Cynical Nation

This past Saturday a friend of mine informed me that he'd just landed a job with Air America. Needless to say, I thought this was an April Fool's joke at first. Turns out it's the truth, which means I now have my very own well-placed source within the fledgling network. This might prove to be a useful resource in separating truth from the pervasive rumors which always swirl around AA.

April 1, as you might recall, was widely predicted to be D-Day for Air America. The lease on WLIB, their New York City flagship, was due to expire with no prospects of renewal. Had it done so it would probably have dealt a mortal blow to the entire enterprise. According to my friend, AA was finally granted an extension to the end of the year, during which time they can work to formulate a long-term solution.

Evidently the early reports were not exaggerating, however. AA came very, very close to losing it all. Even after dodging the lease bullet, some fundamental problems remain -- low ratings, poor advertising revenue and continued bailouts from deep-pocket supporters. From a programming note, my source thinks AA should focus more on "the Truth," than strictly partisan politics, and needs to move beyond 24/7 "Bush-bashing" (his term.) He sees Randi Rhodes as a role model for what an AA host should be.

Although this probably doesn't even need to be said, my friend is a "true believer," a young progressive who drives hundreds of miles to take place in anti-war rallies whenever he can. His critique of Air America "Bush bashing" is not born of any love for the guy.