Liberal radio’s Air America shuts down live programming

Air America winds down

Air America Media, the liberal network formed in 2004 to try to counteract the conservative tilt of talk radio, shut down live programming operations Thursday and said it would soon be filing for bankruptcy “to carry out an orderly winding-down of business.”

The operation had battled economic problems from the start, and Air America chair Charlie Kireker said in a statement that efforts to find new investors had failed.

KTLK-AM (1150), the network’s L.A. affiliate, dropped the Air America moniker years ago but continued to carry some of its programming, including shows hosted by Rachel Maddow and Ron Reagan Jr. Station officials could not immediately say how they would fill those slots.

-- Lee Margulies Harvey to take over ‘Feud’

The TV game show “Family Feud” is getting a new referee.

Series producer FremantleMedia North America said comedian Steve Harvey will take over as host from John O’Hurley when the syndicated show begins its new season next fall. The company said Harvey was chosen for his ability to connect with viewers and his “one-of-a-kind” personality.

Harvey’s TV credits include “Me and the Boys” and “The Steve Harvey Show,” and he was part of the “Kings of Comedy” standup tour and DVD. He hosts a nationally syndicated radio program that is heard locally on KJLH-FM (102.3).

He’ll replace actor O’Hurley, host of “Family Feud” for four seasons. O’Hurley said in a statement that he decided to focus on his role in the touring production of the musical “Chicago” and a variety of business ventures.

-- associated press Quake coverage boosts CNN

The resources CNN poured into covering the destruction in Haiti in the last week helped the cable news channel nearly double its average viewership this year and regain its advantage over MSNBC in the key demographic of viewers ages 25 to 54.

But it wasn’t enough to pull past top-rated Fox News, which placed second last week in prime time among all basic cable channels, even though it devoted less time to covering the earthquake that hit Haiti Jan. 12.

Lifted in part by feverish interest in the Massachusetts senator race, Fox News averaged 2.97 million viewers in prime time from Jan. 13 through Tuesday. That was 56% more than it averaged in prime time this year through Jan. 12, according to Nielsen.

CNN pulled in 1.26 million viewers in prime time in the first full week of its Haiti coverage, up 95% over its viewership this year. And the network enjoyed a 135% advantage over MSNBC in the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic in prime timewith its shows anchored by Campbell Brown, Larry King and Anderson Cooper. That was a turnabout from December, when MSNBC had 18% more viewers that age in prime time than CNN.

MSNBC drew 762,000 total viewers for the week in prime time, 24% more than its average audience this year of 615,000.

Fox News in particular was helped by the massive audience it attracted Tuesday night for its coverage of the special election held to replace the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. The cable news network drew 6.2 million viewers, its biggest prime-time viewership since the 2008 presidential election night, compared to 1.5 million for CNN and 1.1 million for MSNBC.

-- Matea Gold Sci-fi, war films earn sound nods

“Avatar,” “District 9,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Star Trek” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” have been nominated for the feature film sound mixing award of the Cinema Audio Society.

Vying in the TV series category are episodes from “24,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Glee” and “Mad Men.”

The awards will be presented Feb. 27 in the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. For a complete list of nominees, go to theenvelope.com.

-- Susan King Finally

Hitting the boards: Danny Boyle, who won an Oscar for directing “Slumdog Millionaire,” will mount a stage adaptation of “Frankenstein” at Britain’s National Theatre as part of its 2010-11 schedule.

Larger donation: Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, have kicked in an additional $2 million, for a total pledge of $28 million, for the construction of an art museum that will bear their names at Michigan State University.

Charity effort: “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell said he would produce a charity single within 10 days to help raise money for Haiti, although he wasn’t sure who would sing on it.