Left Coast Air

Bay Area residents and Southbayites may be happy to learn that Air America will be broadcasting from Berkeley and San Jose by the end of the month. According to the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal:

Air America Radio, the left-leaning talk radio alternative to conservative stations, will be broadcast in the Bay Area on two radio stations so both their signals cover more of the whole market.

The talk show network will air on KVTO (AM 1400) of San Francisco and KVVN (1430 AM), in San Jose sometime in April.

Both stations are owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corp., which also owns the network's flagship station in New York City.

Because KVTO has only a 1,000-watt transmitter, it can only cover San Francisco, San Mateo and East Bay communities such as Berkeley, Oakland and Concord. KVVN's signal will cover San Jose, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.

When Air America Radio premiered March 31 in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other markets, the company was still in negotiations to secure a Bay Area outlet. While Air America says the network will begin airing locally sometime this month, it didn't provide a specific date. Harvey Stone, general manager of KVTO, says his station doesn't have the equipment to receive Air America's satellite feed to rebroadcast it.