Fox News is always ragging on Air America. They say that a liberal radio network can't work, the hosts don't have any talent and that the network is always losing money. So, let's see how Air America did against Fox News last year.
In 2008, former Air America host, Al Franken was elected the next Senator from Minnesota. Current Air America host Rachel Maddow was given her own television show on MSNBC, where she instantly doubled the ratings and even beat legendary Larry King on CNN (and also tripled the ratings of current Fox host Glenn Beck when he was on CNN Headline News in the same time slot).
In 2008, no Fox News host or anchor became a United States Senator. Nor did anyone double their ratings. To be fair, they still did relatively well in the ratings although both CNN and MSNBC closed ground on them during the year.
Oh yeah, one other thing - their parent corporation lost a tremendous amount of money. The Rupert Murdoch run News Corporation lost $30 billion in market cap. Yes, Fox's parent corporation lost a stunning $30 billion in value in 2008. Boy, those conservatives sure know how to run a business!
What happened, I thought Air America couldn't make money? Did you know that Fox News lost $90 million a year for its first five years of operation? Air America has never come close to losing that kind of money. But you see, when it comes to them, they call that an investment. When it comes to liberal networks, they just call it losing money.
Does that distinction make any sense? Of course, not. But their advantage is that they don't live in the reality-based world. So, they can use any rhetorical trick they like and not be held accountable. But here is the problem, the reality-based world has a way of catching up with you. Just ask George Bush. And in this case, it caught up to News Corp. to the tune of $30 billion. Ouch.
I assume we won't be hearing much from Fox anymore about how to run a business. Or how to run a Senate campaign. Or how to double your ratings. They might be best served by drinking a tall glass of shut up juice for awhile. Somehow, I doubt they will though.
Disclaimer: The Young Turks were also an Air America show at one time and our videos are still carried on their website. Plus, I loathe Fox News. So, those are my biases, but the facts remain the same nonetheless.
By the way, we also did our part in 2008. The Young Turks is one of the top rated shows on XM satellite radio and one of the most popular shows on You Tube (Top 100 Most Viewed -- All Time) with close to 60 million views. And unlike News Corp., we turned a profit this year.