Air America Radio, a liberal talk and news radio network that features the comedian Al Franken, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a network official told The AP.
The network had denied rumors just a month ago that it would file for bankruptcy. On Friday, Air America spokeswoman Jaime Horn told The Associated Press that the filing became necessary only recently after negotiations with a creditor from the company's early days broke down.
The network will stay on the air while it resolves issues with its creditors, Horn said. In addition to Franken, the network also features shows from liberal talk show host Randi Rhodes and Jerry Springer.
Horn declined to name the creditor with which talks had reached a logjam. The company will operate in the interim with funding from its current investor group.
Air America also said Friday it had named Scott Elberg as its new CEO. Elberg, a former general manager of the radio station WLIB in New York, has been with the network since May of last year.
The filing marked the latest turbulence at the liberal talk radio network, which went on the air two years ago. This April, Danny Goldberg stepped down as CEO and was replaced by an interim chief executive from a management consulting firm.
"Nobody likes filing for bankruptcy," Elberg said in a statement. "However, this move will enable us to concentrate on informing and entertaining our audience during the coming months."
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
I've always felt that Air America tried to bite off more than they could chew by launching a sizeable network without a steady market plan. This doesn't really surprise me.
My best advice would be for some of the hosts to try to make their way to satellite radio.
Yet, right wing nutjob shows like Rush and Hannity have millions of listeners.
It would be funny if it weren't so frightening.
I never got into Rush, but Sean is great.
I listened to Air America two days after North Korea conducted its nuclear bomb test, and Stuart Smalley was ranting about how it was all President Bush's fault because he made the "Axis of Evil" speech and thus pushed North Korea into a defensive posture. Yeah, not that they didn't break their deal with Clinton entirely and were well on their way to getting a bomb.
I'd pay a weeks salary to watch Stuart get escorted out of the building.
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 12:47 pm Posts: 9282 Location: Atlanta Gender: Male
Green Habit wrote:
I've always felt that Air America tried to bite off more than they could chew by launching a sizeable network without a steady market plan. This doesn't really surprise me.
My best advice would be for some of the hosts to try to make their way to satellite radio.
I think they are, that was the only way I could listen to them.
Ultimately, do we really need liberal talk radio? Maybe liberals simply don't prefer getting their media through AM radio? I mean NPR covers that range per news anyway excellently and it's way more fun I'd think to argue a liberal POV with someone like Rush Limbaugh who is irritating.
I don't think they did the market research prior to it's release. Maybe the people on the network just simply aren't interesting. I don't know. But I bet a few focus groups would help.
Bottom line, you gotta sell advertising to survive, to sell advertising you have to have a market, it's a viscious cycle.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 2:29 pm Posts: 6217 Location: Evil Bunny Land
LeninFlux wrote:
Gimme Some Skin wrote:
Yet, right wing nutjob shows like Rush and Hannity have millions of listeners.
It would be funny if it weren't so frightening.
I never got into Rush, but Sean is great.
I listened to Air America two days after North Korea conducted its nuclear bomb test, and Stuart Smalley was ranting about how it was all President Bush's fault because he made the "Axis of Evil" speech and thus pushed North Korea into a defensive posture. Yeah, not that they didn't break their deal with Clinton entirely and were well on their way to getting a bomb.
I'd pay a weeks salary to watch Stuart get escorted out of the building.
Rush is a complet douche. I've never heard anyone so full of themselves in my entire life. The logic he uses is so twisted. I really do find it frightening that he has such a cult following.
Hannity bothers me on a smaller scale. I heard him tell a guy yesterday that he should not vote. He actually told the guy that it would take about a year for him to be Hannitized (brainwashed) before he would have a big enough understanding of the world that he could vote.
These guys make me want to pull what little hair I have left completely out of my head.
_________________ “Some things have got to be believed to be seen.”
- Ralph Hodgson
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
LeninFlux wrote:
I listened to Air America two days after North Korea conducted its nuclear bomb test, and Stuart Smalley was ranting about how it was all President Bush's fault because he made the "Axis of Evil" speech and thus pushed North Korea into a defensive posture. Yeah, not that they didn't break their deal with Clinton entirely and were well on their way to getting a bomb.
