AAR leaves WHAT-AM in Philly, may land on another affiliate

Al Franken and Randi Rhodes are getting the boot from Philadelphia airwaves, as WHAT-AM (1340) is pulling off programming from Air America, the liberal talk-radio network.

Friday will be the last day, and a new WHAT lineup will begin Monday, said general manager Kernie Anderson, adding that "things were not working out" with Air America after about a year.

WHAT aired Air America's programming from noon to 7 p.m. weekdays, sandwiched between the rest of its lineup. The juxtaposition of liberal talk and WHAT's African America-targeted talk programming seemed an odd fit from the start.

Ratings were abysmal.

(snip)

An Air America spokesman said: "While we hate to lose affiliates, it is very common to add and drop affiliates due to local market conditions. While we hate to lose WHAT-AM, we are currently in negotiations with another station and hope to make that announcement soon."

(more)