What's next for Air America 2.0?

The contracts have been signed. The keys handed over. And now, Air America Radio is under new management.

So what's next for the new Air America, and new owners Stephen and Mark Green?

First off, the goal is to make it successful. New president Mark Green acknowledges that the network can't be influential unless it's also a business success.

He's "very confident" it will be both.

Under the new structure, which the Green brothers laid out to the staff yesterday, Stephen will be chairman, Mark will be president and Scott Elberg will stay on as chief operating officer.

While many in radio are highly skeptical about the network's future, Mark Green said it can turn around with a plan he calls "basic blocking and tackling."

"We will increase our affiliates, increase our advertising, strengthen our programming, lower our expenses and expand into new platforms," he told the New York Daily News, also emphasizing that the Internet crucial in Air America's future success.

"The model for listening is changing," he says. "My own kids are in the generation that no longer gets its content from the top down, by someone else's decision. They decide themselves what they want and find someone who provides it. It works from the bottom up.

"If Air America doesn't evolve toward internet radio, it's unlikely to survive." According to Webcast Metrics, Air America is one of the most popular webcasts on the internet, ranking fourth in overall listeners.

Green praised the current staff while adding, "Everyone can always improve."

He says the network is satisfied with New York's WWRL as its flagship and he expects a stronger city presence, given the Green brothers' local roots.

Green is adamant that the network will not merely represent a political party, but will serve the people. "We will not be an arm of the Democratic National Committee. We will be a voice for our listeners." Air America "is in tune with a majority of Americans right now on issues like the dreadful Iraq war. We have the wind at our back."

Success won't happen overnight, and Green will be the first to admit that. "We must succeed as a business. It won't happen in three months, but it won't take three years, either. The more successful we are, the more our influence grows."

You can read more at the New York Daily News.

Air America 2.0 - Day One

Today is the day that Stephen and Mark Green officially take the reigns at Air America Radio, and will also be the beginning of what they call "Air America 2.0."

Under ownership of Green Family Media, majority shareholder Stephen L. Green will serve as Chairman of the Board, and his brother, New York politician Mark Green, will be President, with Scott Elberg staying on as COO. Terry Kelly's Progressive Radio Group and Rob Glaser's Democracy Allies will be minority shareholders.

"We’re obviously thrilled and relieved that the Green family will now take control of Air America and help take it to a new level," said Elberg. "We look forward to expanding our audience and continuing to give a voice to the progressive movement in this country."

"Air America is a great idea and iconic name, but it’s also been an underperforming asset with unrealized potential," said Stephen L. Green. "We intend to stabilize its structure, programming and balance sheet – and then to turn it around by next year. I’m a businessman used to making money, and Air America will be no exception."

"We plan on a two-step turnaround to make this great brand Air America 2.0," added Mark Green. "First, we'll make sure our programming stays informative, sharp and entertaining – so that it's appealing to a growing audience and advertisers alike. Second, we’ll be thinking outside the radio box by creatively distributing great content across many platforms in the next years, including the web, video, mobile and broadband. We intend to become a must-hear content site for all people interested in truth, justice and the Air American way."

To commemorate the changing of the guard, Mark Green submitted an op-ed to Huffington Post, and is enthusiastic about the challenges that lie ahead.

Some highlights from the article:

Green feels that "if progressive values were a stock, now is the time to buy."

Air America was a large, smart idea to counter the near-monopoly on talk radio by the far (f)right. But like most start-ups, the business plan collided with reality. Six CEOs over its first three years - and various missteps and misspending - sent it into Chapter 11.

The twin goals are to make it profitable and influential. One without the other won't work. If it's not a business, it'll go out of business.

The new Air America will aggressively cover national politics and policies in ways that will be informative, opinionated and entertaining. All three. We'll be full of news and views.

Speaking personally, my brother and I are excited by this important challenge and look forward to working with the Air America professionals - in front of the mic and behind it - who have held this dream together. Steve Green has been a very successful businessman accustomed to making money -- and he doesn't intend for AAR to be an exception. I've been an author, public interest lawyer and the NYC Public Advocate. For me this feels like a continuation of so much I've done in the progressive movement over three decades. Air America is like a public advocate for the country, exposing problems and offering solutions.

Today, will contact the New Hampshire Republican Party. Since the Democratic Party of Nevada actually invited Fox News to host that state's Democratic debate, I asked if Air America could host the first Republican debate in New Hampshire, assuring them that "we too can be fair and balanced."

We have many fresh ideas for programming, for technology, for partnerships with sister organizations. But it's this conversation called democracy that's the cornerstone of Air America 2.0. We intend to listen to our listeners. To increase our listeners. To hope they will join our journey to better content, better programming, and a better country. To tell them that it's your America, and your Air America.

You can read the entire article at Huffington Post.