Air America Out
by Kevin McCullough

The Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and The New York Times this week are all reporting the demise of Air America - the demise of its top executives at least. Much speculation has occurred as to why the fledgling "talk radio for liberals" network is having such problems. To me the single most overwhelming answer is obvious - it starts with a premise.

The premise is this: "Conservatives believe there is A God. More, liberals believe they are God."

This premise infiltrates everything they do. If, as conservatives believe, there is a God and He is superior to us and exists outside of us then truth is meant to be understood and obeyed.

But if there is no one to obey, then why do so? Perhaps this explains why the executives felt it was unnecessary to pay their bills in Chicago and Los Angeles. The owners of the station they are on in Chicago are so enthusiastic with that idea that last Friday was the final day for Air America to be heard in the Windy City.

Conservatives believe that all men (and by that I mean all of mankind - not just the male gender) are sinful. So if sinful man rejects absolute truth, then what you end up with is - a mess. And "a mess" could not describe better what Air America finds itself in the middle of.

Air America believes that their hosts can go on air and say anything they jolly well please and people will automatically listen. In the early stages Air America was asked, "How will you make liberal talk radio work - when so many efforts have been attempted before and failed?" Their answer predicted their doom.

"We don't believe people listen to Rush because they agree with him. He's merely an entertainer - so all we have to do is just make it entertaining."

So enter "comedian" Al Franken and his "entertaining" concepts of "The Franken Factor", desecrating the memory of heroes, or putting the administration's key cabinet heads on Middle East "wanted posters". Certainly, he thought, these are gimmicks that will get the attention of the audience.

No - radio is a dynamic discipline. The story must take one to a destination - and it must always be in pursuit of that destination. Through the telling of good stories, radio can be used to inspire, educate, and inform. Liberals who think being educated, informed, or inspired are beneath them, will not thrive in this world. Their messages are filled with bitterness, deceptions, distortions, and skepticism.

A good example occurred last week.

Pat Tillman died a hero. A man who left millions on the Arizona Cardinal football field to go fight for his country and take a stand in the "War on Terror" against those who wish to kill Americans.
With his wife still grieving, his flag draped coffin not even fully returned to his family yet, the liberals attacked, using mocking sarcasm. The bottom line is - Americans want nothing to do with content like that.

At the end of the day I don't see how Air America can succeed. If listeners don't like their content, they won't frequent their advertisers, and they must fail. If they keep losing the stations in the largest markets it cannot succeed.

I guess some liberal could always invent the option of trying to do liberal radio and force tax-payers to pay for it - even if they disagree with nearly everything they air.

Oh but wait, that's what we call NPR...

Kevin McCullough is heard daily in New York City, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware on AM 570 WMCA and AM 970 WWDJ from 1-4pm. Adding stations in Chicago, Boston, and 16 more markets soon. Write KMC at kmc@wmca.com. Read KMC daily on his web-log at http://kmc.crosswalk.com. For information on how to bring "The Kevin McCullough Show" to a station near you drop an e-mail to kmc@wmca.com.