would be kind enough to provide numbers. Our AA affiliate hes good ratings, but station has been sold.

[PretzelWarrior]

5. yeah. I'm wondering if I should put a post in media forum too or something

[sandnsea]

100. arbitron.com

http://www.arbitron.com/home/content.stm

Just click "top line ratings" over on the right, and then select the market from the dropdown. It's all right there.

[Greyhound]

101. Thanks, I thought they didn't release those numbers for public consumption

[w8liftinglady]

6. I was thinking the same thing this morning...no more psa's

[Eric J in MN]

73. Air America Minnesota still has plenty of PSAs.

I don't know about other stations.

[Cleita]

8. It seems like the neo-cons keep throwing this out there, but I don't think

it's true. It would be nice to see some verifiable stats.

[Zinfandel]

94. Your correct.

[zbdent]

9. Oxy kept inflaming his few listeners by claiming that

the liberals were trying to get him off the stations (early days).

So, like 12 idjits wrote (in crayon) a few letters decrying the stations for dropping him . . .

[Garbo 2004]

10. some info on WLIB, AAR's flagship NYC station from Hoffmania:

Originally published Jan 10, 2006

Good news for WLIB - Al Franken is only 1/2 a ratings point away from Limbaugh in the coveted 35-54 age group (a 2.0 vs a 2.5 share). Randi Rhodes is even closer to Hannity (2.1 vs 2.5). And in the 18-34 age group, she's a sliver away from beating him (1.4 vs 1.5).

http://www.hoffmania.com/blog/2006/01/more_new_york_r.html

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. They WISH!

They started out saying, "NO ONE is going to listen to LIBERAL radio." Ha! We whomp their asses in the ratings.

When Randi Rhodes was in FL., she slaughtered Rush Limpballs in the ratings. They ALWAYS say this. I doubt it's true. Really.

[AZBlue]

13. Here in the Phoenix area our station is being sold and will now be

Christian radio.

AAR Phoenix is looking for another home and will, hopefully, have one before the 2/1/06 sale.

It's even more disappointing because the station turned a profit in under a year, which, if you know anything about radio, you know that's amazing!

[LaPera]

96. That's why I listen through XM!!! Always a clear signal...

Support AAR!

www.airamericaradio.com

[AZBlue]

103. Yes, that's my next purchase - XM radio!

I can't go without my AAR and local stations usually don't carry all the AAR programming.

[Ksec]

14. The difference in conslobatard and Liberal radio

We will listen to them. They dont listen to us. Its that simple.

If you really wanna help matters QUIT WATCHING and LISTENING to them!

[PretzelWarrior]

16. excuse me...what did you just say?

I really don't understand it.

[Ksec]

21. OK

Liberals watch Rush and Hannity and Fox etc. . It makes up half their audience. (or thereabouts)

Conservs wont watch or listen to Liberal TV and radio.

Thats the difference.

So we need to stop watching and listening and driving up their ratings.

[PretzelWarrior]

27. okay. well I agree we should stop watching and listening to them

I did spot watching of O'Leilly and fuckface Brit Hume awhile back to use first hand examples I watched allowing me to refute arguments of some dunderheads saying those portions of Fauxnews lineup are the least biased--even less biased than ABCnews or whatever.

So. I stopped watching after like 2 days. Unbelievably shitty and low class stuff. It was the first time I had really paid attention to the tricks of tone, body language, and careful wording the 'straight-up' news segment people and field reporters use to twist things ever so slightly toward a message favorable to the conservative agenda.

However, I also found from my arguments with them that QUITE A FEW conservatives in Portland area are listening in to Air America to find out what all the upheaval is about. They are helping the ratings too.

[artv28]

79. It doesn't matter

what you watch if your home hasn't been selected by Nielsen. It's not voluntary but you can decline if you don't want a Nielsen technician coming into your home and installing metering equipment. Only around 5,000 households are selected at a time for national rating estimates. It's a very small sample considering there are millions of homes with TV's. Through mathematics they estimate how many homes nationally are watching particular shows. The concept is similar to calculating exit polls although I tend to believe exit polls are more accurate due to a larger sample size. I'm not sure how Arbitron measures radio listeners.

