Sheldon Drobny predicts profitablility for Air America

Nine months after Air America Radio's birth, venture capitalist Sheldon Drobny remains bullish on the liberal talk network he helped launch.

"I would not have invested in it unless I believed that it was a good business model," Drobny tells Inside TV & Radio, predicting it will start turning a profit in a year.

Is there irony that Clear Channel has been picking up the format for quite a few of their stations?

"I don't find it to be ironic," says Drobny, who has written a book, "Road to Air America" (Select Books, $19.95). "I find it to be a testimonial to our product. The profit system is the greatest enhancement to anything successful."

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