I am a good friend of Mike Malloy and when I started Air America Radio, I wanted him, Randi Rhodes, and Al Franken. I thought that would be a good start. And I got them. When I got a call from Mike Malloy yesterday I was shocked that the AAR board had not offered him a contract. He is the lowest paid of all the regular hosts on AAR and they put him in an awful time slot, 10pm-1am ET. As I stated before, I am a minority owner of AAR and I am not on the board of directors. I do run 2 AAR affiliates in Phoenix and Little Rock. However, the AAR board does not seem to want my advice. It is a shame because I could really help. I have lots of experience in business and I understand good talk radio.
AAR is the most branded name in talk radio primarily because the MSM gave them all that free publicity and the right wing talk show hosts always bring up AAR. While I was involved in AAR operations, I recognized that the free publicity we got was wonderful. I also know that you do not have to like your talent and in fact most radio hosts are a bit egocentric and at times difficult to deal with. Howard Stern is the best example of that. Does anyone really like Stern? But, he does create controversy and get lots of listeners. Isn't that what talk radio is about? And Mike Malloy is extremely controversial, but he is knowledgeable and lots of people enjoy his show.
I suspect Malloy's termination was more about personality than performance. It certainly was not about money. My suggestion to those who love Mike Malloy is to do what the audience of 60 Minutes did when they terminated Andy Rooney several years ago. Email or write them about your feelings and we may still have a chance to get him back. I have already vigorously registered my complaint directly to the board and I understand that Sam Sedar also did on the air yesterday. Go to the AAR web site at http://www.airamericaradio.com and let them know how you feel. Register on line free and click "About Us" on the right side of the top and "Contact us" will appear. I talked to Mike Malloy and he would be open to coming back if too much time does not pass.