Posted on 06/06/2004 4:42:38 PM PDT by wagglebee
Rarely in its century of existence has the somber, solemnly serious and matter-of-fact business section of the New York Times been funnier than on May 31, when it dealt at length with Air America, the new liberal talk-radio network.
Under a photograph of this network's star Al Franken – who looks in absolute shock (without his customary smirk or open mouth) – there is a memorable quote indeed from this fellow:
"We've had some bad management. Then we got some good management. It's a little fuzzy to me exactly who's in charge."
Why Al – we thought you were!
The Times reports:
"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."
Ladies and gentlemen, is it possible that this life-saving infusion of cash came from the Democratic Party?
Well, the Times goes on to report:
"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."
Why have the Democratic Party fund-raisers not gotten along with all the others?
And is the John Kerry For President campaign going to put up for long with all the money that is being spent on this disastrous attempt to compete with primarily conservative talk radio?
With the extensive list of former officers and directors who have come and quite suddenly gone, Mr. Franken is quoted in a really memorable statement:
"Imagine how we're going to do when we know what we're doing."
Think about that, ladies and gentlemen.
How often in broadcasting history has the star of any new network ever admitted that 1) We don't know what we're doing, and 2) "It's a little fuzzy to me exactly who's in charge"?
"Imagine how we're going to do when we know what we're doing."
Newsflash for Al: The left will never know what its doing!
So why is Air America still on the air?
It's going to be a sick orgy of glee when they hit the airwaves tomorrow. They might even get a temporary bump out of President Reagan's passing, but long term...well, there will be no long term for them. I almost wish they had good ratings so people could see the left for what they truly are: sick, craven bastards.
Air American radio. Looks they the execs used it to grab as much money as they could and then run. That kind of thing happens to many start-ups that have greedy management.
I was in NYC for a bit over a week and shocked at the posters and ads for Air America that were all over the Times Sq station (1,9 Train, A,C,E Train, N, R, W Trains). Seemed like it was all Air America ads down the long connecting tunnels.
Sickening. And with all that, they still are coming up short.
Maybe the reason they don't have good ratings is because most people already see them for what they truly are.
I'm still amazed at how they managed to stay on the air. They should be off by now. However, in talking to some people about issues I conclude most people are mindless about politics.
What's interesting to me is that no one seemed to think to formulate a profitable business model before sallying forth. There are plenty of smart Democrats around who could have devised one, particularly among the Hollywood types (they know how to make entertainment quite profitable after all), so why didn't they? I smell an upcoming book about what really went down in all this. Here's hoping P. J. O'Roarke is the one who writes it.
I'm not being sarcastic. That is their mindset for sure. They where obviously counting on the restoration of the fairness doctrine as an important part of their business model.
You sure it was not an airline ad?
Could it be S-O-R-O-S? He could afford to keep em on for years, who cares, no one is listening, I just hope Franken doesn't still think people like him. LOL!!!
Soros may be a lot of things, but he's not a stupid businessman. I have no doubt he would squander his fortune to hurt Bush, but if nobody is listening to lib radio, its just money down the drain.
Because this was never seen as a business. It was designed to be nothing more than a 24x7 political advertisement, primarily saying "Bush is bad!"
On the other hand, it's also possible that the people in charge were so incredibly myopic that they never realized that "conservative talk radio" is popular because people need an outlet that doesn't exist elsewhere. Anyone who's a "true believer" simply can't believe that someone else would believe the other side's story. There had to be SOMETHING that the Rush Limbaughs of the world were doing to get the audience. It certainly couldn't be the content of the shows...
Mark
"We've had some bad management. Then we got some good management. It's a little fuzzy to me exactly who's in charge."
I'd imagine pretty much everything is "a little fuzzy" for the erstwhile Stuart Smalley, actually.
Actually, their ratings are not that bad. Their financial situation is, however. Go figure!!
How can their financial situation be bad if their ratings are good? Ad companies have no shame and will buy time from anyone.
"Imagine how we're going to do when we know what we're doing."
By that time George Bush will be half way through his second term and al franken will be a footnote to history.
"Imagine how we're going to do when we know what we're doing."
It does in fact sound like Kerry's foreign policy!
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