Article

2004-05-31 Home Front: Politix

Franken works for free to save Air Amerikkka

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Frank G 2004-05-31 09:27|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Even by the chaotic standards of a new media company, Air America Radio's first two months of broadcasting have been convulsive.

The fledgling talk-radio network has replaced five top executives, been taken off the air in two of its top three markets and lost several crucial producers. By late April, current and former executives said last week, the company was perilously close to running out of money. It has since received an infusion of cash, though it has not disclosed how much or from whom.

Oh thank God. I thought my summer's supply of satire was gone!

The roiling in Air America's front office has undercut its continuing assurances that it has the financing and leadership to survive past the presidential election in November, in pursuit of its goal of establishing a permanent liberal counterpart to Rush Limbaugh and his radio cohort on the right.

Should we tell them Rush is the least of their problems? That their message maybe is their only problem?? Naah! Let the leftists pour money into this venture.

In a sign that the privately held company's financial woes have not fully abated, Al Franken, the network's best-known star, said in an interview last week that he had agreed not to draw a salary, however temporarily, making him "an involuntary investor."

Gotta love the left's concept of investing.

"We had some bad management,'' Mr. Franken said. "Then we got some good management."

Al, you still have bad management if they think this turkey will fly.

Still, Mr. Franken, his tongue only partly in cheek, added, "It's a little fuzzy to me exactly who's in charge."

It ain't the adults!

The turmoil has shed light on the network's corporate culture, laying bare a mismatched collection of managers and investors, including Democratic Party fund-raisers, Internet entrepreneurs and radio veterans who, as it turned out, did not get along especially well. Even as the network was finding an audience with its blend of humor and commentary, many of the principals' business relationships were dissolving in a flurry of charges and countercharges. The most serious concerned how much money Air America actually had on hand when it went on the air on March 31.

No wonder there were charges and countercharges if no one knew how much money was in the bank.

In early March, the network's chief executive, Mark Walsh, said that the company had raised more than $20 million, enough to keep it broadcasting for months, if not years, before making a profit. At the time, Mr. Walsh said that the network's primary backers included Evan M. Cohen, a venture capitalist who was the network's chairman, and Rex Sorensen, a business partner of Mr. Cohen's who was the chairman of Progress Media, the parent company of Air America.

But in an interview on Friday, Mr. Walsh said: "I was misled about that number.'' Mr. Walsh refused to say who had misled him, but he said that he had resigned in April because "the company wasn't transparent'' and "I was unable to decipher how it was being operated."

You traitor! You refused to see your money go down a black hole!

Less than a month later, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Sorensen, who had previously operated radio stations together in Guam and Saipan, resigned under pressure from the company's other investors. David Goodfriend, who served as general counsel and later as acting chief operating officer of Air America, resigned about a week ago, having done his best, he said, to hold the company together in the wake of the departures of Mr. Cohen, Mr. Sorensen and Mr. Walsh. (Separately, Dave Logan, executive vice president for programming, also left, in late April.)

That's actually quite an exodus.

Jon Sinton, the president of Air America and one of the few top executives who remains from the day it went on the air, underscored Mr. Walsh's comments by saying, in a separate interview, that he, too, had been misled about the company's resources and that a cash crunch had ensued as a result.

"Financing wasn't as available for operational issues as we'd thought it was,'' he said. Reached on Friday, Mr. Cohen declined to comment on the state of the company's finances under his watch.

No good when bossman won't talk about a media company.

Despite the intrigue concerning its management - and the abrupt pulling of its programming last month from stations in Chicago and Los Angeles, in a contract dispute - there are early indications that, where it can be heard, Air America is actually drawing listeners. WLIB-AM in New York City, one of 13 stations that carry at least part of Air America's 16 hours of original programming each day, even appears to be holding its own with WABC-AM, the New York City station and talk radio powerhouse that is Mr. Limbaugh's flagship.

For example, among listeners from 25 and 54, whom advertisers covet, the network estimates it drew an average listener share (roughly a percentage of listeners) of 3.4 on WLIB in April, from 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays, according to the company's extrapolation of figures provided by Arbitron for the three months ended in April. (Arbitron, which does not provide ratings in monthly increments, said the network's methodology appeared sound, although such figures were too raw to translate to numbers of listeners.)

By contrast, according to Air America's figures, WABC-AM drew an average share of 3.2 during the same period in April for the same age group. That time period includes the three hours in which Mr. Limbaugh was pitted head to head against Mr. Franken.

A New York Times writer with an agenda; what a surprise. The numbers cited above are basically meaningless. It is just pitting one station against another without the fine grained truth about who, if anyone, is listening to Marxist radio. Given the extreme effort the writer goes to to avoid saying Air Ammerica is a flop, I would have to say Air America is probably a flop, so far.

Phil Boyce, the program director of WABC , cautioned against drawing conclusions from preliminary data. "If they end up doing that well when the final number is out, which is two more months, I'll ~~have a cornary~~ give them a congratulations," Mr. Boyce said.

Posted by badanov 2004-05-31 9:53:32 AM|| [http://www.rkka.org] 2004-05-31 9:53:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Franken working gratis? You get what you pay for!

Posted by Raj 2004-05-31 11:14:36 AM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com] 2004-05-31 11:14:36 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 The roiling in Air America's front office has undercut its continuing assurances that it has the financing and leadership to survive past the presidential election in November

I'm not sure if staying alive past the presidential election was an objective in the first place.

Posted by Pappy 2004-05-31 3:24:30 PM|| 2004-05-31 3:24:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 "It has since received an infusion of cash, though it has not disclosed how much or from whom."
Ah, the vast left-wing conspiracy. Soros, Turner, Heinz-Kerry?

Posted by Les Nessman 2004-05-31 7:13:38 PM|| 2004-05-31 7:13:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 im not give a rats ass about franken. he can shove off in him yacht for all im care. im just wanting janeane stay on air. she so cute.

Posted by muck4doo 2004-05-31 10:02:09 PM|| [http://meatismurder.blogspot.com/] 2004-05-31 10:02:09 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 muck - I heard she's auctioning used thongs - no link tho', sorry

Posted by Frank G 2004-05-31 10:31:34 PM|| 2004-05-31 10:31:34 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 well let me know if you are hear anymore. im wanna make like an iraqi prisoner and wear them on my head. :)

Posted by muck4doo 2004-05-31 10:35:25 PM|| [http://meatismurder.blogspot.com/] 2004-05-31 10:35:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 I knew you would - bless you my son

Posted by Frank G 2004-05-31 10:39:04 PM|| 2004-05-31 10:39:04 PM|| Front Page Top

15:05 jules 187
14:23 jules 187
08:56 Anonymous4617
05:58 rkb
05:48 JFM
05:13 Phil B
03:22 Zenster
03:21 Mike Sylwester
03:19 Mike Sylwester
01:15 Tresho
01:11 .com
01:06 Phil B
00:26 Mark Espinola
00:21 Tresho
00:12 Tresho
00:05 Atomic Conspiracy
00:05 Desert Blondie
23:56 Zenster
23:48 Anonymous4617
23:48 Zenster
23:46 Tresho
23:37 Phil B
23:36 The Doctor
23:33 Zenster