US:The ailing left-of-centre radio network Air America relaunches this week under new ownership and with a greater emphasis on political and cultural celebrities in the hope of attracting back its audience.
The talk radio network has been taken out of bankruptcy by multimillionaire property investor Stephen Green and his brother Mark, a politically active Democrat who stood unsuccessfully in the New York mayoral elections of 2001.
The brothers hope to lure back listeners and advertisers with a starry cast of interviewees and new hosts, beginning this week.
The line-up includes all the three main Democratic candidates for the 2008 presidential race - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards - complemented by Gloria Steinem, Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
Air America was founded in 2004 as a progressive challenger to the virtual monopoly that right-wing hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly then had over talk radio.
The Greens are bringing back one of the original presenters from 2004, Bobby Kennedy jnr, as well as signing new names such as Arianna Huffington. - ( Guardian service)