Air America Complaint Department [Air America founder blasts Dem "elites" and Hollywood "phonies"]

Liberal site | Aug 25, 2006 | Sheldon Drobny

[summer]

Sheldon's new book, blasting "elites" and "phonies" in Dem Party who were too cheap to help start Air America

Believe it or not, I am not trying to offend anyone with my posts.

... many criticisms have been directed at me for the “problems” that Air America has had during its “birth pangs.” Almost 5 years ago I started the Air America project and invested over $3 Million on the start of a liberal radio network. In fact, Arianna invited me to her house in November, 2002 to present some of my ideas with a group of Hollywood elites trying to save Salon.com. At the time, I was a big donor to the Democratic Party and had personal contacts with Bill and Hillary Clinton as well as Al and Tipper Gore. They opened the door for me to meet with everyone on both coasts to try to raise some follow-on money for our project.

We had hundreds of meetings with the kind of people and organizations that collectively were worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Not a single one made an investment with us although many promises were made. The reason that happened is something I wrote about in my book, Road To Air America. I also had introductions to public and union pension funds with promises made to me that never came to pass. The reason was simple. I was not a part of any inner circle in the political or entertainment world. The cronyism is so horrible in the Democratic elite that they have no time for new faces or new ideas. So they continually talk to the same people over and over again with the same result. Nothing ever happens.

My new book is scheduled to be published in the fall and is pictured in this article. My last book was tame in comparison to my new book. The details will be much more informative to the people who look up to these power elites. You will all be shocked at the cronyism and incompetence in that world. Because of the lack of financial support we were obligated to turn over the project to another group that was totally responsible for the early problems of AAR. When we came back to help save AAR, I was the first to give almost $800,000 to save what I thought was a worthwhile project. While there have been substantial investments in AAR since that time, without my business skills and financial contribution in the summer of 2004, AAR would have been out of business.

The money that I put up for AAR was all that I could afford. I am not a mega millionaire nor do I need any handouts from the phonies in the elite to survive. I am doing fine in my business. I was misguided in the belief that these people really cared enough to support a noble project. AAR is going to be successful despite its shortcomings. I am no longer a part of management nor do I have anything to do with programming. I agree with many of the criticisms of AAR, but I am only a minority owner. As a result, my wife and I started a company to acquire radio stations to support the liberal talk format. We have stations in Phoenix and Little Rock and we saved Air America in Phoenix after a Christian radio company bought the AAR affiliate in Phoenix. With the help of the community and our resources, we paid $500,000 to get AAR back on the air in Phoenix. We handle our own programming in Phoenix and Little Rock and some of it is the best that Air America offers.

I do know how to run a business well and syndicated talk radio is not difficult. The program managers on most broadcast media are followers rather than leaders. They are not visionaries and generally look in the rear view mirror for programming ideas. If I were to have had control of AAR with the help of a little backing, things would be much different for AAR’s performance. I do think they are now going in the right direction and our radio company will do a lot to help the cause. The lack of financial support was a major disappointment for me and another example of the fact that “there is no good deed that goes unpunished.” I did not need to do AAR to make a livelihood. I did it because I was frightened about what was happening to our country.

As to Bill Maher and the other Hollywood phonies, please don’t count on them to help. They only care about themselves. It is interesting that shortly after I wrote my book about AAR, my publisher hired the finest PR firm to get some guest appearances for me. One of the firm’s contacts was to the Maher show. At that time, AAR was one of the biggest media stories in the country. And it was mostly positive and well supported. I watched with great interest that season the Ann Coulter premiere interview on the Maher show promoting her new book about how all liberals are insane perverts. That took precedence over a book about AAR, which could have helped publicize the network for the greater good. I did not write the book to make money and in fact I have spent close to $100,000 to get the AAR story publicized for the sake of some balance.

If anyone has any complaints about AAR, please direct them to the phonies in Hollywood and in broadcast journalism who grease each other’s palm instead of doing the right thing. Yes, I am angry with these people for their selfishness and disregard of the struggling constituency that they pretend to support. I actually was a true believer before this all happened. And for those of you who criticize me for my lack of tolerance of these crazy hateful people and their enablers, keep on watching these shows and make them all rich while your life goes down the drain.

Economics is a zero sum game. That is a fact and whatever share of the economic pot the wealthy elites have comes right out of your pocket. It is time for everyone to open up their windows and scream out, “I’m as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore.”

[TET1968]

All those left wing power players and pension fund directors seem to be saying the same thing," Wouldn't touch Janeane Garofalo or Al Franken with a ten foot pole."

