Air America Sold, Al Franken To Leave

If Bankruptcy Court OKs Deal, NYC Real Estate Magnate Stephen Green Will Buy Liberal Talk Radio Network

(AP)  Air America Radio, a liberal talk radio network, said Monday that it had reached a tentative agreement to be sold to the founder of a New York area real estate company. The network also said that Al Franken, its longtime headline personality, would depart next month.

The agreement with Stephen Green, the founder and chairman of SL Green Realty Corp., appears to rescue the struggling network, which has been seeking a buyer since last fall when it filed for bankruptcy reorganization after reaching an impasse with one of its creditors.

Any sale would have to be approved by the bankruptcy court. The company has signed what is called a letter of intent to sell itself to Green and expects to agree on financial terms soon, Air America spokeswoman Jaime Horn said.

Green is the brother of Mark Green, a longtime New York politician who has also appeared frequently as a guest on Air America Radio.

The network said in a statement that Franken's last day on the air would be Feb. 14, and that his noon-3pm ET time slot would be taken over by Portland, Ore.-based talk show host Thom Hartmann.

The network didn't specify why Franken was leaving, but Franken told the AP earlier this month that he had contacted Minnesota lawmakers to seek advice about a possible run for the Senate.

Green's company is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages office properties, mainly in Manhattan, with 27 million square feet of space under its control.

Air America launched with much fanfare in 2004 as an alternative to conservative radio talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh. But it ran into several tough spots, including a management shakeup just five weeks after going on the air that saw the departure of its chairman, Evan Cohen. Former music executive Danny Goldberg abruptly stepped aside as CEO last April. The current CEO is Scott Elberg.

[lucasnico]

fartknocker2.... it's their, not there.... thought you rich republicans could write....guess it all gets down to just shouting....so, stay loud and wrong.

[downtowner97]

Doggone it, I like Al Franken!

[apackerfan21]

In just 2 years Al Franken spoke more truth than that drug addict Rush Limbaugh, that liar Bill (2 Peabodys) O'Reilly (that teenager kidnapped in Missouri liked it so much he didn't want to leave); or that gambling addict hypocrite Bill Bennett. The people on this board who cheer Al Franken leaving must still believe there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Dont bother thinking for yourself; just let Rupert Murdochs Fox News do it for you.

[djconklin]

lieberman18 wrote: "Another fascist bozo bites the dust."

This is how bad it is: the cons have moved so far to the right that even the fascists look like liberals!

[jimfinster]

lieberman18:

Too bad it wasn't your hero, drug addict ******** Rush Limbaugh. What a looser.

[teeus]

"wherevever will a rich Liberal find work?"

God willing, as the Jr Senator from the great state of Minnesota.

[djbob1968]

So after about 2 years, which is "longtime" according to the article...Al Franken is leaving. Sob. With ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN and NPR...wherevever will a rich Liberal find work?

Good luck and good riddance, Al

[legendary240]

Poor old Al, who cares what he does? Airhead America was a lost cause before it launched. Con-slur-vative talk radio is just as bad, beholding to political parties and defending evertything a republican does. We need a Libertarian voice. I don't care for demo-craps or reek-publicans.

[glosie2001]

Most of you ignorant, slavish ditto-heads don't have a clue, and just spout unresearched stupidity.

Al Franken is owed over 4 million from Air America Radio, which he will most likely never see, but his main interest in moving to Minnesota, his home state, over a year ago, is to legally be able to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Norm Coleman. Coleman ended up with the late Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone's Senate seat, Al's personal friend, after the private plane crash that took the lives of Senator Wellstone, his wife, daughter, staffers and crew in 2002.

I am a great fan and will miss Al's show tremendously. He had the best of all the progressive shows on either AAR or Jones. You could always count on learning something from Al's show, and when he made an occasional error, he would CORRECT it...unheard of! Al's show had a fantastic roster of intelligent guests and regulars that deeply explored the political news of the day. One always went away from one of Al's show with new knowledge of the current political scene plus new insights into the latest Bush "administration"'s latest incompetent, inhumane moves. (I can't wait till this horrific time in our history is OVER...this is the second
King George reign we need to oust to regain our freedoms.)

Al, your show will be sorely missed, but we look forward to your Senate race!

[teeus]

Idiots. Franken is going off the air so he can run for Senate in his home state of Minnesota.

Not because people didn't like him.

Spin it any way you want, but the truth of the matter is that the ratings for conservative talk radio are dropping every month, but Air America's ratings have been showing growth. The bankruptcy has more to do with the perils of a start-up business, rather than "Al-Don't-Sell."