Inside Air America's Troubles: Optimism and Shaky Finances

The Wall Street Journal ^ | June 21, 2004 | JULIA ANGWIN and SARAH MCBRIDE

[visagoth]

On March 30, the night before Air America went on the air, the liberal radio network threw itself a $70,000 party at Manhattan's hip Maritime Hotel. More than 1,000 guests, including Yoko Ono and Tim Robbins, drank red, white and blue vodka cocktails as they toasted the network's bid to challenge the dominance of conservative talk radio.

But behind the scenes, Air America was running out of money. Today several employees say they still haven't been reimbursed for the costs of attending the New York launch. "It was a fun party, until I knew I was paying for it," says Bob Visotcky, Air America's former Los Angeles market manager, who hasn't been reimbursed for his hotel room and flight.

Mr. Visotcky wasn't the only insider in the dark about the company's problems. Many of Air America's investors and executives say they thought the network had raised more than $30 million, based on assurances from its owners, Guam-based entrepreneurs Evan M. Cohen and Rex Sorensen. In fact, Air America had raised only $6 million, Mr. Cohen concedes. Within six weeks of the launch, those funds had been spent and the company owed creditors more than $2 million. When the problems came to light, "we realized that we had all been duped," says David Goodfriend, the company's acting chief operating officer. Messrs. Cohen and Sorensen say they didn't mislead anyone about the company's finances. They say they planned to invest more over time but didn't because of cultural differences with other managers. Both resigned in early May.

[John Lenin]

Salon.bomb stock tanking again.

[HHFi]

According to Drudge's recap of this article, at Air America's launch party, red-white-and-blue vodka martinis were served to limo liberal guests such as Tim Robbins and Yoko Ono. That seems to me a perfect metaphor for Air America (it even explains their deceptively patriotic name): a lethal cocktail artificially disguised to look pro-American, but actually containing the main export of the old USSR; and if you swallow enough of it, you'll lose your ability to think rationally.

[bert]

Thanks for posting the Salon.com stock chart.

It gives me a legitimate entre.......

I think that the solution to the leftist problems is pretty obvious. There should be a merger between Salon.com and Air America and along with it a mega IPO.

With such an amalgam of talent and prospect, investors will fflock to the new stock.

[Space Wrangler]

What this all boils down to is this: The libs who came up with this deluded themselves (being delusional liberals) that our country was just chomping at the bits for their message. They truly believed that fly-over country just needed to hear it from the mouths of pseudo-intellectuals like Al Franken, and they would rush over to the left causing a groundswell of support, ousting Bush in November in the process. Stupidity, I know, but the key to remember here is that they truly believed it on their own minds. The 'money-men' probably figured out that they had a loser, and then decided to go with the 'cultural differences' (how friggin' lame is that?!?!) to justify their pull-out of the promised finances. Libs eat their own just as heartily as they do their enemy, so this is really no surprise. Death knell predicition: late August. They may try to hang on past the election, but if they are this much trouble so soon after start-up, they may just fold up shop and give up. Even the deluded libs see that Kerry is a poor candidate.

[NYCVirago]

Would this be the same Durst who is believed to have killed at least two wives and one neighbor, and who is also a cross-dresser? Well, if so, that makes sense...just the kind of people one would expect Err America to attract.

Good catch -- it is the same family.

[eddie willers]

Here's a non-pay link to the funniest true story I've read in a long time.

Inside Air America's troubles: Optimism and shaky finances

[Tamzee]

There already is a partnership between Salon and Air America... and also the Guardian and MoveOn... just for this election year. Isn't that special? LOL



Salon.com Announces Election-Year Initiative With MoveOn, The Guardian and Air America

MediaChannel.org ^ | March 13, 2004 | Timothy Karr


NEW YORK, March 9, 2004 -- Salon.com announced Tuesday night a series of ambitious election-year initiatives, including the opening of a new Washington D.C. news bureau as well as strategic partnerships with MoveOn.org, The Guardian of London and the new progressive radio network, Air America.

The Website, which bills itself as "the largest independent news organization in the country" will also make the announcement via an email to MoveOn.org's 2-million plus members, MediaChannel has learned from a memo sent on Monday to Salon board members from company editor and founder David Talbot.

"The Web has come of age this campaign season as a political news medium and Salon is well positioned to be a leading player in the election year's round-the-clock news cycle," Talbot states.

Salon claims to have three million readers who visit its Website each month. Of this group, 74,000 are subscribers who pay up to $35 a year for "premium" access to news reports, political columns, cartoons and other editorial features. "We anticipate creating some buzz, and more importantly, new subscription revenue with this publicity offensive," Talbot wrote about this week's announcement in the memo to Salon board members.

In January Salon Media Group secured a $200,000 investment from Wenner Media, publisher of Rolling Stone magazine to collaborate on coverage of the upcoming presidential election. This funding helped set up the Washington Bureau headed by columnist and former Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal.

(snipped)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1097243/posts#6

[John Lenin]

Good idea, Salon and Err America, what a team !