Air AIPAC about to get a kick in the ass from Karma?

[FORD]

EXCLUSIVE: Air America To Declare Bankruptcy, But Progressive Radio Remains Strong

Air America Radio will announce a major restructuring on Friday, which is expected to include a bankruptcy filing, three independent sources have told ThinkProgress.

Air America could remain on the air under the deal, but significant personnel changes are already in the works. Sources say five Air America employees were laid off yesterday and were told there would be no severance without capital infusion or bankruptcy. Also, Air America has ended its relationship with host Jerry Springer.

The right wing is sure to seize on Air America’s financial woes as a sign that progressive talk radio is unpopular. In fact, Air America succeeded at creating something that didn’t exist: the progressive talk radio format. That format is now established and strong and will continue with or without Air America. Indeed, many of the country’s most successful and widely-syndicated progressive talk hosts — Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller, for instance — aren’t even associated with Air America.

Radio giant Clear Channel is so committed to progressive talk radio that, this week, it will announce a partnership with the Center for American Progress, Jones Radio, and MSS Inc., to conduct a nationwide search for the next Progressive Talk Radio Star.


Link (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/13/air-america-bankruptcy/)

[FORD]

This is what happens when you hire completely unqualified executives who make shitty business decisions, such as firing the best talent on the network.

Here's hoping the good people involved (Malloy, Rhodes, Seder, etc.) come out ahead at the end of this and that the DLC, corporatists, and AIPAC pay dearly.

[DrMaddVibe]

ford, we told you this wasn't going to last...the day they announced their business plan!

Day late and a dollar short...PS: don't forget to make up some whack job theory about why they couldn't succeed!

[DrMaddVibe]

I'm reading the "comments" over there...this one is THE best!!!

"#98 - I guess the fundamental thing missing from most of the above posts is “why” they are going bankrupt.

Bankruptcy comes from not pulling in revenue.

Revenue comes from advertisers.

Advertisers want ratings. They want to put their money in the best time/station slot to maximize ROI.

Ratings come from people listening to the station.

If only a handful of people listen, they do not generate ratings.

So, to all you Liberal/Progressive/Democrat talk show supporters out there… this is your fault. You didn’t listen, you didn’t get other people to listen, you didn’t pony up the cash to get it going in thr first place. It’s time to stop whining about the “Neo-Con Conspiracy” or the “Republican Machine”, why don’t you try and figure out why there are more people who agree with Rush Limbaugh than with Al Franken.

Free Market rule says Air America is doomed. Majority rule says the same.

I guess, in the end, Al Franken is simply not good enough or smart enough, and people just don’t like him.

Comment by Jim Darkness — September 13, 2006 @ 1:46 pm "






That sizes it up rather nicely!

[FORD]

The first half of that guy's post is technically correct. When they fire the best people on their network, they DO lose listeners, which loses more potential listeners, advertising dollars, etc..

Given the overwhelming listener response to Mike Malloy's firing, you have to ask what it would be if they had done the same to a drive time show (Jerry Springer doesn't count. I doubt he'll be missed much)

So Mr. right winger is wrong when he says people weren't listening. Some of us even went to the trouble of getting an XM subscription when an AM signal was either unavailable entirely, or unlistenable. in my case.

Just as FEMA failed with a horse trainer in charge, so did Air America with a former cosmetics company executive.

Ironically enough, the original founders of Air America had a perfect CEO in mind..... Mike Malloy.

Mike turned down the job because he didn't have executive managment experience. But he did have over 20 years in the radio business, and as it turns out, that would have been a great asset to the company.

But then, CEO's don't often host radio shows, so that might have kept him off the air.

This new info does put Mike's "business trip" to New York and his appearance on the "Majority Report" in a different context though. What if this "restructuring" is already underway?

AAR, by the way, has yet to announce a permanent replacement for Mike Malloy's show.

This could get really interesting.......

[DrMaddVibe]

Air America Stiffs Franken

LIVING ON AIR FrankenIs Air America Radio filing for bankruptcy on Friday? That's what Think Progress, citing three sources, reported today. Calls to Air America executives weren't returned, but star talk-show host Al Franken confirms that, once again, the troubled network is facing a serious cash crunch.
"I don't know if that's true or not," Franken tells Radar when asked about the bankruptcy report. "We do know that there have been cash-flow problems. I haven't been paid in a while. Like, there's no cash flowing to me."

It's not the first time Franken has gone without a paycheck. Air America ran out of money promptly after it launched in 2004, after disgraced former chairman Evan Cohen inflated the amount of money he had raised to fund the network. Since then, Air America has seen a litany of troubles, executive departures, talent shuffles, and lawsuits. Six months ago, the network was booted from its flagship station in New York City, WLIB, to a much weaker signal that doesn't cover the entire city, and it laid off five staffers on September 11, according to the New York Post.

Franken isn't the only person Air America is in hock to. Last year, the network settled a multi-million-dollar lawsuit by Multicultural Broadcasting, the owner of its Chicago and Los Angeles stations, for its failure to pay for rented time. But according to Multicultural's attorney, Randy Mastro, the network still hasn't paid up. "It involved a structured settlement over time," Mastro says. "There is additional money owed. If it's true [that they're filing for bankruptcy], we'll have to do something about that."

Norman Wain, a Cleveland-based former radio executive and investor in Air America, says he hadn't heard about any financial difficulties. "I know nothing about it," he says. "They don't communicate with investors very well. They only come to us when they're looking for more money." The last time that happened, he says, was "three or four months ago."

If bankruptcy is imminent, the timing couldn't be worse for Franken: His new movie, Al Franken: God Spoke, opens today in New York. In a statement, an Air America spokeswoman said "no decision has been taken to make any filing of any kind."

By John Cook 09/13/06 4:15 PM

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2006/09/air-america-stiffs-franken.php

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by DrMaddVibe
ford, we told you this wasn't going to last...the day they announced their business plan!

Day late and a dollar short...PS: don't forget to make up some whack job theory about why they couldn't succeed!

Funny dicksuck --could have said the same thing about the shitty Administration you voted for.;)

[Nickdfresh]

And BTW Ford, I don't think this is Karma for their laying off of Malloy, it's the reason they did so.

The simple fact is that you cannot start a "network" from nothing in radio...