Air America launched in the spring of 2004 with great fanfare, with the intention of electing more Democrats including, hopefully, John Kerry.
That didn't happen. But it did prove that there was space on the radio dial for progressive voices. This, in the pre-Katrina era where very few in the mainstream media ever denied criticize President Bush (Countdown with Keith Olbermann was more irreverent back then). It was a time of Kos, Talking Points Memo, and Wonkette, but few percolated outside of the crazy blogs.
But AM radio in 2004 was a cesspool of non-stop idolatry towards President Bush. It sounded like what I imagine radio in a communist country might sound like. Even if you enjoy hearing differing opinions as I do, it was nearly unlistenable. It was nothing but glowing praise for the dear leader, and nothing but contempt for his America-hating opponents. Not pleasent.
Air America gave voice to the silent plurality.
True, few ever listened. And they got a lot of things wrong. They put some smart people on the air who were well-known, but not great talk radio hosts, like Janaene Garofolo and Al Franken. And some of the great ones they had, like Sam Seder, Marc Maron and the Young Turks, were underutilized. And some of the most entertaining liberal hosts, like Ed Shultz, Stephanie Miller and Alan Colmes, did not work for Air America.
On the other hand, without his show, Al Franken would probably not be living in Washington right now. And Rachael Maddow still wouldn't own a television set. However, without the Air America infrastructure, those shows nor others, would not be stations from coast to coast, nor on satellite radio.
I think part of the reason Air America did not succeed was that liberals don't like to have their opinions reflected back at them, particularly if not done in an entertaining way. I can be a little boring to hear someone tell you what you already know, again and again (don't ask me how conservatives put up with the maddeningly repetitive Sean Hannity). We know what we think, so will listen to FM, our iPods or NPR, thank you very much.
But as a talk radio fan, it was great to know it was there. I loved coming across Ron Reagan eviscerate the lastest conservative talking points, which were spewed forth on every other AM talk station. I enjoyed Thom Hartmann discussing issues that no one else on the radio discussed, because they weren't sexy (the environment, the labor movement).
I'm sorry Air America's business model might have been flawed. But as a listener, that wasn't my problem. I'm grateful to them for putting progressive voices on the air. At the time, it was a necessary move, and it remains so today.
So thank you Air America. For Sen. Al Franken. For trying to bring progressive voices to the AM hinterland. For America Left (on Sirius XM). For giving liberals a voice on commercial radio. You will be missed, but your legacy lives on.