I hate to say it, but both PD and I agree with Mr. Smalley's logic on this one.
In light of one of the members of the Axis of Evil exploding a nuclear bomb, the whole Mark Foley thing will be completely off the radar and National Security will be the #1 issue from now until November 7th.
Personally I don't see how N.Korea blowing up a nuclear could help the GOP. Something like this would play to a joke liberal comedians have been making, "we invaded the wrong country", you know, out the three countries that were part of Bush's "axis of evil" it seems the only country that didn't have WMDs was Iraq. I think this can will further the opposition’s argument that the Bush administration is ineffectual and incompetent.
I think that a good argument can be made that since Bush's "Axis of Evil" speech, Bush has invaded one of the countries, and the other two have THEREFORE hastened their programs to build nuclear weapons, seeing it as the only way to deter an American attack on their countries. Now, Iran and North Korea may be paranoid and living in a self-reflecting bubble of delusion, but this is what they PERCEIVED, and Bush helped to urge them back into their corners where they felt they had no choice but to do this.
What do you do about it now? Who knows. It's just another example of Bush eliminating choices and pushing us or someone else into a corner where military conflict becomes the only option left. Handled correctly by the Dems (not much chance of that), this could sink the GOP at the polls in November as well.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
Electromatic wrote:
I don't think they did the market research prior to it's release. Maybe the people on the network just simply aren't interesting. I don't know. But I bet a few focus groups would help.
I'd agree with this--I always saw Air America as a brave yet clumsy attempt to balance out conservative talk radio. I'm guessing the financiers like George Soros or Rob Glaser were just frustrated and wanted to try something big.
Yet, right wing nutjob shows like Rush and Hannity have millions of listeners.
It would be funny if it weren't so frightening.
liberals work
the ring wingers do nothing other than sit around counting thier money , directing their slaves and listening news corp & EIB...
oh , and sodomizing young boys and arab detainees
_________________ "His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:23 am Posts: 1041 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Gender: Male
I haven't heard someone share my perspective on this yet, so here goes:
I am a liberal who LOVES conservative talk radio. I listen to a guy like Mike Savage because that might be the most exciting thing I hear or see in a day. Rush, also, is pure entertainment. Dr. Laura, too, with those women crying every other call, how can a person not find that interesting?
When will people realize that these folks have successful radio and television shows not because their ideas are novel or 'correct', but because they make for GREAT listening/watching? Loud-mouthed, narcissistic, brash, combative, off-the-wall...
Yet, right wing nutjob shows like Rush and Hannity have millions of listeners.
It would be funny if it weren't so frightening.
liberals work
the ring wingers do nothing other than sit around counting thier money , directing their slaves and listening news corp & EIB... oh , and sodomizing young boys and arab detainees
Come on, do we need to list the number of Democratic congressmen who, in the past 20 years, have been found guilty of having "relationships" with pages? This isn't a conservative/liberal thing.
What strikes me as humerous is how you paint right wingers as slave drivers that sit around and count their money. Look at the politics of most Hollywood elites...Beverly Hills is a Liberal Cabal, for petes sake.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 2:29 pm Posts: 6217 Location: Evil Bunny Land
kusko_andy wrote:
I haven't heard someone share my perspective on this yet, so here goes:
I am a liberal who LOVES conservative talk radio. I listen to a guy like Mike Savage because that might be the most exciting thing I hear or see in a day. Rush, also, is pure entertainment. Dr. Laura, too, with those women crying every other call, how can a person not find that interesting?
When will people realize that these folks have successful radio and television shows not because their ideas are novel or 'correct', but because they make for GREAT listening/watching? Loud-mouthed, narcissistic, brash, combative, off-the-wall...
Air America is horribly boring by comparison.
