Air America Founders Seek Their Own Stations

New York Times ^ | April 3, 2006 | Lia Miller

[abb]

Anita and Sheldon Drobny, two of the founders of Air America Radio, are taking the next step to ensure that liberal programming stays on the air: obtaining radio stations.

Anita and Sheldon Drobny want to spread liberal talk radio by buying stations across the country.

The couple has announced plans to begin buying or leasing radio stations across the United States through their new company, Nova M Radio. The Drobnys, who own a venture capital firm called the Paradigm Group based near Chicago, started the new company with Dr. Michael Newcomb, and a handful of investors. The name Nova M is derived from Nova Miasto, the town Mr. Drobny's father came from in Poland.

Mrs. Drobny said she and her husband were motivated in part by events that began in October in Phoenix, where a Christian broadcasting company called Communicom Broadcasting bought the station that broadcast Air America programming and subsequently changed the format to religious programming.

"Shelly and I decided that we would start Nova M Radio and that we would work hand-in-hand with Air America delivering content and put it in the areas that we would move into," Mrs. Drobny said.

Gary Krantz, the president of Air America, said listeners were "very vocal and very passionate" when the network went off the air in Phoenix in early March. He said the Drobnys subsequently leased radio station KPHX-AM in Phoenix, where Air America returns today.

[abb]

As Rush always says, the right to speak freely doesn't guarantee the right to be heard....

[b4its2late]

Hope they have lots of money to throw down their rat hole.

[Hoodat]

So, is it true that AirSCAMerica lost their flagship station?

[Reaganesque]

[Buffettfan]

They have to buy some stations to spread their hates because advertizers certainly arent stepping up to the plate to purchase advertizing. Liberal talk radio does NOT sell in America. People do NOT want to hear how terrible their country is.

[TexasCajun]

Air America pays millions to broadcast while Rush & EIB are paid millions to broadcast.

This really confuses Stuart Smalley, enough that he had his yearly salary prepaid.

[Shimmer128]

I'll bet they have to tie a pork chop around their neck too, to get their dog to play with them.

[TheForceOfOne]

More money down the toilet.

They seem to lack two vital aspects to their endeavors.....

Listeners and advertising dollars!

Silly Liberals, talk radio is for winners not losers like Al Frankenfurter.

[finnman69]

[finnman69]

Geroge Soros's checks....

[jaydubya2]

I was in St. Louis last week and could not tune in my regular conservative Chicago base station. I stumbled upon Air America and decided to give it a try. The Randy Rhodes Show was on. What a crock! They are so angry that they blow away any chance of any credibility. I could not listen to her mean venom for very long.

[Gordongekko909]

"Sir, our radio station is failing. Nobody wants to listen to it."

"Well, then, our course of action is obvious: it's time to expand!"

"Sir, that is the exact, polar opposite of what we should be doing. We can't even survive in San Francisco. What makes you think we could survive in places further to the right than San Francisco?"

"The people want to hear our message, that's how! More stations means more people listen!"

"Normally, yes, sir, it does. But we somehow manage to lose listeners every time a new station picks us up. We have theoretical mathematicians working on how that's possible right now."

"Theoretical mathematicians, eh? From which university?"

"I think you misunderstood, sir. The mathematicians themselves are theoretical. We can't afford to hire any."

[jiggyboy]

Note to potential sellers: get ALL the money at the time of sale. Anything that doesn't come across the table that day somehow, for many and varied and unusual and against surprisingly low odds but perfectly understandable, never will.

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

started the new company with Dr. Michael Newcomb

Guess his doctorate isn't in economics.

[MizSterious]

Hah--if they're like the rest of Air America, they'll just write checks, regardless of whether there's money to cover them. Best to hope that the sellers make don't take a bath on these deals.

[SittinYonder]

Sell them NPR.

[b4its2late]

Good point. True on the rubber checks for sure....

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

WLIB, Air America's flagship station in NYC was bailed out at the nearly the last minute by leftists with more money than sense, as usual. They also leased out some of their facilities to the new feminist network. It ended up being only a few month reprieve, as even leftists eventually get tired of throwing their money down a hole. It appears that they think they'll have advertisers by then ( Ha ).

This "radical" plan is nothing new. They looked at buying stations for AA outright at first, but found the idea as cost prohibitive. Their final decision on buying stations was to get their network out there, then after it turned profitable start buying stations. I guess the Drobnys decided to skip that last step.

[jwalburg]

If you've got a laptop, you never have to miss your conservative stations.

[Cyber Liberty]

Err Amerika has got to be *the* laughingstock of the industry. A seller would have to be certifiably insane to hand over the keys to the station before the check clears....