Liberal Air America Radio Files Chapter 11

Negotiations With Creditor Break Down; Talk Radio Network To Stay On Air

(CBS)  Air America Radio, a liberal talk and news radio network that features the comedian Al Franken, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a network official told The AP.

The network had denied rumors just a month ago that it would file for bankruptcy. On Friday, Air America spokeswoman Jaime Horn told The Associated Press that the filing became necessary only recently after negotiations with a creditor from the company's early days broke down.

The network will stay on the air while it resolves issues with its creditors, Horn said. In addition to Franken, the network also features shows from liberal talk show host Randi Rhodes and Jerry Springer.

Horn declined to name the creditor with which talks had reached a logjam. The company will operate in the interim with funding from its current investor group.

Air American also said Friday it had named Scott Elberg as its new CEO. Elberg, a former general manager of the radio station WLIB in New York, has been with the network since May of last year.

The filing marked the latest turbulence at the liberal talk radio network, which went on the air two years ago. This April, Danny Goldberg stepped down as CEO and was replaced by an interim chief executive from a management consulting firm.

"Nobody likes filing for bankruptcy," Elberg said in a statement. "However, this move will enable us to concentrate on informing and entertaining our audience during the coming months."

The goal of Air America was to counter conservative talk-radio.

"Republicans have spent 40 years trying to make 'liberal' pejorative. They associated it with welfare, dope, having sex, doing drugs and being lazy," Franken told CBSNews.com in 2004, when the network was starting. "And it [liberalism] means saving capitalism twice in the 20th Century, during the Progressive Era and the New Deal. It means we are all in this together."

[perception5]

I don't anyone minds hearing from liberals .......its just that news organizations shoule employ both liberals, moderates, and conservatives..... then let the American people choose which ideas they like the best....

[roythelib]

Air America needs a professional management team with proven radio marketing skills. With about half the country leaning liberal there is no reason a liberal network can't succed.

I imagine that many liberal working folks don't have a lot of time during the day to listen to any talk radio.

Starting up a new network from the ground up is a daunting task and is bound to have some mis-steps along the way. I doubt that righty talk was under this much of a microscope during its start up an it did take a long time to build up it's audience.

Don't forget that even the mighty Rushbo failed to get his TV show to become a viable product, f course that predated the FOX network where he might have had a chance to make it work.

If you are a liberal be sure that when you support the network by using the sponsers products you let them know where you heard the AD.

[random_radar]

"Republicans have spent 40 years trying to make 'liberal' pejorative. They associated it with welfare, dope, having ***, doing drugs and being lazy," says Al Franken.

Judging from the scandals in Washington, Republican and Democratic congressionals are both quite liberal in their conduct. And quite liberal in their tolerance for moral and ethical lapses.

[random_radar]

And let's not forget Rush Limbaugh and his drug problems--by conservative Republican standards, he would be considered a 'liberal' talk show host.

[pendragon679]

"Just goes to show the public isn't as stupid as George Soros was hoping we were."

I dunno about that. Seems to me a lot of sheeple were stupid enough to re-elect Dubya...

[perception5]

I think the reason why talk radio is so popular with conservatives in our predominately religious conservative nation is that all three major TV networks, CBS, ABC, and NBC, tilt %u201Cleft%u201D in their reporting of news. There really aren%u2019t any other outlets for moderates and conservatives go to. Fox news is there but a lot of people either don%u2019t have cable or the cable company in there are doesn%u2019t carrying the Fox network. This was the case when I was on vacation in Key Largo and where I went on a seminar in Williamsburg Virginia. What we need is for one or two of the three major news networks to tilt %u201Cright%u201D in their reporting%u2026%u2026%u2026 this way Americans can choose their news based on their own %u201Cbelief%u201D values.

[mjv2944]

Where's the left wing at when you really need them. It appears that they are definitely sitting on their check books. Oh well, right, left , middle, doesn't seem to matter, they've lost sight of what made thgis country great.

[cathaleen]

The left still hasn't gotten the message. The 60's are gone - so has the liberal half baked chatter that no one listens to anymore. Instead of speaking in platitudes or bashing the politicians(either rep or dem) - start saying something substantial - instead of inane archaic questions, start giving some answers to problems. They may find they have an audience.

[roythelib]

Cathaleen - Half baked chatter, pleeeese the airways are filled with garbage from both sides of the aisle. Most people think the only good radio is the one that reinforces thier own idealogy. Bashing, geeez right wing talk spends as mutch time bashing the liberal pols as the other way around. And when all else fails "it's Clinton's fault", I don't think Rush can make it through a day with out blaming something on Clinton.

Perception5 - The problem IS that people are choosing thier information based on thier beliefs, what ever happend to the facts, the truth? Rigth/Left wing talkers are not news people, just commentary and opinion and too many people take those opinions as fact...

[one_american]

If The New Deal is the last liberal idea that Franken can cite, with no current ideas, then the Democratic Party is dead for sure.

[djconklin]

this way Americans can choose their news based on their own %u201Cbelief%u201D values.

Why not base their beliefs on the facts? One of the major problems in this country is that there are too many Americans who only listen to what they wanted to hear in the first place.

[perception5]

Well I guess what we need to do is somehow take the "politics" out of the "reported news". The only pure news organization that does that now is C-span because you can actually see and hear the information coming for the person(s) speaking. I agree we can't hung up with watching news programs that fit our "belief" values but how else can we Americans just "get the news"??
Any suggestions..... because this left and right spin is creating a big divide in this country and we don't need that.

