By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 11, 2004; Page C01

A much-buzzed-about liberal radio network will start broadcasting March 31 with such well-known entertainers as Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and Chuck D among the hosts, executives said yesterday.

Officials at Air America Radio said the network will debut on leased stations in four of the nation's top markets: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They said they are also exploring buying or leasing stations in such cities as Washington, Boston and Philadelphia but did not provide details, and no Washington deal is expected for some time.

With talk radio dominated by conservatives, many listeners are "begging" for an alternative, Mark Walsh, chief executive of the New York-based company, told reporters. He said the company had gone "from zero to 600 miles an hour in about 90 days."

Walsh, an Internet entrepreneur, and New York venture capitalist Evan Cohen bought the network in December from the original owners, Democratic donors Sheldon and Anita Drobny of Chicago. They have formed a partnership with Inner City Broadcasting for the Manhattan station, WLIB.

Franken, who once wrote a book attacking Rush Limbaugh, will now compete against Limbaugh in the noon to 3 p.m. slot.

He is calling his show "The O'Franken Factor" in a jab at Bill O'Reilly and Fox News, which sought an injunction against his book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them." And he plans to criticize the president early and often.

"We're going to take it to Bush," Franken said. "Bush is going down in November. Then we're going to take it to the right-wing media and hold them up to scorn and ridicule."

Network executives said they expect to complete deals with satellite television (most likely the Dish Network) and satellite radio firms to carry the programs nationwide, and that the network can also be accessed on their Web site.

Air America, which will air original programming from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays, also plans weekend programming with such hosts as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Salon.com will contribute a daily story.

Company executives expressed hope that operating their own stations will enable them to build an audience more effectively than trying to syndicate liberal hosts on stations where listeners expect conservative talk.