That is true. I listen to it for entertainment value. I'm glad you brought up Michael Savage. I love listening to that guy. He is a stark raving lunatic. He's an intelligent guy, but is so incredibly fucked up in the head. It really is great to listen to him go on his rants.
_________________ “Some things have got to be believed to be seen.”
- Ralph Hodgson
I haven't heard someone share my perspective on this yet, so here goes:
I am a liberal who LOVES conservative talk radio. I listen to a guy like Mike Savage because that might be the most exciting thing I hear or see in a day. Rush, also, is pure entertainment. Dr. Laura, too, with those women crying every other call, how can a person not find that interesting?
When will people realize that these folks have successful radio and television shows not because their ideas are novel or 'correct', but because they make for GREAT listening/watching? Loud-mouthed, narcissistic, brash, combative, off-the-wall...
Air America is horribly boring by comparison.
You make a good point...most of the people at Air America aren't very successful at being radio personalities. Well, I think Rachel Maddow is pretty good (aside from her Retreat and Defeat stance re: the Iraq war). Randi Rhodes is awful. Stewart Smalley is a good comedian but an average-at-best radio pundit. You know that Stewart is thinking of running for Sentate? What a train wreck that campaign will be.
I haven't heard someone share my perspective on this yet, so here goes:
I am a liberal who LOVES conservative talk radio. I listen to a guy like Mike Savage because that might be the most exciting thing I hear or see in a day. Rush, also, is pure entertainment. Dr. Laura, too, with those women crying every other call, how can a person not find that interesting?
When will people realize that these folks have successful radio and television shows not because their ideas are novel or 'correct', but because they make for GREAT listening/watching? Loud-mouthed, narcissistic, brash, combative, off-the-wall...
Air America is horribly boring by comparison.
That is true. I listen to it for entertainment value. I'm glad you brought up Michael Savage. I love listening to that guy. He is a stark raving lunatic. He's an intelligent guy, but is so incredibly fucked up in the head. It really is great to listen to him go on his rants.
Never got into Savage...it was too much like hate speech. It's probably schtick, but still. I see how he can be entertaining at times, however.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:53 pm Posts: 20537 Location: The City Of Trees
LeninFlux wrote:
Randi Rhodes is awful. Stewart Smalley is a good comedian but an average-at-best radio pundit.
I've heard several left-wingers say Rhodes was awful. Never heard her, though.
I have the same problem with Franken as I do with Dennis Miller--neither of them could successfully make it clear when they were joking or being serious.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
kusko_andy wrote:
I haven't heard someone share my perspective on this yet, so here goes:
I am a liberal who LOVES conservative talk radio. I listen to a guy like Mike Savage because that might be the most exciting thing I hear or see in a day.
Alaska.
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
I remember a study a few years back showing that liberal individuals were more likely to be choose to listen to or watch shows that had viewpoints opposite their own, and that conservatives were more likely to get their news from sources they determined to also be conservative. Ergo a liberal radio channel is doomed to fail, because its potential audience is likely to be totally cool getting its news from impartial or conservative sources.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
McParadigm wrote:
I remember a study a few years back showing that liberal individuals were more likely to be choose to listen to or watch shows that had viewpoints opposite their own, and that conservatives were more likely to get their news from sources they determined to also be conservative. Ergo a liberal radio channel is doomed to fail, because its potential audience is likely to be totally cool getting its news from impartial or conservative sources.
I see a relationship between this and conservatives claiming that there's a liberal media bias. If only liberals get their news from objective sources like NPR, CNN, and MSNBC, then those sources MUST be liberally biased, right? I mean, considering that conservatives will only get their news from conservative sources, why shouldn't they assume the same blinders are worn by liberals?
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:23 am Posts: 1041 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Gender: Male
punkdavid wrote:
kusko_andy wrote:
I haven't heard someone share my perspective on this yet, so here goes:
I am a liberal who LOVES conservative talk radio. I listen to a guy like Mike Savage because that might be the most exciting thing I hear or see in a day.
Alaska.
Other than Mike Savage on the radio and the polar bears walking by my igloo, my days are pretty boring, I ain't gonna lie.
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