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Politics : Err America: They Report, They Decide -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: redfish who wrote (6)	6/22/2004 11:03:00 AM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1513

AIR AMERICA HITS SOUR RATINGS NOTE nypost.com By JOHN MAINELLI June 22, 2004 -- ENCOURAGING preliminary ratings for all-liberal Air America in New York have collapsed along with the fledgling radio network's finances. An unofficial "extrapolation" of Arbitron data released last Friday — which Air America's hosts crowed about last month but virtually ignored yesterday — showed WLIB's ratings dropping back to their lowly levels before the net's April launch. Arbitron cautions stations and advertisers not to read too much into this interim monthly data — but that didn't stop Air America star Al Franken from boasting last month that he'd beaten WABC's Rush Limbaugh among the 25- to 54-year-old listeners chased by radio advertisers. Instead of ratings yesterday, Franken discussed a Wall Street Journal article that provided frightening details about alleged phantom finances — including purported promises of major backing from liberal moneybags Norman Lear and Larry David — that resulted in a near-complete shakeup of Air America's executive suite last month. According to the article, many Air America investors thought the network had raised $30 million — when, in fact, only $6 million had been raised before the network launched. "We have a new influx of cash coming up," said Franken, whose contract promises more than $1 million a year, according to the Journal. "I am being paid now," he told listeners yesterday. "I've been paid for weeks." Franken took issue with Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly for interviewing a reporter last week who said Air America investors have been throwing money "down a rat hole." "Fox News Channel lost $150 million in its first two years," Franken said. "That was a much bigger rathole than our rathole." Air America president Jon Sinton, who declined comment through a spokesman yesterday, told The Post in April that it would be unfair to make too many judgments too soon. "It takes a long time to develop a [talk radio] audience," Sinton said, echoing the sentiments of many talk radio experts. "This is a long-term project." The lefty network, which hopes to counter the election-year influence of high-rated conservative talk radio, is still without affiliates in Los Angeles and Chicago after noisy disputes over station lease payments. Except for New York's WLIB (1190 AM), its 15 affiliates are in medium to small markets. Fox News Channel is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Post.