I once read that a good indicator of audience or readership is to look at the ads. If the ads are serious, the readers or viewers probably are, and that means that the content is as well. I tried this with the magazine Psychology Today when deciding whether or not to buy my wife a subscription for her birthday. Talisman and weight-loss ads were warning enough. Now many Air America doesn't seem to be much better.

• wondrous weight-loss products
• get-rich-quick schemes such as the "secrets to true internet wealth" or a free tape on how to become a "real estate guru"
• selling address and telephone lists as "sales leads" for "entrepeneurs"

Is this why Air America has gotten into financial trouble? Is this the price of not having corporate underwriters like NPR or tedious fund-drives like Pacifica? Do these ads reflect typical American radio advertizing or does Air America cater to the gullible?

Now, I would give the shows themselves mixed reviews. They certainly appeal to me more than the right-wingers like Rush Limbaugh. They seem more factual and rational than that, and have not only liberal rants but long, detailed interviews with activists and people in the know. But they are not as solid as, say, Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman.