Liberal radio will fail

Air America, a new all-liberal talk radio station, premiered last Wednesday in five markets, and already, commentators are prophesying its demise. Conservative commentators are on the attack, claiming there's no likelihood for the station's survival.\nThe thing is -- they're right.\nI should make clear right now that I don't think they're right for the same reasons they do. I see the idea of liberal talk radio as practically unrealistic for a number of reasons. Many conservatives, however, have a compelling interest invested in the failure of liberal talk radio. It's not only their prediction, it's their wish. It'll be all the proof they need to say liberalism is a complete failure.\nJeff Jacoby, a columnist for the Boston Globe, wrote last year that talk radio emphasizes words and arguments and, thus, liberals will fail because of an inability to engage critics and a tendency to write-off those that disagree with them. (Sure, because I've never seen a conservative do that.) \nJonah Goldberg, a contributing editor to National Review, highlighted a few reasons why liberal talk radio won't work, including: 1) Liberals are demagogues, and 2) Liberalism is wrong.\nSyndicated columnist Cal Thomas had by far my favorite reason: "Conservatism is optimistic and fun. Liberalism is pessimistic and dour." Fun, people! Fun!\nForget for a moment, if you will, the irony in those statements, and let's see if we can examine the real reasons liberal talk radio won't work.\nAir America's executives often point to "The Daily Show," perhaps one of the best shows on TV, as the type of programming they want to imitate. (In addition, "Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead is hosting a morning program for Air America.) Above all, they say they want their radio shows to be funny. \nBut "The Daily Show" is only a half-hour of compact satire and humor with an entertaining cast and great writers. Most shows on Air America have two or three personalities at a time and are three hours long for five days a week.\nTalk radio is a business. Many liberals tune into conservative talk radio just for the anger factor, but I doubt conservatives will tune into liberal talk radio for the same reason. Of course there must be a market for left-leaning talk radio somewhere, but there's not the demand for it like there is for conservative talk radio.\nThere are many outlets in the media that provide debate: cable news networks, newspaper, magazines, the Internet and now Web logs. But many conservatives generally feel the mainstream media is slanted way to the left. For them, talk radio is a refuge.\nThere are other reasons why I think leftist radio will fail. Liberals are too nuanced for talk radio, which thrives on one voice talking at you rather than talking with you. Single-sided talk radio promotes intellectual laziness, framing issues as black or white and no in between.\nAir America runs the risk of defining itself as opposition to conservative talk radio rather than defining itself as a unique radio station. Its success will depend on how creative the station plans to be and how far it can distance itself from traditional talk radio.\nOh, and there's one last reason why I think Air America will fail. Bill O'Reilly told the Washington Post last week, "I don't think the enterprise is marketable at all. It's a one-trick pony. They're trying to emulate what Rush Limbaugh did. I don't think they have the people to do it."\nApparently, there's only room in talk radio land for one ideology to have a chance to foam at the mouth and yell into the microphone. Sorry, liberals -- I guess conservatives adapted that role first.