Toronto Star media columnist Antonia Zerbisias talks about the growing appetite for blue state voices in the U.S.

An excerpt from her April 4 column:

What a difference a war, a long and bloody occupation, and a hotly-contested presidential election make.

Not that TV news has moved to the left. Liberal media are springing up to fill the void.

Probably the best example of that is Air America which last week celebrated its first anniversary of Bush-whacking.

And yet, just after it took off last year, on six stations and the Internet, it nearly crash-landed. As the right wing sneered at its efforts, jeered its hosts and cheered for its early demise, the network was kicked off the air in two of its biggest markets, bounced cheques and canned two CEOs.

Since then, it has picked up 45 new stations and two million listeners. It acquired Jerry Springer's new liberal political talk show, which promises inroads with Red State Americans.

Most surprising, Air America, with Democracy Radio (http://www.democracyradio.org), got on the Clear Channel airwaves.

That's the biggest U.S. radio and concert conglomerate — 1,200 stations with revenues of $9.4 billion (U.S.) in 2004.

It's also the radio behemoth often criticized for its cozy relationship with the Republican administration. For example, in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, Clear Channel stations organized pro-war rallies, and stood accused of banning the music of dissenting artists such as the Dixie Chicks.

But business is business — and liberal radio is the fastest-growing format in the industry.

Said John Hogan, president of its radio division, in a recent statement: "Listeners across the country are asking for more progressive talk radio."