Balancing Act
I never understood or agreed with the premise of Air America. From its outset, the syndicated radio network was promoted as a “progressive” and “liberal” voice, created ostensibly to offset the conservative idealogues who increasingly populate TV and radio’s programming dials. This positioning, in my mind, was and is a mistake. Just as NPR is in a struggle to affirm its journalistic objectivity, Air America would be better served to strive for the same. (Al Franken’s involvement says enough about its political leanings.)
As details emerge about Al Gore’s new media venture, it’s refreshing to see “Current” (as it is named) not promoted as residing on one end of the political spectrum or the other. (After all, do Bill O’Reilly or Tucker Carlson promote their brand of histrionics as “from the right” or “showcasing the conservative viewpoint?”) Gore is smart to feign neutrality.
July 21st, 2005 at 5:31 pm
As a regular Air America listener, I fail to see how the network would benefit by smudging its political identity. Since its launch in early 2004, Air America has become a home base for people seeking an alternative to the steady stream of GOP talking points parroted by the likes of Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity and O’Reilly. Would some fuzzy branding strategy get it carriage in Red State America?
In fact, Air America’s strategy illustrates a fundamental difference between the left and right in this country. Air America has been up front about what it is and makes no apologies for it. On the other hand, Fox News Channel has been the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” hiding its right-wing slant behind its “fair and balanced” branding.
Caveat emptor! The news consumer who goes to Fox and decides it is not “fair and balanced” will tune out. Increasingly, Fox’s audience is composed of the ever-shrinking segment of the American populace that believes the neo-conservative ideology behind current public policy is what’s best for the United States and the world.
Air America’s founders, backers and talent recognized a void in the marketplace and filled it. Al Gore’s Current channel operates in a different market space. The need there isn’t for liberal news as the antidote to conservative news. Rather, it is for genuine reporting and real journalism as an alternative to the pablum now offered by the 24/7 news nets.
July 21st, 2005 at 7:18 pm
Thanks, Ellis. My point lies less in criticizing Air America’s brand of editorial content, which I believe is sorely needed, but more in how the network brands itself. If fair and balance is a journalistic virtue, then let’s brand it for what it is. By promoting itself as from the left, it’s only speaking to its core, i.e., already converted, audience — not a good strategy if you wish to have your point of view prevail across the board.
July 21st, 2005 at 8:00 pm
Peter -
I don’t dispute that Air America is preaching to the choir, and from listening to it daily as I drive to and from work my sense is that that their objective. If that is indeed their strategy, more power to them. If not, then they need to take it up in their boardroom.
One area where conservatives have done a far superior job is in packaging their message into clear, concise, consistent messages that can be packaged and sold to their audience by right-wing talkmeisters like Limbaugh, Hannity et. al.
The “liberal agenda” has yet to be treated in this manner. If it ever is, it will be fun to see what Randi Rhodes can do with it.
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:24 am
I don’t like liberal (or conservative) agendas. I like the truth in journalism. It’s no fluke that Fox calls itself “fair & balanced.”