[Rainscents]

15. Seattle AAR is doing very well!

[cascadiance]

17. Kinda confirms my inclinations to move to Oregon if I leave San Diego...

A lot of things keep pointing that direction. You kind of confirm my gut feeling that Oregon might be a better place not to go crazy and at the same time stick to one's progressive principles... Unlike some of the crap that still endures around here in San Diego despite all of the corruption exposure recently.

[PretzelWarrior]

19. Yeah, they call it People's Republic of Portland

and of course Eugene tries to be Berkeley North.

The counties such as Lane, Benton, Multnomah in Willamette Valley will give you quite a respite from the SoCal way of life.

[cascadiance]

34. Was that a Thom Hartmann term?

I know he used to always call Vermont the "People's Republic" before he moved to Oregon...

[PretzelWarrior]

36. I think people called it that before he came over here....

but I think most progressive bastions get called "People's Republic of...." a lot. lol.

we're a buncha KOMMIES!

[0rganism]

41. It predates "little Beirut", IIRC

I think it goes back to the bottle and aluminum can $.05 deposit ballot measure.

[AspenRose]

46. My republican husband calls VT the "People's Republic"

He's originally from New Hampshire. So maybe it's common around New England.

:shrug:

[0rganism]

24. Oregon is not a liberal paradise

There are some progressive strongholds, to be sure, but there are also huge swaths of the state where flying your freak flag will get you dirty looks and worse. There's a very potent anti-tax lobby at work here, bent on destroying Oregon's state gov't through revenue starvation. As a result, our public schools are extremely overcrowded and acedemically strained -- big change from California if you have school-age kids.

And if you're used to SoCal weather, you'd better visit W. Oregon during December or January to get a picture of what you'll have to endure for months every year. You might just go crazy from our six-month Rain Festival, see if you can handle it before you commit.

That said, if you want help or advice in the process, drop a note in the Oregon forum and there are people who will give you plenty of both.

[depakid]

26. ....our six-month Rain Festival!

Well, at least it's not as bad as Seattle....:evilgrin:

[liam_laddie]

58. rain, rain, stay away

Seattle's average annual rainfall is (was?) about 39" and here in Cincinnati (no snarks, please)
we average about 40." But Seattle stays gray longer and has that drizzle syndrome. We get those
spectacular midwest thunderstorms, downpours. I know the NW has been really wet lately, tho.'

To keep it on-thread, we get a lot of AAR feeds here on a Clear Channel local station which carries
Riley, Maddow, Springer, Franken, Ed Schultz, (whom I admire for his passion; he gets heavy-hitter
guests plus fine writers like Tom Oliphant, Boston Globe's DC correspondent.) Plus Randi Rhodes
in the evening. I have to stream Thom Hartmann and others, tho.' How do the ratings services handle
these not-all-AAR-stations? I'm sure that overall, liberal listenership is rising.

[PretzelWarrior]

59. good point. they should find out PER SHOW or time period

what the ratings

[cascadiance]

33. I probably will be in the more liberal higher populated areas...

Though they might be pricier of course, they probably aren't going as nuts as the Bay Area, and the way San Diego is becoming now just yet.

As far as weather goes, a bit of rain doesn't bother me as much as having to drive through ice and snow that I had to endure when I used to live in the midwest. Also, this weather here might prepare me better if I have to make the move to Vancouver later if this government gets REALLY out of control soon. I don't have kids, so, though I'd like to make sure our schools are well funded, it won't affect me directly at this time.

I just want to be in a place where government, etc. is more responsive than those that are corruption beholden like they've been down here, and what seems to be a populace that either doesn't care or is clueless as to how this corruption is persisting by their actions of voting these bums in. I'm hoping that in 2006, some things might change (i.e. get in Francine Busby or get clean elections passed here locally). Just got a note today that I didn't have time to read yet, that makes it sound like they are debating whether to put Clean Elections on the local San Diego ballot until 2008 instead of shooting for 2006. Hope they get it in earlier. Would like to have that in place by 2008 election.

[stevedeshazer]

77. Well said.

Our rainfall is twice the average this year, too.

Oregon is great if you love to be dark and wet and cold for six months out of every year.

