God, AAR Sucks

[evil eggplant]

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad they're finding sponsors, and I know all about how AM radio works, but yesterday was the final straw.

I jumped in the car at 5:20 and turned on AAR to catch Rhodes. I tuned into the middle of some advertisments. I listened to 5 minutes of advertisements. Rhodes popped in, answered a single call lasting no more than three minutes, then went to another 6 minutes of commercials, at which point I arrived at my destination.

When AAR isdoing commercials I switch to our faux affiliate for some lars larsen. Lately, I have been spending more time listening to GOP radio than AAR.

I wish AAR the best, but if more than half of the time they're on the air is used for advertising and self promotion then I'm done as a listener.

[NYCGirl]

1. How do you propose they PAY THE BILLS?

It costs money to run a radio network.

[evil eggplant]

3. Like I said

Like I said, I'm spending more time listening to faux than AAR. Faux is paying their bills too. Somehow faux manages to thrive with less advertising.

How do I propose they pay their bills? The same way faux does.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[evil eggplant]

10. why not?

I'm a Liberal, and I'm proud of what I am. But there is a saying; "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer"

I enjoy the security of being surrounded by kindred souls, but the world is a big bad place with people who mean to do me harm, and knowing what they think and do is important to me.

Plus, the guy is such an asshole, he is really quite entertaining.

[patdem]

18. Eggzactly, I would slit my wrists before listening to lush or o'really or

insanity...or the savage..trust me...I prefer ads to faux or reight wing radio!!!! :nopity:

[NYCGirl]

6. I'd bet you they have almost the same amount of advertising.

Also, with Fox's years on the air and ratings, they can charge more. That's how these things work.

[txindy]

20. Faux corp. subsidizes their radio from their other profits

If AAR belonged to a corporation owned by a billionaire like Murdoch, they'd probably have more money, too. That's not the point. But since you won't listen to any other channel except Faux (interesting alternative to AAR you've made there), then you've already made your choice. Not that it matters. AAR ratings are going up and Faux's are spiralling downward. Maybe your patronage will help Faux. Good luck with that.

[crikkett]

11. raise rates

...which I'm sure they'll do. They may have long-term contract obligations.

hang in there, or write to complain.

[edbermac]

2. Give them time, even Limbaugh sucked when he first started

Of course he still sucks, just more people listen to him suck...AAR will get better...

[Dr Fate]

4. Most radio has a ton of commercials- I love AAR.

I listen everyday- somthing for all stripes of Democrats.

[Norquist Nemesis]

7. They should try a 16/4 format

16 minutes on air/4 minutes commercials per hour

One of the most popular talk/music shows in this area does it and does so very effectively. With a 15-30 minute commute, the air time is focused toward the listener with encouragment for audience participation (call-ins). They're also able to put ad revenues at a premium due to high demand. :)

[evil eggplant]

14. I would accept much less than 16/4

Shit, 15 minutes of advertising in an hour? I would go for that.

[Norquist Nemesis]

26. LOL

Sorry, I pretty much only listen streaming. My little run around town car doesn't have a radio. And when I drive the 'family car' I listen to AAR, but it's Cox(?) Network.

The 16/4 format is each hour has 16 uninterrupted minutes of talk/music/news (whatever is on station's schedule), followed by 4 minutes of commercials (30 second spots being the most common), the another 16 minutes of talk/music/news... You can almost set your watch to it when you're listening. LOL

I'm thrilled to have AAR here in the Chicago area. Wish I could get it out here in this far Western burb on my house radio though. One would think there would be a whole slew of liberal radio talk stations in an area that has a multitude of stations. AAR is the only one though...even Chicago NPR slants a little to the right.

[mconvente]

25. It's the format used by 1050 ESPN Radio in NYC

And it works well.

[oregonjen]

8. I guess I would want to listen to advertising rather than

listening to Lars. I can't believe you would give that digusting guy any time. :puke:

[elfin]

9. I switch to music for a song or two and then go back

It does seem that there are many mre ads than at the beginning. Maybe they can start charging more from fewer now that they are apparently gaining ground in some markets.

[walldude]

12. Keep talking like that and someone

might accuse you of being a freeper troll.... Personally I'd rather listen to Commercials all day long than have to listen to Rush or Hannity or O'Reilly for 30 seconds... But thats just me..

