The left-wing radio network that launched the careers of Sen. Al Franken and MSNBC political commentator Rachel Maddow announced today that it will be going under.

As in closed. Off-the-air. Silent. Dead.

AA almost made it to age 6.

Its live programming will cease this afternoon, and the company plans to file for bankruptcy "to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business," wrote Air America Chairman Charlie Kireker in a statement to employees.

"The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America's business," Kireker wrote. "This past year has seen a 'perfect storm' in the media industry generally."

The New York-based Air America kicked off in March 2004, aiming to be the antithesis of Rush Limbaugh's and Sean Hannity's shows. In comparison to the staunch, multimillion followings of those commentators, Air America didn't quite hit the mark or even come close. An insufficient number of people tuned in.

Although, one of Air America's own did manage to get elected to senatorial office. But that was no help for the balance sheet.

Air America has already filed once for bankruptcy in October 2006. It appears as though the station won't come flying out of this next one.

-- Mark Milian

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Photo: Associated Press