[Semi Civil Servant]

"As to Bill Maher and the other Hollywood phonies, please don’t count on them to help. They only care about themselves. It is interesting that shortly after I wrote my book about AAR, my publisher hired the finest PR firm to get some guest appearances for me. One of the firm’s contacts was to the Maher show. At that time, AAR was one of the biggest media stories in the country. And it was mostly positive and well supported. I watched with great interest that season the Ann Coulter premiere interview on the Maher show promoting her new book about how all liberals are insane perverts. That took precedence over a book about AAR, which could have helped publicize the network for the greater good..."

The millions in free publicity Airhead America got from the MSM upon its debut wasn't enough for this weasel? What a whiny punk.

[freedumb2003]

Mr. Drobny received a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting from Roosevelt University in Chicago and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, an honorary fraternity recognizing acadamic achievement in colleges of business administration.

How could someone with this qual be so ignorant on simple economics? Should I avoid business graduates from Roosevelt?

[okie01]

The liberal elites promised him public funding or pension money from the working families of America? Am I reading that right?

Yes.

He was, after all, doing important work...

[summer]

I think you're missing his big point there, which is that Bill Maher -- Mr. Liberal Hollywood/I Hate GW -- was apparently nowhere to be found in terms of helping to publicize Air America; yet, Bill had no problem finding a comfy chair on his show for the money-making/hugely successful/conservative author, Ann Coulter (whose latest message is that all liberals are "insane perverts").

I can understand how this liberal Air America founder would be peeved at that.

[proxy_user]

As far as I know, business administration is as far from economics as anything could possibly be.

That's why MBAs are continually surprised at the disasters they cause.

[NewHampshireDuo]

His 2004 book continues to do well at Amazon:

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,211 in Books

[freedumb2003]

As far as I know, business administration is as far from economics as anything could possibly be.

I have a BS in business from Pepperdine -- I took micro and macro economics.

[summer]

Thanks, Liz!

[I_Like_Spam]

Mr. Drobny really doesn't have a clue. The financing for talk radio (and all commercial media) comes from the sale of advertising at a price determined by ratings. Rush and Hannity and Savage and the scores of other conservative talkers aren't charities in any sense of the word. Instead of dunning folks for handouts, he should have been persuading them with the idea that liberal talk was an investment that would pay off.

But I guess that capitalist figured that the Air America business model was one doomed to failure, so Drobny was left with his hand out. Just too much competition from CBS, ABC and the other myriad leftist networks for those interested in such things.

[JHBowden]

This guy sounds pretty wealthy himself. Why is he complaining about wealthy elites?

It seems he's pissed off he is wealthy, but not elite, and thinks he could become elite by leading the proletariat to the socialist promised land. I don't expect people with jobs to get behind the familiar leftist "ah wull faght fer yoo" crap.

[kittymyrib]

The sum stolen from the boys and girls club was $800,000, the same amount he refers to as his donation....hmmmm.

[boop]

Um, so where did this liberal elitist get his money from, then, if it's a zero sum game? Obviously he STOLE it.

[frankensnake]

There's a reason leftist talk radio has flamed out and conservative talk radio has flourished. There's no market for the leftist crap. If there's anything the "elites" he grouses about know, it's the media business. And given that they love their money more than their leftist faith, I'm guessing they saw the train wreck coming and refused to board the train. I can't fault them for being smart enough to not throw good money after a bad investment.

But being a liberal, this dude doesn't believe in personal accountability. In this guy's sorry calculus, Air Amerika is a disaster, not because it was a terrible business idea from the beginning and there never was an audience for their crummy product (I think even the true believers get tired of hearing "Bush sucks!" all day, every day), but because the "elites" were too chicken to back it. Boo friggin hoo. Get over it, it was never personal, it's strictly business.

[darkangel82]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Where are they located, anyway? The US attorney in that area might wanna know about that.

[hoosierham]

It is just another example of how the socialist elitists are not willing to " do good " with their own money !

[frankensnake]

Yeah, but Maher knows lots of people want to watch Ann Coulter. How many people really care about Air Amerika? Maher's gotta eat too, and ratings are king in the media business!

[austinmark]

Errrrrr Amerika is Dead-Air walking and doesn't even know it.

When the lib's have to cheat at the voting polls, point to Biased polling data, support kooks to "throw under the bus" one of their own Senators and HAVE to PAY radio station's just to claim there "on the air", such actions lead me to believe that I WILL SEE the end of the Rat's as we know them....

[BlessedBeGod]

Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine.

It's everybody's fault but yours, isn't it?

[ClaireSolt]

If you want to experience something completely rigged, check out the U.S. Tax Court. I met with an IRS attorney who wa confident he could beat my claim in U.S. Tax Court without even having a copy of the return.