Air America claims another victim

This time it’s WHJJ-AM in Rhode Island. Here’s Brian Maloney, the Radio Equalizer:

In one of the biggest screw-ups in talk radio history, a well-performing conservative talk station has been destroyed by switching to "progressive" Air America programming.

Most amazing: it took only a year to kill Providence's WHJJ-AM.

Since it's one of the few nationwide that actually dumped a viable conservative lineup for Franken & Co., it provides an important case study for why liberal talk will never succeed.

The RE asks: “What approach can liberal talkers use, other than boring Bush-bashing? Where's the audience demand?” I’ve wondered this myself, listening to Morning Sedition on XM during my commute. Even if you’re the biggest Bush-hater in America, how many times can you listen to the same vapid catchphrases and free-form vitriol? Air America is a turgid mélange of left-wing conspiracy theories and crackpot spittle, as others have noted:

I can reveal at least part of the reason for all this: Air America is truly terrible, amateurish and sometimes downright embarrassing. It sounds like University Radio Essex did in my student days - paved with good intentions, but lacking in technical expertise or professional flair. Limbaugh, by contrast, is a brilliant performer who instinctively understands the rhythm and pace of radio. His show crackles, while Air America sounds as though it is struggling for air. Even the ads seem to scrape the barrel, with Franken wretchedly recommending some brand of mattress.

The numbers don’t lie: even at Air America’s flagship station in New York, the ratings were higher when they were playing Caribbean music.