WorldNetDaily: Panhandle broadcasting: Air America crumbling?

And what would make anyone think that? Simply this: Air America has now started asking its listeners to support it directly, since advertisers won't.

Rush Limbaugh commented on this a few weeks ago, when a California station pleaded with local advertisers to support Air America. And now Air America's troubles have only gotten worse.

Say, doesn't that remind me of another largely listener-supported network? Oh, yeah...National Public Radio! And the Public Broadcasting Service! Great. As if we didn't already have programming "made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by the annual financial support of Viewers Like You."

To be fair, the listener-supported broadcast model does have its place. Family Stations, Inc. has been operating that way for years. They know they're not selling a product. Rather, they are serving a cause--in their case, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to as many as will tune in. They are, in effect, a church (mostly a Dutch Reformed church, but that's another topic), and Harold Camping, President and General Manager, is the senior pastor (or presiding bishop). And while I certainly have my quarrels with some of the details of their content, I generally prefer Family Radio's schedule to that of most other FM or AM stations today.

The point, however, is that Family Radio has never pretended to be anything but a listener-supported network serving a cause. Air America has tried to pretend that it is selling something of value. Well, as it turns out, people will not pay to have their names mentioned on a network that hardly reaches anyone, and those they do reach will not even be in the market for their products, for commercial, political, or other reasons. Result: no advertising--or insufficient advertising.

I wish Air America all joy in their attempt to become a listener-supported network like Family Radio. Then we shall see whether Air America really has as many devotees as they claim. I would advise them, however, to drop all pretense to being a viable commercial network and rely totally on listener donations. That might help them untangle the mess they have made of their finances--not to mention their relations with relevant authorities.

Or it might not. It all depends on how many people are devoted to the cause they espouse.