[…] Rhodes was shoved into tape delay on the graveyard shift in favor of Ed Schultz, and now “Morning Sedition” is thrown overboard and replaced by Stephanie Miller. Filed under: Air America Comments: […]

Regarding the issue on your website about “Air Ameirca Minnesota” that “the morning and afternoon drive slots–the two most important, ratings and revenue-wise, pieces of any day’s programming schedule–are NOT produced, or in any way affiliated with” national Air America.

The 11AM-2PM Central slot with Al Franken must have some significance, since Rush Limbaugh has become the talk-radio host with the most listeners by broadcasting in that same time-slot.

Show me ONE station that carries his show that is branded “Rush Limbaugh Radio.” Limbaugh built that audience because of talent, not his timeslot. AAR’s entire business plan revolved around the idea of providing an entire slate of shows, and on a number of their “affiliates,” their programming is casted aside during “money time”: morning and evening drive.

Originally, the founders of Air America Radio just planned to create one radio show.

Then they decided that putting a liberal show between two conservative shows doesn’t work.

An affiliate playing a mixture of “Air America” shows and other liberal talk shows doesn’t detract from the concept.

Eric, do your homework. People like Randi Rhodes and Ed Schultz were already out there doing their schtick, sometimes sandwiched between conservative hosts, and were drawing listeners before AAR ever hit the airwaves. The original idea the Drobny’s and their fellow investors had when the founded AAR was to either lease or outright buy radio stations, and program their entire broadcasting day with a stable of liberal hosts. It was a ridiculously naive business plan that blew up in their faces. Now the netlet’s existence is firmly in the hands of Clear Channel, who own the bulk of the affiliate stations and pick and choose which AAR show they want to carry.

It’s all well-and-good for Randi Rhodes and Ed Schultz if they have been able to succeed in between conservative shows, but other liberal talk show hosts didn’t.

AAR decided against the plan they had at one point of controlling every show on affiliates.

Hence, people in the Twin Cities of Minnesota get Ed Schultz in the afternoon instead of Randi Rhodes.

AAR isn’t the first or last business to adjust its strategy.

Regarding Clear Channel, are you implying they are too powerful and should have to sell the bulk of their stations?

Because I’d go along with that.

No, I’m implying nothing of the sort. I’m saying that without Clear Channel deciding to flip a bunch of underperforming stations they owned to a “progressive talk” format, to see if that can deliver better ratings than whatever was being broadcasted previously, AAR would be on the ropes. If, as Minnesota shows, they can’t clear all their programming on these various affiliates, they are going to be firing people left and right to pay the exhorbitant salaries they doled out to “names” like Franken and Garofalo before either ever proved they could draw ratings to justify the money.

You don’t really think Kathy Lanpher quit co-hosting Franken’s show just because she wanted to go off to write a book about moving from Minny to NYC, do you? Lizz Winstead is suing AAR for money owed when they dropped her…I’ll bet Lanpher walked over money issues, but didn’t want to bring more bad press down on the netlet’s head so didn’t go public about it. Really, she may really be writing the book, but doing so meant she had to bail out of the program? BS.

My own speculation on why Katherine Lanpher left is that she’s hopng to find another job in which she’s the main host. She had her own show on Minnesota Public Radio before AAR.

But let’s assume for a second she left because she was unhappy with her salary.

Does that ever happen at conservative talk radio stations, and/or music radio stations?