[Kurovski]

18. Thay always say it and they always will.

Screwy little munchkins, aint they?

Nutty in the noggin' and always good for a larf!

[underpants]

22. What did they say about WMDs?

Schiavo?
Tax cuts? Trickle Down? Supply Side?
Star Wars?
The Bell Curve?
Social Darwinism?
Intelligent Design?


Next question.

[CAcyclist]

23. I rarely listen anymore

because the signal gets too much interference. I'd prefer them to be an FM station,too. I can't get AM inside my office or in the apt. The only time I can hear AAR is in the car, and now not even then very often.

[PretzelWarrior]

28. where are you at, exactly there in Kalifornia?

[CAcyclist]

29. On the peninsula just south of SF

[PretzelWarrior]

31. so do you try KQKE or KSRO? are those the only ones in SF area?

Yeah, it would be good to get some FM stations

[EVDebs]

54. KQKE in SFBayArea is GREAT; KSRO in SantaRosaCA is great too

with the Pat Thurston Show 3pm-5pm. Al Franken is a breath of fresh air on an otherwise rightwingnut media !

http://www.quakeradio.com/main.html

What about FM and/or satellite radio or getting on cable TV ?

O'Reilly and the rest are going downhill according to ratings I've heard about.

[CAcyclist]

105. The Quake .nt

[rurallib]

25. An example of 'repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth'

If you sign on AAR on the web, you'll notice that the number of stations goes up a couple each week. Plus there are the syndicated shows like Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz. Miller passed the million a day listener milestone about a month ago. Rush doe @5million on about 10 times more stations.
The RW has been bashing liberal radio from day 1. Yet it keeps growing and growing and growing.
Remember the RW 1)owns the stations and 2) had a 15 year head start. Have faith and keep listening

[KharmaTrain]

32. Look And Determine For Yourself...

http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/

That's the link to the latest radio ratings from Radio and Records...

A couple of things to look for:

Here's the list of AAR affiliates: http://www.airamericaradio.com/stations. Note: this list is a lot larger than it was a year ago...so someone's been making some money, no???

Most AAR stations are owned by Cheap...err Clear Channel, who also own right wing spewers (Rushbo, Insanity), but the company that is best for comparison purposes are stations owned by Salem Communications. This is a right wing company that franchises "The Patriot" in many markets...in LA it's KRLA, Chicago on WIND, New York on WMCA...they're the home of such lovelies as Betamillion Bennett, Insufferable Ingraham, Medved, Hewitt, Savage and all those nice folks. Salem makes most of its money operating "dollar-a-hollar" religious stations...selling time to preachers and have made a fortune (also being a major partner with Dobson and his ilk) that has been used to buy radio stations all over the country...all designed to lose money but move a political/religious agenda.

For the most part, Salem has better signals than AAR in the major markets, however it's AAR that's kicking Salem's ass...

Remember, most of these "critics" are the ones who said AAR wouldn't make it out of their first month. All I hear is whistling past the graveyard. Progressive Talk has been one of the few bright spots in a very depressed radio world. It's taken dead radio stations and put life and some profitability into them. Look for more, not less Progressive stations in more markets during the years ahead. I sure hope those preachers and xtian bookstores have plenty of cash...Salem's gonna need it to keep their stations afloat.

[PretzelWarrior]

35. yes thanks for the link. I meant to do that myself. that's aged info

released almost 3months ago. I'm trying to get new info.

[KharmaTrain]

38. New Books Have Just Come Out

The major markets should all be done by the beginning of next week. Also, these are 12+ numbers...that's a very misleading figure. AAR's really kicking ass in the big 25-54 and 35-64 demographics...and those numbers aren't available unless you pay big money for them.

One more big thing AAR has going for them is the "TSL" or Time Spent Listening. Many stations like to use "cume" numbers or the total number of listeners estimated during the week. "Cume" is like the people walking past your store..."TSL" are the ones who come in and buy things. The longer they stay in the store, the more they buy, the more attractive they are for advertisers...thus the large number of car dealers and financial firms I now hear popping up on AAR stations.

I'm almost tempted to bookmark this post...seems I have to repost this every three months to answer yet another "AAR is going down" post...LOL.

Cheers...

