Free Republic

This week Missoula area listeners of KMPT-AM radio, 930 AM, tuned in to hear something surprising. Instead of the usual progressive talk on the station, they're broadcasting conservative talk. KMPT's format change began Tuesday, but market manager Scott Lindahl said they made the decision to switch months ago.

Liberal Seattle news-talk station KIRO and conservative sister KTTH-AM finally have the word from the National Labor Relations Board: they're no longer working in a union shop. And it all came down to one disputed ballot, cast by syndicated talk show host Michael Medved. After a contentious battle led by overnight KIRO talk host Lou Pate, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was decertified at KIRO and KTTH. Making the fight especially weird: another one of KIRO's evening talk hosts, left-wing extremist Mike Webb, loudly supported the anti-union campaign. Meanwhile, a few conservatives in the building at...

Al Franken, explain this one Published September 11, 2005 Al Franken appears to be caught in a fib -- a "lying lie," he might call it -- about Air America's loans-from-children scandal.     To his employers' credit, Air America is seeking to put the scandal behind it: On Thursday, the network wired the remaining $825,000 it "borrowed" from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx to the club's lawyers. Air America's parent company, Piquant LLC, had initially denied responsibility for the total of $875,000 in questionable transfers, claiming a previous owner was liable. But the negative publicity from...

For two weeks, the Radio Equalizer's MSM clock (supplied by BoreAmerica) has been logging the mainstream media's non-coverage of Air America's scandal, where it appears to have received $875,000 in taxpayer funds, intended for a Bronx-based community center. More recently, we've been discussing what the first New York Times story might include. Perhaps both sides, rather than merely covering for Al Franken? Would they acknowledge the blogosphere, for picking up their slack? Now, we finally have their version of the story, 16 days later. Is it time to remove the MSM clock?

Remember Kevin Nealon's classic Saturday Night Live "Mr. Subliminal" character? He could slip a critical point into the smallest spaces, creating some of the show's funniest moments. After a detailed analysis of Al Franken's recent public Air America scandal comments, it's clear he may owe Nealon one, for stealing his act. That's because slipped into Franken's rambling set of excuses over why he and Air America are not responsible for $875,000 in taxpayer funds, diverted from a Bronx-based community center, a key admission is made. Take a look at this snippet, with a full Radio Equalizer-produced transcript below, (bold emphasis...

It's taken nearly a week, since the Radio Equalizer's first report on Air America's taxpayer funding diversion scandal, but Al Franken has finally addressed it in a second New York Sun investigative piece. Why the delay? If we hadn't pushed this issue, would Franken have ever said a word? Maybe they really are worried at Air America's head office. Can Franken's contention, that he first heard about the diverted funds a week ago, be taken at face value?

Here's a pop quiz: If you're running Air America Radio right about now, are you A) horrified your dirty secrets are being aired by bloggers and others, or B) thrilled, knowing it will shortly be back to business as usual, since the mainstream media has decided to look the other way at your network's past dirty dealings and recent conflicting statements.

That Al Franken still refuses to address the growing scandal that's "progressively" enveloping the Air America network is bad enough, but the icing on the cake is this blog post, from his show page:

We're continuing to press the matter of Air America's $480,000 in (possibly unreturned) taxpayer funds obtained in a highly questionable manner. Meanwhile, more ratings releases today shed a great deal of light on the network's future. Unlike its conservative counterpart, liberal talk is destined to be simply a regional, niche format that works in a few cities and fails elsewhere. That's become clear. While right-leaning talk also appeals to a segment of the population, it's big (even with recent ratings troubles) and successful nationwide, almost without geographic exception. Ratings released today for Seattle, Portland and Denver put the finishing touches...

What happens when mainstream media folk, after years of seething over conservative talk radio's success, discover its alternative got diverted federal funds, earmarked instead for inner-city youth and seniors? The answer, with one key exception: they pretend it didn't happen. Yes, only because of a New York Daily News tidbit do we know how Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club nearly shut down major programs recently, because almost $500,000 in federal grant money was instead diverted to Air America's liberal radio network.

Remember a year ago, when Air America's programming was abruptly yanked off the air in Los Angeles and Chicago, after financial troubles were revealed, including bounced checks? Air America has since gone out of its way to put those unpleasant memories into the distant past. But they're not the only liberal talk radio game in town, with other syndication companies in the mix. The somewhat mysterious Democracy Radio has also been involved in this effort, with ownership of the Fargo, North Dakota-based Ed Schultz show, in partnership with Denver-based Jones Radio Networks. Friday, a bigger question mark emerged: