Oh dear, what a calamity this could be for progressive radio!  I guess their listeners could turn to listener sponsored Pacifica Radio though I think it may only be west coast.  Why, just two days ago, while subjecting myself to the masochistic exercise of seeing how long I can listen to KPFK without switching channels, I found myself listening to their version of a 9/11 'memorial' show.  This one was all about Professor (leave-of-duty) Stephen Jones and his 'controlled demolition' theory.  A woman from my burgh called in screeching, crying hysterically and ranting about how she is an Afghani-American but is ashamed to say she's an American anymore -- Bush is a JERK -- etc, etc.

So now, there is one less outlet for those who used to hang on the every word of Randi 'Oh the Snark Bites" Rhodes and Al 'Stuart Smiley' Franken.  Oh well, for the gal broadcasters, there are possible job opportunities.  I understand Jane Fonda is starting a radio show with a woman's perspective.

Meantime, read it and weep. 

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

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

"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."

Source

Whether it's thsi Friday or some Friday in the future, the future of Air America is bleak.  

Jordan .

Written like a true pro-Air America fan! You ask for an alternative voice as if it were something "granted" by the Totalitarian Right. You suggest there are forces trying to "silence" the left. If there has been silence from the left these past five+ years, perhaps I've missed it. Seemed pretty cacophonous to me. My ears ring from that lack of silence so don't be cruel and tease me with suggestions that someone ("they?") actually has to power to silence the left.

Drama-queen self-righteous declarations of fighting the power attempting to shut down individuals while shutting down Air America seems a tad unconvincing to me, Chris. You don't really believe "they" are trying to silence you, do you? You don't really believe "they" are trying to shut down Air America, do you?  You don't really believe anyone would force you to endure "Limbaugh and the Ilks," do you?

I've seen the Cindy Sheehan t-shirt with the same quote about not being silenced. Hers is in Arabic. I can only speak for myself as one lone potential silencer on the right, but I'm deeply moved by such courageous principled stands in the face of the Fascist Insect who want nothing more than coast-to-coast Dissenter Gulags. But seriously, I've heard no serious requests for Silence of the Leftie Lambs. (as if...)  Who are "they?"

Appreciate the specifics you offer when describing the illiterates, immature and ill-informed rude ones too. Not too condescending oh judge of all things illiterate, immature and ill-informed, while never being rude.

But other than that, I agree with everything you wrote.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

I must observe, though that the patrons of 'tolerance' (the left) are the most intolerant, rude and shrill. What gives? No, I'm not a right wing fanatic or Bushie. In fact, when I took the little "Where are you politically?" test that was posted here a year or two ago, I was spot in the middle of Libertarian. I just find these rants interesting, though.

"I must observe, though that the patrons of 'tolerance' (the left) are the most intolerant, rude and shrill."

Just wanted to stress that little quote from John....in general in my life, that's been pretty much true. But before I get lettuce thrown at me, there are exceptions to every rule.....

Jordan .

The next morning....

NY Post has an article on this too.

My favorite quote is the one that CCC posted above: "If Air America had filed for bankruptcy every time someone rumored it to be doing so, we would have ceased to exist long ago," Horn told The Post. "No decision has been taken to make any filing of any kind."

The last sentence tells me everything. No decision has been taken which suggests that they are DISCUSSING it.

the network has been having problems since the day it started, and that was because of mismanagement and not because any person named "they" are trying to take it off the air. The problem with Air America is vast. They've had mismanagement since inception. They really aren't an alternative voice in the media because the progressive belief system has been pushed in the media for years (thus people don't listen to it). Conservative radio and Fox News took off becuase there was finally an alternative voice in the media. Air America is not able to compete in the real world - that would be called the marketplace and when you can't compete in the marketplace, you go belly up.

Maybe if Air America was created first for ratings and money, and then second to deliver an alternative voice, it would've survived but I don't think the management of Air America ever got their heads on straight enough -- they were just enthralled in the idea of having a liberal radio network and that's just not enough to compete.

Jordan .

When I first started listening to talk radio in the 1970s in LA, it was virtually all liberal. Talk radio at the time was local and the hosts pretty much represented the community. I listened to the former BBC Michael Jackson (not the singer!) who was the King of LA radio back then. Stephanie Miller, now on AA, was on this same radio station line-up. Back then, when I was a liberal, this was my daily fodder and I loved it.

Unlike AA, there were topics that were NOT political. In the world of today's left, there is scarcely any subject that doesn't have a political angle. Talk about a heat wave and it's Bush not signing the Kyoto Protocols. Talk about hurricanes, and it's about how much Bush hates black people. Talk about new treatments for skin cancer and it's Global Warming and the vanishing Ozone and you know who is responsible for those things. Talk about President Clinton's heart surgery and it's about how 'lucky' he is to have health insurance unlike __ million Americans. Even Hillary made that very commment on the eve of Bill's surgery! Talk about the US 'obesity epidemic' and it's Evil Fast Food Corporations. Talk about shopping bargains and it's Evil Walmart Corporation oppressing its workers because they are non-union. Talk about the latest fad in sneakers and it's Evil slave-labor corporations. Talk about latest car models, and it's about evil American automobile corporations. Talk about summer vacations and it's evil Oil Companies ripping off the public. Talk about Air America going bankrupt and it's the Evil Right attempting to 'silence the left.' What's it all add up to? What is the common denominator? Victimology. Little wonder the audience base is limited. Most people don't want to live with a daily sense of victimhood. Most people don't want to hear about how impossible it is to 'make it' in America if they have any ambition and any dreams at all.

Back in the day, the hosts were mostly centrist liberals but there were these other guys occasionally on the air. Dennis Prager and Bruce Hershensohn are two I recall. Dennis had a weekend show "Religion on the Line" which was not at all political. He'd interview guests from every religious background and it was a fascinating show. Bruce later ran for political office as a Republican candidate for Congress and lost. Back then I listened to them in the same way I listen to Pacifica or Air America today -- to force myself to listen to what they were saying although I was in complete opposition being an Atheist Liberal. But what I appreciated about both men was their civility. That alone helped me "hear" what they were saying unlike the Snark-Tone that simply shuts you out.

Por ejemplo, say you run into a friend at the local Office Depot and it's just after the 2004 election. Friend says to you, "Can you believe that effin' a**hole Bush stole another election?!" How do you tell friend you voted for Bush? Dialogue comes to a screeching halt unless you're singing on the same choir. You are now on your friend's enemy list as an out-of-the-closet Republican. You notice the different expression on his face when you pass by his house after that day. You notice he no longer invites you to catch the latest gig of his band. Sigh... So much anger.

In order to justify the white hot rage, one needs to have a constant pouring of kerosene on the flames. And you need to keep updating new accusations lest you recognize that your rage may not be completely sound or rational. But if there are multitudes of others who agree supplying daily fresh attacks, you must be correct.  So you up the ante and lay it on a little thicker than you did the day before or the year before. At the end of the day Bush is the friggin' Anti-Christ.  Who but the shamefully complicit or the willfully stupid could not recognize that fundamental TRUTH!

Yesterday the manager of my supermarket recommended I buy Neil Young's album! He thought I'd really like it because "Neil Young didn't care who he offended" and "he let all his feelings out about the war" and stuff. What did I say? "Thanks for telling me about it. I'll have to check it out." But I already had checked it out several months ago. And dismissed it as second-rate Neil Young with childlike lyrics.

So, flashback to those civil voices with whom I mostly disagreed. I listened in order to understand how in the world they had any argument at all! Little by little, there would be something said that I'd agree with. It began with the Nicaraguan war. Then the subject of multiculturalism and curriculum shifting on campuses. Affirmative action on campuses. Crime was a big deal then so the "three strikes; you're out" laws were discussed. Death penalty and the ousting of Rose Bird from the California judiciary who would not implement the death penalty.

Little by little, I shifted, though still calling myself a liberal. I decided I was a "law and order liberal." That worked for about a decade.

The only reason I bring it up is to say that if I heard ANY compelling arguments from today's leftie radio talkers, I might find myself shifting again. Instead it mostly makes me laugh. Too much is rote party line. Too much is bumpersticker intellect. Too much is snarky and tired Bush-liar-Bush-stupid-Bush-liar jokiness, which seems to me as the last shreds of unity between the disparate and angry devotees of the left.

I think it's tragic.

There is a way out. There is a way for talk radio to reach a left-leaning audience that would be receptive and even crossover to the centrist right among us. BUT, who are the voices? Al Franken, when he's not being provacative, is intelligent and thoughtful. I don't find him as marginal as Randi Rhodes, for example. (Sometimes I wonder how RR manages to keep from utterly imploding from her rage -- very hard to listen to her unless you are already as 'white hot' angry as she is)

There are writers who think and study and research. Who travel and interview and write their views. These are people you rarely hear on the radio or television. You can occasionally find them on CSPAN, Book TV, PBS or the Charlie Rose show. I don't think they're boring but apparently the radio/tv programmers feel we need shouting, parrots squawks and perpetual party lines to keep listening. Could a radio show with programming like this succeed?  I just feel there are a large number of listeners/watchers who would welcome such a change.

As we approach the 2006 elections and the next two years into the 2008 presidential election, we will have more of the same. It's a damned shame. I'm hoping the presidential candidates rise above it but I'm not holding my breath.

Meanwhile when Air America's plug is finally pulled after wheezing out its final primal scream, I don't think it will be a terrible loss for anyone.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Goodbye....

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/13/D8KNQ9I80.html

Jordan .

SO why did you erase a bunch of posts Candy ? I guess you felt they were throw away lines of no lasting value ?

Hmm maybe I should get busy.

For them what's interested in such things, here's the legal filing with a list of holdings and debts . $4 milliion in assets; $21,000,000 in debt. With the new bankruptcy laws, can we assume Air America's debtors will have to make payments for X number of years?

This is a dark day in broadcasting. A moment of silence before the radios around the nation's Blue Edges go mute.

I'll miss Randi Rhodes and Stephanie Miller. They were a large part of my tolerance training. I'd test myself to see how long I could leave them ramble on before I'd have to change stations. I got pretty damned good at it! Now, I'll have to revert back to Radio Intifada on Pacifica public radio. Sigh.

Susan

PS. Human Interest Story. One that John Neff may relate too. Betcha John knew Peter Werbe too!

Okay, so I'm Googling Air America and find a list of their broadcasters. One name lights up an ancient synapse from my Detroit Days -- Peter Werbe. I click on his name, and sure enough, it's the SAME Peter Werbe formerly of the Detroit underground newspaper, The Fifth Estate. Oh, man, suddenly the girl from the suburbs is back sitting on a giant cushion constructed of foam filled Turkish rugs in a room lit only with black lights and she's carrying on a conversation with Peter Werbe. He's soooo cute and he's really smart too. Not very funny as I recall but he's telling me that I -- not just 'I' but all the "people"-- have a right to steal from JL Hudson's, the large downtown department store, because they (JL Hudsons) rip off the people, man. This strikes me as so alien to all previous thoughts in my little head and it gives me pause. Shoplifting is good?

Anyway, how hilarious is it to have not grown from his Marxist days in the 1960s? According to Wikipedia:

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

PS: Oh, yeah... too bad about 'Air America'. They will be missed... by all 14 of their listeners. I wonder how much of the $21 million is the money that they had to spend to even get their programming on the air. Remember, most Air America outlets were not paying syndicated outlets, Air America BOUGHT time on the stations, just like an InfoMercial.

PPS: Susan, notice the Arthur Penhallow "Baby!" WRIF sticker in the Peter Werbe picture? Arthur is still on the station!

Isn't it nice that Air America Bankrupt has caused Sue and John to have such a pleasant stroll down memory lane?  Who knew at the time what a time it was back then, huh?! 

Now the night of the Apollo Moon Landing, I was getting ready to go to --- oh what was it called?!  -- that nightclub.  There was another by the same name in New York.  It was downtown.  One word.  ARTHUR!  That was it! It wasn't there very long. 

Well, anyway, I remember the outfit I was wearing because I had just made it.  It was black and white, cotton, a small print. There was a mini skirt and a short, slightly puffy sleeved peasant-like blouse.  The skirt had a waist band and dropped down from there over the hips -- form-fitting and then a swirl of ribbons.  From that point, a series of reversible strips of the same fabric, each about 2 inches wide, dropped down from all around the hips.  Kinda like a Hawaiian hula skirt.  It was good for dancing but of course I needed black tights with it.  

As I was finishing up the final touches, my roommate, Dawn, and I were watching the moon landing on our TV.  Her dad, an old world immigrant called and told her not to believe it -- it was fake.  First, but the not the last time I heard that one! Conspiracy theories were young then.  What a summer that was! 

I wish I had known you guys were playing over on Plum Street!  We were so often a few blocks away from each other at the same time in Detroit, John!  Pretty, pretty funny...  

Right, Russ Gibb.  I remember him well though I was good friends with Bob Bageris of the Eastown.  I think he's dead too.   

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

NEW YORK (XFN-ASIA) - Air America Radio filed for bankruptcy reorganization Friday, in the latest patch of turbulence to befall the liberal talk radio network that launched two years ago headlined by the comedian and author Al Franken.

The network will continue to operate with funding from its investor group, led by RealNetworks Inc. CEO Robert Glaser, who owns 36.7 percent of the company, and two other former board members.

The company also named a new CEO Friday, Scott Elberg, a radio executive who joined the company in May 2005 following stints at the New York area radio station WKTU and other places.

Air America had dismissed rumors just one month ago that it was planning to file for bankruptcy protection. Spokeswoman Jaime Horn said Friday the filing became necessary only recently after negotiations with a creditor broke down.

Court documents showed that MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., a creditor with whom the network had tussled in its early days, had Air America's bank accounts frozen.

The filing marked the latest setback for the liberal talk network. This April, Danny Goldberg stepped down as CEO and was replaced by an interim chief executive from a management consulting firm.

Glaser had previously served as the company's chairman and is owed $9.8 million by the company, according to documents filed Friday with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Horn said Glaser and Franken were unavailable for comment Friday, but she said Franken would discuss the issue on his show Monday. Air America owes Franken $360,750 in wages and other payments, according to the court documents.

Air America has struggled financially since its inception. Court documents show the company lost $9.1 million in 2004, $19.6 million in 2005 and $13.1 million so far in 2006.

Air America also disclosed in court documents that two directors departed in the last two months, Douglas Kreeger and Tom Embrescia. Gary Krantz also departed as president in June, and executive vice president Tom Athans and chief operating officer Carl Ginsburg left in July.

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, whom Franken lambasted in a book called "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot," took a jab at Air America's worsening situation on his talk show Friday after a listener called in to ask about it.

"I'm not surprised -- it was doomed to fail," Limbaugh said. "They were not a broadcasting concern to begin with. ... They went into business to affect elections."

In addition to Franken, the network also features shows from liberal talk show host Randi Rhodes and syndicated shows from Jerry Springer and Portland, Ore.-based talk show host Thom Hartmann.

Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York approved motions at a hearing Friday afternoon that allow Air America to continue paying its wages and maintain its financial accounts.

The judge also approved interim debtor-in-possession financing of $900, 000 from Democracy Allies LLC, an entity formed by Glaser and two other former board members, Terry Kelly and Kreeger. The full amount of the proposed loan, $2.6 million, would be considered at an Oct. 31 hearing.

"How does a radio content company go bankrupt?  It's not like they had lots of fixed expenses.  If you're running out of money, just cut back on what you pay the talent and on the limosine rides."

B,  here is an account of Al Franken's salary and extras from the start in 2004 !( yes it is a right side source-surprised ?)

Brian asks: "Did Al Franken's outrageous salary demands hamper Air America's ability to repay the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club in 2005?"

Excerpt:

During the same mid-to-late 2004 period when Air America parent Piquant LLC was quietly considering how to resolve the still-undisclosed scandal, Franken was demanding everything, including the kitchen sink.

A June, 2004 Wall Street Journal investigative report on Air America stated Al was making "over $1 million a year". That was accurate, but not for long.

Despite mixed reviews, low ratings and a perpetually shaky cash outlook, Franken was handed a virtual blank check by Piquant. Even as the extent of the Gloria Wise crisis became clear to an ever-changing series of managers, Franken pushed ahead anyway with an eye-popping 2005 compensation package.

Included was a staggering base salary boost to $1,725,000, plus fringe benefits and potential bonuses, after less than a year on the air. Nor was his bloated staff left out. The result: what is quite likely talk radio's largest-ever and most overpaid entourage, mostly from the ranks of Al's Harvard research team.

The kicker: Franken successfully insisted the entire base sum be paid in advance, during the first week of January, 2005...

  http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004374.htm

How about this wording, James? 