[PretzelWarrior]

43. I actually put inflaming title in my post

As I said, I'm in Portland and have a quite optimistic view about Air America.

I would REALLY like to see some reporters write about those internal demographic numbers in those books without getting into specifics and the "work product" of Arbitron.

I remember reading something about the "stickiness" of the radio stations--how long people really listen. and yes, I heard Air America's is MUCH higher than conservative talk.

If you happen to hear any more specifics on the large markets, I'd appreciate it.

[Quixote1818]

37. Actually, Rush, Hannity and O'Reilly among others have been dropping

like a rock.

[LaPera]

39. Well shit, Donate to AAR, it will only make them stronger and grow!!!

I've been sending them a few bucks every chance I get...Everything helps liberal radio and a few bucks doesn't hurt me!!! And perhaps they can buy some FM stations down the line....

Donate to Air Americ Radio

www.airamericaradio.com

Think I'll send ten bucks right now.

[bluestateguy]

40. They said it wouldn't last 6 months

and on March 31 it will have been 2 years.

AA will never be what Limbaugh and Hannity are in terms of ratings, at least on a national level. But AA is here to stay, and that's what drives the Right up the wall: their monopoly on the AM radio dial is over.

[B Calm]

42. AA is reaching more people than they'll ever realize over the internet

and thanks to sites like White Rose.

[PretzelWarrior]

I don't buy that "they will never be like Limbaugh and Hannity"

Air America can change the discourse on radio. They can be TRULY ENTERTAINING and worth listening to for long stretches of time. They can pull people out of the "rock station" mindset and really get some top notch celebrities.

I truly believe they can break new ground and provide a RESURGENCE of radio in general.

[Rainscents]

44. Randi Rhodes beat Hannity in NY WLIB!!!

She just said this few minutes ago!!!

[PretzelWarrior]

45. that is awesome. I heard Franken came VERY CLOSE to Rush

considering this thing has not even been on 2 years...that is GREAT

[B Calm]

48. Malloy was voted best talk show host in NY! He also had the same

title in Chicago when he was on WLS, and it was during the time of the impeachment..

[PretzelWarrior]

49. that's interesting. I guess they know different strokes for

different folks. I'm not a super huge fan of Malloy. ALso don't go for Randi most of the time. BUt sometimes they are what I need to hear.

I love how Sam Seder has grown as a radio host.

[Rainscents]

51. With Alito hearing and what's at stake, I believe, people are listening

in on radio as they need to hear the truth!!!

[PretzelWarrior]

83. I believe people REALLY tuned in after Katrina

this shook a lot of people to their core about what a horrid president who really doesn't know how to do anything in a time of crisis we got for another 4 years.

[otohara]

47. up in Denver/Boulder

http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/DetailsPage.aspx?MID=72&RY=2005&RQ=4&MP=2&OTHER=2&MN=Denver-Boulder&MS=CO&MR=22&12P=2139300&UP=12/22/2005%2012:00:00%20AM&SU=CM&BPER=4.9&HPER=16.3&OPER=&NSD=1/20/2006%2012:00:00%20AM&CE=0

KKZN

[XOKCowboy]

63. Got OLeilly kicked off for low ratings...

Can't beat that. KKZN is kicking butt here in Boulder/Denver. Gotta love it.

[PretzelWarrior]

84. it will be great when Clear Channel does the math and starts

flipping station programming. They'll see Rush with a 100X size potential audience getting beat by Air America in a market and they will flip Rush and righties to the lower wattage station and put LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVE TALK on the huge station transmitters and BOOM. the tipping point.

I'm hoping by this time next year.

[AuntiBush]

50. Bought my XM Radio Last Summer Just to Hear them Both...

in the car and in the home. And, I still listen to them live, on the internet.

I highly doubt their ratings are anywhere near low. Is there any links to show this?

[phylny]

99. Can you tell me how you're set up?

I'm ignorant as to how XM works (other than the basics).

Do you have a free-standing piece that you can use in your home, and then plug into your car?

Where'd you purchase it, and about how much did it cost?

Thanks in advance for your help! :hi:

[Rosco T.]

104. How it works 101

- you can have multiple different kinds of XM's


-- Most have built in FM transmitters, so any nearby FM radio can be used. Most also have facilities for direct connection via an audio jack.

