Posted on 01/30/2007 6:00:16 AM PST by seanmerc
Air America Radio was rescued from bankruptcy yesterday, but still faces the impending loss of Al Franken, its most popular talker.
[SNIP]
Mr. Green is intent on bringing solvency to Air America, which has been troubled by flagging ratings, cash deficits and management turmoil since it was founded almost three years ago as a foil to popular conservative talk radio. The network was often called "Err America" by critics.
[SNIP]
Niche or not, the on-air lineup will suffer when Mr. Franken leaves. He told his listeners he would depart Feb. 14 but was coy about whether he would run against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008 for the U.S. Senate seat in his home state of Minnesota. "I'm definitely giving it some serious consideration, and I'll make my decision soon," Mr. Franken said yesterday. He has regarded Air America as a political platform since the beginning. "Today is both an ending and a beginning -- an end to the right-wing dominance of talk radio, a beginning of a battle for truth, a battle for justice, a battle indeed for America," Mr. Franken said on his first broadcast when the network signed on with five affiliates on March 31, 2004. He founded the Midwest Values PAC two years ago to provide support to "progressive candidates, activists and causes" around the country, according to his personal Web site. Mr. Franken will be replaced in his noon-3 p.m. time slot by Thom Hartmann.
[SNIP]
"Air America at best will be another content company with a name tarnished by bad-management bankruptcy. And the prospective rescuers have no experience in radio," Mr. Drobny wrote at the online Huffington Post yesterday, later concluding, "Relying on mega-millionaire liberals to put ego aside for the common good is almost impossible."
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Whatever happened to DailyKos? They were in headlines almost every day for a while - now the MSM seems to have completely forgotten them.
Maybe they dissed the Hildebeast.
A St. Valentine's Day gift to us all!
They can't run a simple radio network but have the gall to talk about how to run the most successful free enterprise system on the Earth. I sense a disconnect there.
Simple. Get conservative hosts.
Celebrate while you can...I have a strong suspicion that the tanking of Err-America will be repeatedly cited as justification for reviving the fairness doctrine...
The purchase was made to provide employment for the brother of new owner: Mark Green, an old-line uber-lib loser.
Man, I hadn't considered that. That's scary!
Dems don't believe that you have a right not to listen to their free speech.
Now, THOSE are words I NEVER thought I'd see strung together that way! ;-P
I suspect you'll hear the terms/phrases, "level playing field", "unfair competition", "Clear Channel monopoly", etc. in the coming debate. I would not be surprised if Franken is called to testify before Congress....
What does that tell you when Al Franken is the most popular person on a network?
Kinda like saying someone is the smartest kid on the short bus....
Sounds like a good tagline to me.
Just the sort of person the Dumb Freaking Liberals from Minnesota would elect.
Oh! The humanity! How will we ever sleep at night?
Franken leaving on Valentine's day, huh? Guess he's not "feeling the love"!
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