 
The Chapter 11 filing by Piquant LLC, the radio network's parent company, was made in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

 
Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. A declared state of bankruptcy can be requested by creditors in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed; however, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the bankruptcy is initiated by the bankrupt individual or organization.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

I'm not sure why people think Frankin getting $1.75M is such a big deal.  Rush Limbaugh makes $36M a year and lies just as much as Franklin!  Bill O'Reilly gets a minimum of $9M a year.  Now Rush and Bill of course have a lot more listeners/viewers but the $1.75M that Frankin got paid doesn't seem out of whack for what talent can ask for. 

Although I don't go nearly as far left as the Air America crew it does sadden me that voices like Rush and O'Reilly are still loudly heard.  That's the free market though, hopefully the left will find a more moderate voice soon.

"We cannot allow a mine shaft gap"

" Hopefully the left will find a more moderate voice soon. "

I wouldn't worry D. You have ABC,CBS,NBC, NPR, CNN, and on and on .  Just get that lowlife AM radio covered and you will be heard, I am sure.

OT: D., my kid is now a homeowner in Canada and has a Canadian girlfriend. His visitor's status is in the works. I believe he is going for "landed emigrant" ! Who knows we may have Canadians in both our families soon. All the best to Canada my friend.     

Danwhy I agree with you partially.  There is nothing that makes me much sadder than accidentally hearing the voice of Bill O'Reilly on TV or radio.  Mostly it has to do with the deadly combination of pompous attitude with minimal knowledge.  He is a permanent installation in my imaginary stable of Ordinary People Who Think They're Extraordinary.  He's a blight on the right.  He's a bloviating pontificator.  FEH.

Rush on the other hand is hilarious, crystallizes the complex, keeps up to date on events but can also access earlier relevant events, steps over the bounds now and then but has a firm grasp on the overall political landscape.  His greatest skill, honed to a fine art over many years of broadcasting, is that ability to synthesize and prioritize while holding on to the rational over the hysterics of any given manufactured news cycle.

Air America's broadcasters (not Franken so much) -- and I've listened extensively -- are so filled with snarky mockery and repetitive party lines that the shows could almost be played interchangably on any date and you'd hear the same non-topical thing.  The play book has done been played.  The audience is bored.  Move on.  Dot org.  

I suggest NPR as a much finer alternative to anyone missing Air America.  They're usually pretty calm and moderate.

Myself,  I could care less how much money Al Franken makes.  The difference between Franken's salary and those of Rush or the horrid O'Reilly though, is obvious: The latter's programs generate REVENUE that pay their salaries while Air America's coffers are empty and Franken is "paid" by I.O.U.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

oops I didn't know that! Here in the UK the term is specifically 'insolvent', but I guess the term 'bankrupt' is all encompassing in the US. Thanks for that Susan!

The sticky wicket with Al Franklin and his 1.75 million plus is that it seems to have come in front of and at the detriment of the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club charitable non profit group's loan of  $875,000 to  Air America in 2004-5. The  Club are evidently finally getting back their money thanks to the  N Y State Department of Investigations. The investigation is ongoing.  Hopefully Elliot Spitzer is not finished with these shenanagans. Franklin's legal culpability is not establish to date but regardless it does nothing for his stellar reputation. 

The transactions have the appearance of  "I get mine up front ( all but $ 360,000 as it now stands-- as Al is very quick to complain about not getting paid in full) and the poor little kids and indigents are on their own." That's the way it smelled before the D O I got envolved.

Yeah, I know it's Franken.

"I'm not sure why people think Frankin getting $1.75M is such a big deal.  Rush Limbaugh makes $36M a year and lies just as much as Franklin!  Bill O'Reilly gets a minimum of $9M a year.  Now Rush and Bill of course have a lot more listeners/viewers but the $1.75M that Frankin got paid doesn't seem out of whack for what talent can ask for. "

D -- I don't think that's the point. No one CARES that Frankin is making almost $2 million. It's  only being brought up because he's making $2 million in a company that can't afford to pay him so it's sorta stupid. Rush, Sean, and many other conservative talk show hosts started off barely making ends meet moving from one radio station to another -- just like radio hosts do aroudn the US. They built an audience from the ground up and made their millions only AFTER they did their time, and continue to make their millions because their companies can afford to pay them that amount.

When Air America started losing stations in NY and had to lower its stance in the NY area, that was the first sign of what was about to come. A radio station cannot stay afloat paying huge amounts when they are only on a handful of stations. Air America failed because of bad business practices and a simple lack of understanding on how to reach your audience using radio signals. 

Jordan .