-- the RoadyXT (smallest) will fit inside a cassette case. It can be easily velcored to the dashboard of the car or it's car dock. There is an optional home dock to attach to a pair of powered speakers or you home stereo. You can carry it back/forth between car/house. Belkin will have a 'boombox' available shortly for the XT. If you go to the www.airamericaradio.com page, you'll see a link on the side for a FREE RoadyXT, details there.

-- the SkyFi2 is about twice the size, has a bigger display and adds the ability to 'rewind' up to 30 minutes of what you're listening to. Also a pause function for live broadcasts. Already a boombox available. Also can carry back/forth. Go to that same link as above to get it for $39

-- the Polk RT reference tuner is a home stereo component, suitable for rack mounting, about $250.

-- the XM2GO units are the 'cream'. Portable like a walkman, car dock to use it in the car, home dock for in the house. Altec-Lansing also makes a nice 'home dock' with built in speakers. You can also set it to record up to 5 hours of programming to later listening or just hit 'record' at any time. At the above link for $99 (I like the Pioneer best).

-- Newer XM2GO units are coming out that will also let you load MP3 and record up to 50 hours of programming, should be out shortly but will be about $300.

-- You need to have a reasonable view of the southern sky without heavy trees or metal buildings. There are two sat's parked over the east/west coasts, so unless you're underground you should be able to hit one or both without a lot of trouble. Last year we took a road trip from Las Cruces, NM > Denver > Laramie > Bosie > Portland and back, and with the exception of a few tunnels NEVER lost reception the entire trip. Also carried a spare home dock and speakers so we took it in the hotel room at night.

[phylny]

106. You are so kind to take the time to post this!

Thanks very much :)

[vireo]

52. I doubt that cancelling Morning Sedition has helped any

AAR's most entertaining program, and they dump it! :spank:

[PretzelWarrior]

53. well, I think they know who's pulling in the listeners

so I gotta believe Marc Maron was too insistent on things in a negotiation or they wanted to go away from the humor aspect and do more straight info on issues of the day. Not sure.

I kind of liked him, but they switched them to early, early morning and brought Thom Hartman in for 6 to 9 am morning drive and he's pulling in tons of listeners as he talks about Portland and Oregon specific things.

[stevedeshazer]

56. Here ya go, most recent ratings are from October 2005 by market share

KPOJ (carries Air America + Ed Schultz) 4.4
KEX (carries Limbaugh and "Dr." Laura) 4.4
KXL (carries Lars Larson and Bill O'Reilly) 3.7
KPAM (carries Hannity and Larry Elder and the vicious Victoria Taft) 1.6
KPDQ ("Christian Talk" carries Bill Bennett, Hugh Hewitt) 1.3

[PretzelWarrior]

61. awesome. I bet KEX is bigger due to sports they carry

and other stuff. I imagine Rush is still quite popular and tons still waste their time on Dr. Laura...but we are ON OUR WAY!

[stevedeshazer]

70. So is KXL

The Oregon Ducks and Portland Trail(er)Blazers are on KXL and Oregon State Beavers on KEX. This was for fall ratings, next ratings book will come out later this month. I usually post this when I find out the skinny.

:hi:

[PretzelWarrior]

72. oh yah. BLECH. The ducks! speaking of sports..

the one thing that sucks about KPOJ is when I'm hoping to hear Majority Report and instead get a Portland State Vikings basketball game or a Coach's season preview show.

I'm like......HELLO!

[stevedeshazer]

75. They did a contract prior to their agreement w/ Air America

But it's OK with me 'cause I'm a Vikings fan! :)

[DemonFighterLives]

55. That's what the righties say

Here in MN we have Wendy Wilde who is great MN leaning, but totally up on everything else. Stephanie Miller is new to us and great too. Al Franken kidding Oliphant(sp) that he should take his show should he dicied to run againstn Noam coleman. Big Eddie afternoon and Randi in the evening. I have mostly switched from Rock to this for my daytime listening.
AAR rocks and the righties programs are hate radio just like the Big Dawg said.
:patriot:

[Iris]

62. Yep. This is standard screed for the right radio folks. Oh, and O'Reilly

From what I understand, he has something on his show every week about how badly Air America is doing.