[book54552134]

Despite the diatribe that constantly comes out of the Extremist Right, the truth about the demographics involved in radio listenership is very different indeed. Those who listen to Right-wing radio (managers, professionals, homekeepers, those who are financially independent, ect,)tend to have the time & opportunity to listen to those Right-wing radio outlets, (Rush Limbaugh, Fox commentators, ect,)that tend to support their position in life. While those who would listen to Left-wing radio, (lower/middle income individuals,) simply do not have the opportunity to listen. Employers either will not or cannot allow them to listen to radio while they work. When these people end their work day, their time is either consummed by family needs or they are too exhausted or they tend to prefer nonpolitical television entertainment to consume what little remains of their waking day. Their time-consuming circumstances during the day are completely opposite to their counterparts on the Right though many on the Left would listen to Left-wing radio, especially during the day, if they had the opportunity to do so.

[russellvbrla]

I sure hope this doesn't mean the end of Air-america. Franken is really a funny, insightful guy although I did see him on Hardball and he was rather unkind to Tony Blankley, the editor of the Washington Times who for a conservative is also quite intelligent, dignified and a pleasure to listen to.

[ronniehm]

book54552134, it doesn't help your argument to just make up statistics. Having worked in radio for a few years, I know that radio listenership is higher among Democrats than Republicans. TALK RADIO listenership is what's higher among Republicans. It's not a question of whether they have time to listen; it's about what format they prefer. And by the way, if you're under the impression that professionals just sit around listening to the radio all day, you are a long way from learning what it takes to become a professional at anything.

Other than that, your post was right on the money; i.e., most of it was spelled correctly.

[huskerarmy]

"If The New Deal is the last liberal idea that Franken can cite, with no current ideas, then the Democratic Party is dead for sure."

Where does Frankin say the New Deal is the "only" idea he can site? Man the conservative spin makes one dizzy. Although anyone with a 6th grad education knows there has of course been a litany of Democratic ideas since the New Deal (Ever hear of the Civil Rights Act?) the GOP has now made saving the progress that middle class Americans made as a result of the New Deal a priority.

[huskerarmy]

"...start saying something substantial..."

Cathaleen,

You can repeat that tired old talking point ad nauseum, but there has not been a "substantial" idea come out of this administration since it's inaugeration. And saying it's so doesn't make it so. Beat that drum all you want. Beat it along with that trickle down nonsense, moral superiority nonsense, race baiting and gay bashing nonsense. The voters are tired of hearing your empty rhetoric.

[huskerarmy]

Isn't the term Conservative idea an oxymoron?

[ronniehm]

You may certainly disagree with the ideas that come out of this administration, but to say they are not substantial is nonsense. Going to Iraq, for example, is a profoundly substantial idea with incredibly significant consequences, but since Democrats still haven't laid out a plan, it just so happens to be the only idea on the table for holding Saddam accountable for violating a number of UN resolutions. So either present your alternative or continue to lack substance. Don't confuse bad ideas with no ideas.

[book54552134]

RonnieHM - I quoted no statistics in my post. If you will read correctly, you will see that I was writing in general terms. & are you saying that professionals don't listen to the radio? By the way, I didn't see any statistics in your post to substantiate your claims.

[ronniehm]

book, you most certainly alluded to statistics on the listening habits of two different demographics, and you were just plain wrong. No, I'm not saying professionals don't listen to the radio. Is that how you comprehended what I wrote? I certainly hope not, because that would be weird. Contrary to what you wrote, professionals do not have more time to listen to the radio, and you'll have to forgive me if I don't hunt down the exact numbers for you. I already know it for a fact, so if you don't know, go find a scarborough research report or something for yourself. And next time you're confused about who has time to listen to the radio, spend a day in a professional environment and compare it to a day at a construction site. I wonder where you'rll be more likely to hear a radio ... and I wonder if it will be tuned to Air America.

[alphaa10-2009]

Book54552134 and RonnieHM%u2013 2
Likewise, for whatever reason, non-conservatives (a very wide spectrum defying descriptives like "liberal") and those who, regardless of party ideology, reject Bush, his policies and record (an even wider spectrum), tend to favor the blogosphere in both production and consumption roles.

Where this leaves liberal POV on the radio is still an open question-- I would like to know more about what led the underwriter and Air America into disagreement. But Air America will stay on the air, since apparently there are alternative sources. On the question of revenue, itself, some very good content goes begging because it does not appeal to businesses with deep pockets.

Of radio and blog venues, which is the better route to the voter? As you point out, the ability to spell is "importnat" (I have committed misspellings, and so have you), but more to the point, the overriding objective is to tell the truth. Statistics, as you well know, can be interpreted as if to lie.

[alphaa10-2009]

Book5452134 and RonnieHM%u2013 1

Ronnie said-- "book54552134, it doesn't help your argument to just make up statistics."
------
Despite your belief that book54552134, in speaking of a radio demographic, quoted statistics, he clearly did not. Instead, he used a very broad verbal description not directly keyed to any statistic. In contrast, media / market statistics are quite specific and always involve raw numbers and percentiles.

So, it does not help your reputation for consistency to demand book54552134 buttress his argument with market stats, while you refuse to do the same. And even with the relevant lapful of market stats in hand, there are also questions about which urban market, what region, time of day, etc., which quickly will wear down any tendency to hasty generalization.

But since no stats in a precisely meaningful frame or context are in play here, I must mix my vote. I guess intuitively most Limbaugh/O'Reilly/Hannity listeners do not routinely use a computer, but do prefer to turn on and tune a radio or TV. (This is not to say some excellent conservative blogs and websites do not exist, but that is on the production, not consumption side.)

[ronniehm]

alphaa, I asked for no stats from book to back up his argument. There are none. Spare me your lies about what I demanded. I sold radio advertising years ago, and I'm right. The end.