Friday, June 09, 2006

Q: What do Air America and Sherman’s March have in common?
A: They both spent some time in Atlanta, leaving disaster behind.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

One difference is that Sherman's March to the Sea only lasted a month.

Does the sell-by date EVER expire on Brian Maloney's "Air America is dead, dead, dead (this time I swear it's truly true)" serial scoops? Maloney's radio column is turning into The Al Franken Decade.

Eric said...

Well, that's kinda like saying: "I can still see a smoke stack on the Titanic."

They lost Atlanta and some other major markets, lost their flagship station in New York City, everywhere else AA plays sits at the bottom of the ratings, they have few advertisers and some of them are "on spec" (meaning they pay AA if they get a sale), they have never had anything close to a profit and now beg their listeners for cash.

Doesn't sound like a growing enterprise.

Anonymous said...

It is kinda interesting. Hannity makes money. Hewitt makes money. Limbaugh makes buttloads of money.

One would think that if AAR were a viable business they could, you know, SHOW that they at least occasionally make money somewhere.

AAR reminds me of that Monty Python sketch "Bring Out Your Dead."

"I'm not dead yet." (Bonk! Get whacked on head with mallet.) That's about all that appears to be left for AAR.

Anonymous said...

I was going to respond to the claim that Air America bleeds its listeners for cash. But I'm far too comfortable sitting here in my Excellence in Broadcasting office chair ($519.90), wearing my No Spin microfiber jacket ($79.95) over my Rush Limbaugh signature Sweater Vest ($82.50), which I keep inside my O'Reilly Factor Men's Garment Bag ($64.95), while drinking from my EIB Executive Coffee Mug ($24.99), saluting my novelty Club Gitmo flag ($21.95), and loving the sleek feel of my EIB mousepad ($19.95), which I keep clean with my Club Gitmo Soap-on-a-Rope (a steal at $8.50 a bar), while wiping my feet on my The Spin Stops Here doormat ($39.95).

I'm still waiting for a No Spin His-and-Hers Loofah set, or an Excellence in Broadcasting Weekly Pill Organizer. But, Christmas is coming!

Eric said...

Are those real items? Can I really get those things?

Because, you know, I make a lot of money and advertisers tend to target my demographic - that is, people who have money to spend.

I wonder why they're so shy about Air America. Huh.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who'd pay 500 bucks for an office chair because Rush Limbaugh tells them to is in the "cretin" demographic above and beyond any economic considerations.

Yes, all those products are real. But none of them are "advertiser" merchandise targeting a successful audience. It's all in-house junk. Radio is a low-rent kind of medium.

Air America sells some of the same kinds of crap, too... mugs, tote bags, sweatshirts, mousepads, etc. Their prices aren't quite as absurd, but that's just a detail. A Morning Sedition messenger bag is a cheaper purchase than a Bill O'Reilly doormat, but the burning shame of ownership is just as eternal.