[DemonFighterLives]

80. I had a friend on another website tell me that AAR was going broke

Well he thinks Boortz is king, so I basically write off anything he has to say now.
Silly deluded buggers. :silly:

[PretzelWarrior]

81. Didn't Boortz get put through meat grinder by Randi

or AL Franken?

[DemonFighterLives]

82. Sorry, I don't know

I only saw Boortz once when he was hosting Talkback Live on CNN- gone now. It was all I could take of that chowderhead limbob clone.

[Iris]

107. Pretty funny since AAR had to build a LARGER radio tower in Atlant, where

Boortz is from.

[TrueAmerican]

57. A little birdie told me KLSD San Diego ratings are WAY, WAY, WAY UP!

You heard it here first folks

from www.radio-info.com poster:

Clear Channel Progressive Talker KLSD showed a 72% increase in 12+ AQH share in the fall book over the summer book. KLSD now is in 11th place in the "Beauty Contest" numbers (and third place among talk stations).

[PretzelWarrior]

60. sweet! that would be great to see some big gains in these

markets. I'm excited. I also want to do analysis to see year over year growth for the established markets and what the ratings for AAR affiliates are vs. whatever format they had before.

This is getting fun.

[stevedeshazer]

74. True

Summer '05 had KLSD at 1.8 share, Fall '05 at 3.1. Any program director would be happy with those numbers, they can sell more (and charge more) for their ads.

[Sydnie]

65. I am ticked that their signal seems to be getting overrun

by a sports channel out of Ottawa! By three in the afternoon, the signal is getting so weak in my area and by 6, it's bleeding out for a sports station. I can get WLIB in some places, but by 7 or 7:30, it too is being overrun by an oldies station. They need a stronger signal and then their ratings will go through the roof. It bites to be listening to Randi and then have Perry Como drown her out!

[PretzelWarrior]

69. THIS IS THE KEY!!!!!!!! How much would it cost to boost WLIB signal

we must get more wattage for these stations. Yes, donating can help...but I believe directing business owners you know to the local affiliate for advertising is good...telling your friends about the stations....getting a bumper sticker to advertise them.

THIS CAN GROW FAST!!!

I'm sorry to hear about the bad reception issue.

[TrueAmerican]

85. It takes more than money to up these station signals

You have to petition the FCC and there are specific rules to follow. The public and other stations on the same and nearby freq. have the right to comment on how it effects them. It's not a simple matter.

[davepc]

91. It wont happen.

money isn't the issue.

[Zinfandel]

95. I, personally listen to AAR via delay, (archives). WRS...But your right.

AAR needs to boost their signals, especially in major MSM locations.

[phylny]

98. I experience this, too.

In the morning, WLIB is drowned out by some station in Indiana. In the afternoon, it's someplace else. I basically can easily listen to Springer and Franken. I can't get a signal at all on my kitchen radio.

I had called WLIB a long time ago and asked what the deal was, and the man who answered verbally shrugged, with a "Yeah, it's a shame" attitude.

I bought an AM antenna booster a long time ago, but my husband hasn't installed it. I hope it will help.

[Nutmegger]

66. The RW freeper lunatics

want AAR to fail; remember what Limpballs how AAR would fail blah blah blah. Not only is it thriving, but beating these RW pundits. (Randi Rhodes beat out Hannity in NY).

[XOKCowboy]

67. RWers have been saying that since the beginning...

It's the one thing I can always throw back in the Cons faces at work. Every month of so one will come in and say they heard that AAR is bankrupt and closing down. Never seems to happen.

[welshTerrier2]

68. it's total bullshit

Randi Rhodes was interviewed by Brian Lamb on C-Span a few weeks ago ... she told him that AAR was growing very rapidly after a somewhat shaky first few months ...

she said that Clear Channel, which owns AAR, dumped AAR onto the weakest low-power stations they had because those outlets weren't making much money for them anyway ... but AAR, in spite of many low-power stations, has been a huge hit ... i think she said they've grown to 84 outlets nationally and are still growing ...

the pig boy (limbaugh) actually threatened to leave Clear Channel if they dared to put Randi's show opposite his ...

