Air America dies

Heh. Rush Limbaugh remade talk radio. He won't go on satellite radio in loyalty to his am affiliates (We'll see what the fairness doctrine does). NOBODY listened to talk radio before Rush, which makes him a target. Anybody who drives a lot is available to be persuaded by the likes of Rush and Hannity and WJR's deejays. That is why the administration would like to apply the so-called FAIRNESS DOCTRINE to impose local restrictions on who you can hear. Enter Air America, who thought they could compete with Rush, et al. Nuh uh. Air America, who could only be heard in certain places (limited run), was basically depressing and mean radio. Al Franken? Ugh. Mean guy. Stephanie what's her name? Ugh. Not only mean, but very, um, unintelligent. Today we get the news that Air America is dead. Sigh. So sad.

It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.

The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America's business. This past year has seen a "perfect storm" in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection. From large to small, recent bankruptcies like Citadel Broadcasting and closures like that of the industry's long-time trade publication Radio and Records have signaled that these are very difficult and rapidly changing times.