[evil eggplant]

22. me, a freeper troll?

Freeper troll?

What, I can't say something unpopular without being branded? Believe me, I'm no freeper. Far from it. Check out my blog.

I just feel different than you. I watch O'Reilly and Hannity and Hume and I listen to Rush and the rest of the shitheads.

And why shouldn't I?. These forums are littered with quotes of these clowns. What, it's OK to be interested enough to go to mediamatters or newshounds, but it's not OK to listen for yourself?

You may enjoy living life from within the cocoon of a mass of kindred spirits, but if it's all the same to you, I'll assimilate both sides , then make a judgement for myself.

Freeper troll? That really pisses me off.

[txindy]

31. If you can stomach listening to them, then go for it

I wouldn't give them the ratings boost, myself.

[Rob H.]

13. Are the AAR podcasts an option for you?

I'm subscribed to a couple of shows and they're automatically downloaded in their entirety, but minus the commercials. You can fast-forward through parts you're not interested in hearing, too (Franken's conversations with Mark the Dittohead spring to mind).

If the podcasts I'm subsribed to are any indication, a little over an hour of both three-hour shows are taken up by commercials.


Edited to add: For the times I'm in my car and listening, I just switch to FM and station-surf during the commercials. And to be fair, a lot of regular ol' rock stations have tons of commercials, too, especially during morning drive time--if they can get their morning "personalities" to shut the hell up long enough to play them.

[bpilgrim]

19. they are AWESOME

:hi:

peace

[patdem]

21. WHAT IN THE HELL IS A PODCAST??? WHAT IS AN IPOD???

Sorry for all the caps..but I and confabulated about how they work..and what exactly they are??? I am not of the podcast generation btw!

[Rob H.]

28. Damn me and my technojargon!

:P

You don't really need an iPod to listen to Podcasts--they're available through iTunes, which you do need, but it's a free download from Apple and is both Mac and PC-compatible.* The latest version has a "Podcasts" icon on the sidebar, so a person would just click on that, then click on the "Podcast Directory" button that appears at the bottom of the window, and then just search for the show you want to subscribe to. Once you've found it, just click the "Subscribe" button and you're done! I think all of AAR's shows are free to subscribe to. It helps immensely to have a high-speed connection, though, since even in mp3 format they're still roughly 25MB in size. (Zoinks!)


*Apologies if you already know what iTunes is and how to get it. I wasn't sure and I don't want you to think I'm talking down to you if I'm telling you something you already know. :hi:

[patdem]

33. I have a computer and zone alarm pro to protect me from the boogy men

I do AOL and windows..that should tell you the extant of my knowledge..you CANNOT talk down to me regarding techobabble..trust me!

[evil eggplant]

24. My brain is broken

I asked about podcasts yesterday, and forgot all about it.

Thanks..

[no_to_war_economy]

15. the only way to listen to AAR, is thru the archives

CD music in the car and AAR archives in the cube at work

they delete all commercials on this site

http://www.airamericaplace.com/archive.php

[Cleita]

16. What's with all these I hate AAR, or whoever is hosting at the

moment? Sheesh, it's all we have.

[Gold Metal Flake]

17. I heard that.

That very short segment followed an extended and vfery gripping call from a distraught wife of a soldier with three children. It was an amazing call, very emotional and very real. It was an amazing call, and Randi had the good sense to let her go and eat up the variable time between the hard breaks to let the caller speak. Result, she had to make a very short segment following the call.

Read about that amazing call here:

http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=63223

Having worked in AM radio, I DO know how AM radio works. I am also familiar with "plants".

[txaslftist]

23. AAR is awesome. learn some patience.

[DaveJ]

27. Ads are billed by audience size, not minutes.

Our main conservative station reaches 300 miles downstate and has existed for decades. The station AAR is new and can't be picked up in a parking garage.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

29. sometimes a previous segment runs long and they have to do this

you picked an anomaly to gripe about.

[Liberal In Texas]

30. evil eggplant...I'm going to guess you are listening to the Dallas AAR

station.

For some reason the local station is covering the AAR commercials with PSAs. Yesterday they covered the commercials with too many PSAs and up-cut the program. I heard that too, and it's annoying.