AAR isn't losing money; they're a hit !!

[PretzelWarrior]

71. yes they are. and getting more famous as we go

did you notice more and more appearances on cable TV talk by Air America folks.

Funny thing though. Rachel Maddow actually translates better on TV than radio. Maybe she should get her own TV gig.

I don't think Clear Channel owns AAR. I think they own so many radio stations around the country that it is very likely the stations joining AAR will be Clear Channel-owned.

[upi402]

76. Rightards have always said that since day one

no matter how fast AAR grows Rightartds say AAR is drawing its last breath.

[Rosco T.]

89. That and it's all a 'Time Buy' paid for by George Soros...

wander over to either of the XM forums (www.xmfan.com or www.xm411.com) and look for a coupla of Freeptards named "SamC" and "Kraut".. that's the first thing out of their mouths every time they start AAR bashing.

[PretzelWarrior]

78. Arbitron will start reporting on satellite radio ratings for content

in this Fall05 book and in Spring of 06 will begin doing reporting on listeners of Web-based radio (only when the web stream contains 100% of the content of standard radio signal including commerials.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/radio/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001018895

My brother just got me XM sattelite radio. I'm so lazy I haven't hooked it up yet. THey should ask all buyers the primary programming they bought it for. Have a choice of "talk radio" and a place where you can write your option (LIKE AIR AMERICA)

Satellite radio is supposed to have 9 million subscribers by end of this year.

[Rosco T.]

88. Between XM & SIrius they already HAVE 9 million subs...

XM is on target for 9-11 Million for itself by the end of '06

[PretzelWarrior]

102. yeah. you are right. it was meant as 9mil by end of 05

end of 06 they are looking at many more. Some believe could have 46 million between the 2 by 2010

[oldgrowth]

86. Has anybody tryed to put on a whole network???

24/5, I support AAR$$!!!It takes years for a music station to make Money!!

[PretzelWarrior]

87. no kidding. it's amazing!

the mere fact that they've survived....let alone are THRIVING is a testament to how strongly many of us yearned for a liberal voice we could nod to and say, "I THOUGHT I WAS ALONE!! you mean more people feel this way? I'm NOT CRAZY!"

Because you sure don't get that warm fuzzy watching network or cable news or reading the big newspapers and periodicals.

They all pull their punches and act like we aren't getting ass raped every single day by these thugs

[davepc]

92. Brief discussion of Randis ratings vs Hannity on New York Radio msg board

http://musicradio.computer.net/wwwboard/messages/276953.html

I hearing that Randi Rhodes Beat Sean Hannity in 25-54 Men in the breakouts of Fall Arbitrons. Also, WLIB has been gaining, overall in 25-54. No, it's not blowing anyone away. But the trend is up... and it's the trend that newer formats are always most interested in after they look at the overall numbers.

It should be noted that, overall, Hannity still has a commanding lead in 25-54 over Rhodes. But, he did have a weak December. You have to be careful not to jump to too many conclusions because of one bad month or even quarter. December has different listening patterns and WLTW's big jump up with its Christmas music probably pulled some of WABC's listeners away. Also, Hannity was off a lof of the month.

Still... the trend is interesting and if it continues will be significant.

[Zinfandel]

93. It's a matter of listeners, beyond the radio waves, XM, the Internet, iPod

and delays, (archives), like White Rose Society...this would also has to be considered. If they included all this it would be double (at least) than just the radio wave listeners...

So many who are not being counted on just the radio waves, but who listen everyday, and it's growing, Big Time!

AAR, also, I think, has to use all their revenue and begin to make the radio stations (affiliates), that they have, stronger, (signals), especially, the stations in markets where there's major media political influences...NY, Chicago, Washington DC, LA, SF & Atlanta...Where then the MSM will be forced to deal with them and us as the force that we are, (instead of being simply ignored).

Donating, to AAR also truly helps liberal radio (of course).

www.airamericaradio.com

[T Town Jake]

97. Highest ratings of ANY radio program EVER.

There simply is no denying it. Anyone who does is a freeper.

[stepnw1f]

108. The Timing of this...

after just hearing Randi yesterday boast about ratings. What's up?