Air America files for Bankruptcy AGAIN, and this time will go off air...

[ponycar17]

I heard this headline about 3 hours ago from a local talk radio station and thought I better check it out.

Liberal talk-radio station Air America files for bankruptcy, will go off the air

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 22, 2010; C08

Air America, the liberal talk-radio network that helped boost the careers of Al Franken and Rachel Maddow, said Thursday that it was declaring bankruptcy and going off the air.

The company, founded in 2004 and based in New York, strove to provide left-leaning commentary and call-in programs as an alternative to such popular conservative radio talkers as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage.

It was troubled almost from the start. The company had difficulty lining up affiliates and attracting a sizable audience. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection just 30 months after its inception and was resold to an investor group in early 2007 for $4.25 million.

Charlie Kireker, one of Air America's principal owners and its chairman, said in a memo to employees Thursday that the company was done in by "a perfect storm" of plunging ad revenues, intense competition, high debt and poor prospects for new financing. A search for new investors, he said, has been fruitless. The company declined further comment.

Air America's chief executive is Bennett Zier, who previously founded and headed Redskin owner Dan Snyder's broadcasting company, Red Zebra, and was the top executive of Clear Channel Broadcasting's cluster of eight major stations in the Washington area. The company's programming director, Bill Hess, is also a longtime Washington radio executive.

Since last summer, Air America has been heard in the Washington area on WZAA (1050 AM). Its audience has been so small that Arbitron, which compiles radio ratings, was unable to detect any listeners for WZAA during several weeks in December.

Franken was one of Air America's earliest program hosts; he left the network in 2007 to launch his successful bid for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota. Maddow, another host, made the transition to television and hosts a nightly show on MSNBC. Ron Reagan Jr., Arianna Huffington and Montel Williams have also had Air America programs.

Ana Marie Cox, who has hosted a one-hour program on Air America on Saturday and Sundays for the past year, said on Thursday that news of the network's demise took her by surprise. She said that the programming, as well as Air America's Web site, had begun to improve of late but that people hadn't caught up to it.

"I'd gotten used to people saying: 'Oh, Air America. Is that still around?'" Cox said. "One of my standard jokey responses was, 'Well, my paycheck still clears.' I guess that will stop."

The network, she said, had tried to incorporate more humor and move away from being an "angry" liberal version of conservative talk radio, which can be argumentative and aggressive. "I think the progressive or liberal audience likes a different type of discussion," she said.

Kireker said in his memo that Air America will carry reruns of earlier programs until it goes off the air at 9 pm. Monday.

From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...103868_pf.html

Yet another casualty of citizen backlash to Obama and the recent onslaught of liberal policies...

Yes, this is good news folks!

[308 at my gate]

Lets break out with the violins. Good bye.

[artabr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaG2A...eature=related



Art

[bcj1755]

But but but, Mark Lloyd says we need the Fairness Doctrine back so the airwaves will be "balanced." Gee Mark, I'd think it'd be kind of hard to balance talk radio if NO ONE listens to left-wing liberal blather on the radio

[Marlin T]

Is PBS going to be next?

Ohhhhh ha ha ha wait, we PAY for that liberal rag don't we?

[ponycar17]

Originally Posted by Marlin T

Is PBS going to be next?

Ohhhhh ha ha ha wait, we PAY for that liberal rag don't we?

Oh, but if it wasn't PUBLIC it WOULD have ALREADY been gone.

That just irritates me... destroy the free market principles in a flagrant attempt to disseminate liberal trash.

[17thfabn]

Originally Posted by Marlin T

Is PBS going to be next?

Ohhhhh ha ha ha wait, we PAY for that liberal rag don't we?

With the History Channel, DIscovery Channel, History International, National Geographic Channel etc. there is realy no reason for PBS to continue to exist. If PBS were gone tomorrow Nicolodean or one of the other cable channels would snap up it's childrens programs, and any thing that appeals to adults is already being shown on the other channels.

In South West Ohio we have many talk radio channels. I mostly listen to conservative radio. On occasion I will listen to the angry black man channel, and when it was around Air America just to get other points of view.

Air America's host were truly awful. Franken was the worst of the worse. He was not funny when he was on Saturday Night Live, his show on Air America was impossible to listen to, and was neither informative or entertaining. I don't know how Minnisota could have elected him, the other guy must have been caught with a dead hooker or live teenage girl!

[ponycar17]

Originally Posted by 17thfabn

...Air America's host were truly awful. Franken was the worst of the worse. He was not funny when he was on Saturday Night Live, his show on Air America was impossible to listen to, and was neither informative or entertaining. I don't know how Minnisota could have elected him, the other guy must have been caught with a dead hooker or live teenage girl!

I do. MN is a Labor Union state and Franken had a D beside his name. He got ahead in the primaries because people are frankly stupid (they're stupid everywhere, not just MN), likely did not know who he was but did remember his name from somewhere. Familiarity and 'vote for the Labor candidate' mentality put him in office.

[bcj1755]

"I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And gosh darnnit, people like me."

[questor]

About 'friggin' time!

[Popeye]

Just look at it as cleaning the airwaves.

[gaowlpoop]

Didn't they embezzle money from the boy scouts or girl scouts or someone? I guess they couldn't find anyone else to steal from. Perhaps they can get some bail out money or find a government tit to latch on to.

On the subject of PBS, it just burns my biscuits when they say "supported by viewers like you". Yes, I support them, at the point of a gun through the confiscation of my money through taxation.

[Terry_P]

Isn't it ironic that the conservative programing thrives while the liberal programing goes bankrupt. So does that mean the liberal supporters will be looking for an increase in their welfare benefits?

[CampingJosh]

Originally Posted by 17thfabn

With the History Channel, DIscovery Channel, History International, National Geographic Channel etc. there is realy no reason for PBS to continue to exist. If PBS were gone tomorrow Nicolodean or one of the other cable channels would snap up it's childrens programs, and any thing that appeals to adults is already being shown on the other channels.

I like The Red Green Show. But that's the only thing on PBS I ever watch.

[petesusn]

Originally Posted by CampingJosh

I like The Red Green Show. But that's the only thing on PBS I ever watch.

Red Green is so awsome. The king of Duct Tape.