In Oregon, and across the nation, Air America Radio is growing and expanding. What was once a small network servicing three cities just a year later reaches 51 -- including three in Oregon alone. Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian reports on the success of one of Air America's flagship stations, KPOJ Portland.

"They said we wouldn't last, and we're still here," says Mike Dirkx, operations manager for KPOJ (620 AM).

It was exactly one year ago today that the Portland station started carrying programming from Air America, the liberal talk-radio network that has inspired criticism, praise and predictions of doom. But the Portland station hasn't just survived; it's become a national model for how to carry off the still-evolving "progressive talk" radio format.

Since switching from an oldies music lineup to progressive talk, KPOJ has moved into the top 10 most-listened-to stations locally. "We went from a 0.4 rating to a 3.7, and that's a pretty substantial jump," Dirkx says of the latest Arbitron ratings, for fall 2004. "It's the most successful progressive talk station going right now."

The key point of this article is the fact that although there were dozens of articles across the country lampooning Air America's effort -- claiming that it would die within weeks -- the network has continued to grow at a remarkable pace over the last twelve months.

Apropos to the Turnquist article, although Portland is indeed a "liberal" city, the success of the station -- increasing its listenership by more than nine times in just a year -- is proof that progressive talk radio can overcome the odds and knock Rush and Hannity off of their pedestals.