This isn't the first time they've done this. I think the problem is that they don't have their technical act together.

WHY they're covering the paid spots from AAR with unpaid PSAs is puzzling.

[evil eggplant]

38. No, Nevada

Not Dallas. Northern Nevada. KJFK out of Reno.

[w8liftinglady]

41. I noticed that ,too

however-it is like a little ray of sunshine in the midst of the RW stations that crowd AM here

[givemebackmycountry]

32. BULLSHIT...

I'd listen to 45 minutes of commercials to hear fifteen minutes of...

"The Bush Crime Family" on Mike Malloy.
"Ding" on Randi Rhodes.

I listen to both shows downloaded on whiterosesociety.com.

It keeps me sane.

[evil eggplant]

40. not me

I'd listen to 45 minutes of commercials to hear fifteen minutes of...

"The Bush Crime Family" on Mike Malloy.
"Ding" on Randi Rhodes.

I listen to both shows downloaded on whiterosesociety.com.

It keeps me sane.

Not me. Exploitation is exploitation, regardless of the source.

A business has the right to thrive. The business owes this to it's employers, if nothing else.

But continual advertising, to the point where I may hear 6 or 7 minutes of programming during my nightly 1/2 hour drive is excessive, and lowers the value of their product. This is unfortunate, because I really like listening to Randi. It's just a shame that I hear her *maybe* 6 or 7 minutes (if I'm lucky) during my 30 minute drive.

[the_spectator]

34. I don't think AAR sucks,

but I am concerned about the fact that a LOT of their ads, perhaps even a majority of them, seem to be scammer-type ads. Like that "mortgage minute" guy I JUST heard on Randi right now.

[evil eggplant]

42. scammer ads

Yeah, that crackpot offering holistic cures for cancer, the other guy looking to sell me WiFi hardware that will get me rich. Then there's the hypnosis and all the other bunk.

I guess they think Liberals and Democrats are a bunch of idiots.

[stanwyck]

35. Try this.

I listen to books on DVD in the car. I switch back and forth from my book to AAR. That way I don't get frustrated with the commercials.

[otohara]

36. It's Not AAR - They Don't Own The Stations

so you may want to complain about Clear Channel or which ever giant conglomerate owns the station you are listening to AAR on.

[nyhuskyfan]

37. They always follow the same rough format...

Give or take, this is how it usually goes...

News at the top of the hour
They come back from commercial at :06
They stay on the air until about :18
The come back on air about :22
They go to another commercial about :28
They come back about :32
They stay on the air until about :48
They come back about :52
They stay on the air until about :57

So you get two long segments every hour and two shorter segments. They usually put their more interesting guests on during the longer segments, so if they run over a minute or two, the short segment is even shorter.

[Bill Bored]

39. Was this when she was taking 20-minute phone calls too?

If so, what do you expect?

There were some long ones yesterday from vets and military families speaking the truth about Iraq, stop loss, etc. You should try to be a bit more patient or flick back and forth or mute the commercials.

Works for TV!

[fujiyama]

43. It's still a relatively new station

It'll take some time to offer more programming with fewer ads.

I think the podcast idea is great until then and the impression I have is that you can use any mp3 player (not just an ipod which are kinda expensive) to listen to the shows.

[clbuck]

44. Every radio program is like this.

They each have a "program clock" that defines how when each segment is, and when the commercial breaks occur.

Usually, the first and third segments of each hour have what's known as a "floating break" in which the host can take a commercial break whenever they want, with the second and fourth segments having a "hard break" near the bottom or top of the hour.

For example, back when Mike Malloy was on i.e. America, his program clock was like this:

:06.5-:20 past the hour – Segment 1
:24-:29 past the hour – Segment 2
:33-:50 past the hour – Segment 3
:55-:59 past the hour – Segment 4

On AAR, Mike's program clock changed a bit:

:06–:17 past the hour – Segment 1
:21–:28 past the hour – Segment 2
:34–:46 past the hour – Segment 3
:50–:58 past the hour – Segment 4

Obviously, it appears that AAR has quite a bit more commercial breaks than i.e. America did...

Sorry if this is a little too technical ;)