For the past several weeks, we've been hearing buzzing from reliable confidential sources that something major was happening at Air America.
Today, in a conference call with its employees, Air American Radio (AAR) made it official. It was filing for chapter 11 protection while it reorganizes.
They report they WILL stay on the air.
Mike Papantonio, who co-hosts Air America's program, Ring of Fire, with Bobby Kennedy, compared what's happening to AAR with United Airlines. "It's same thing you find with United airlines... they're still flying. There's not going to be any interruption in programming," he told OpEdNews, saying "The good news about this is that AA is actively seeking new investors and that they expect to come out of bankruptcy stronger, with new, dynamic leadership."
IN a press release Piquant LLC, which does business as Air America, says it was forced to file for protection after "good faith efforts to resolve outstanding debt with a creditor from the company's earliest days broke down."
They report,
"In recent months, the company has been seeking additional investment to finance its continued growth, and it expects to continue and complete discussions for new financing during the Chapter 11."
and
The bankruptcy filing will allow the company to continue offering its complete line-up of programming while it deals with its creditors in the reorganization proceeding. To ensure the company's continued operation without interruption, a credit facility will be provided by Democracy Allies LLC. The Management and the Board of Directors of Piquant remain fully committed to broadcasting our popular programs and championing the progressive cause during what we are confident will be a very brief restructuring period.
"The Board of Directors has named Vice President Scott Elberg as the Company's Chief Executive Officer. "Nobody likes filing for bankruptcy, however, this move will enable us to concentrate on informing and entertaining our audience during the coming months," said Elberg. "Staying on the air is crucial for the Network's primary ratings period as well as for the country which is facing its most important mid-term election in recent history." Air America, headquartered in New York City, currently produces 19 hours of original programming a day and is heard on 92 affiliates reaching 58 percent of the country. Air America affiliates reach 2.4 million listeners per week, Mon-Sun
According to insideradio.com "Air talent Al Franken joked several weeks ago that he's flown on airlines that are in bankruptcy - anticipating that this day might come, and that operations would continue."
It has seemed, since its startup, that Air America started on a shoestring, without deep enough funding, perhaps a perrenial challenge to progressive organizations.
It is normal for a start-up company to need several years to get up on its feet financially, and to need investors and capitalization during that period.
The right wing media, like FOX News and the Rush Limbaugh show, ran for long periods of time, in the red, but were able to survive through those times because they had funders-- it's hard to call them investors, since there were political payoffs and motivations rather than conventional profit motives-- who carried the money-losing media for long periods of time.
The bankruptcy filing, reprinted at thesmokinggun.com runs 25 pages, listing Rob Glaser, founder of RealNetworks, as the single largest creditor, owed more than $10 million. Mike Malloy one of the network's most popular talk show hosts, whose contract was not renewed, as expected, several weeks ago, is owed over $100,000.
A long term Air America investor told OpEdNews.com, "There's no question that Air America belongs in the future of the media. It has an important role to play."
We agree. There's a long way to go before the talk radio playing field is leveled, but Air America Radio, originally conceived by Sheldon and Anita Drobny, energized by an early commondreams.org article by Thom Hartmann, started with the passion and commitment of Randi Rhodes, Mike Malloy, Al Franken, and a team of others, deserves to play a roll in the future of American media.
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
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The airlines analogy doesn't hold water. The airlines can operate in chapter 11 because they generate a tremendous cash flow every day from ticket sales. Air America radio generates no serious cash flow. Their advertising revenue is not enough to pay their bills (obviously) and there is no reason to project that their revenues will increase over the next year by any large amount. Their refusal to fire Al Franken and the firing of Mike Malloy has proven to be their undoing. If the new AAR management is willing to fire Al Franken and pay him off through chapter 11, put Thom Hartmann in his place, and rehire Mike Malloy, then they might have a chance to emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy.
by
Shelby LaPre (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 26 comments)
on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 5:12:39 PM
Good thinking. I don't know anything about the new management. Do you?
But Limbaugh and Fox News were in the same boat in their early years. They had political investors who supported them, not for pure profit. Why aren't the money people on the left smart enough to see the need for not just AAR but lots more AARs.
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Rob Kall (809 articles, 3927 quicklinks, 333 diaries, 1707 comments)
on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 9:30:22 PM
The airlines analogy isn't correct. I think Air America just spends more than it earns, that's all.
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Daniel H (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 28 comments)
on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 9:44:06 AM
I don't know what it is like in the rest of the country but it has always been difficult to hear Air America in NYC and the suburbs. It's about 60% static on both the old and new AM stations.
Second, I find it particularly lacking in content. I often switch to NPR and get much more information in ten minutes than I do on Air America.
I think Air America should provide liberal views that aren't available on the mainstream media. What I hear is a total embrace of the Democratic Party. Yes, today the Dems are far better than the Reps. However, during the Clinton years Sec. Ron Brown used to fly corporate donors around in exchange for donations to the Dem Party and Democratic Senators and Congressfolks routinely sell-out the people.
Besides Lieberman, you don't hear that on A.A. Radio. If the Dems win next month, they may be just as disappointing as the Reps are. Well, maybe not AS much but still disappointing.
What A.A. Radio needs is more listeners. Rush Limbaugh for the Left is not the answer. Better programming that provides info that can't be had elsewhere is the answer.
by
jpeskoff (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 18 comments)
on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 5:54:24 PM
Just a note: NPR is a news/editorial network. Air america is a talk radio network, that means callers and conversations. I don't think Air America should try to be more of a news / editorial network. That is supposed to be the job of the major networks who employ reporters to report their own news. Otherwise you get a news echo chamber of networks all feeding off the same 3 or 4 news wires. This has nothing to do with Air america, it has more to do with the poor news radio requirements by the FCC and Congress.
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Shelby LaPre (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 26 comments)
on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 6:16:36 PM
I listen in the NYC area(WRRL 1600AM), and agree that the quality of the transmission is really poor. After around 5 in the afternoon, the static is so bad that it is impossible for me to listen, which is a shame, since I enjoy Rachel Maddow, David Bender, Betsy Rosenberg & Peter Werbe. Another huge problem we have in the NYC area: we don't get Mark Riley or the Young Turks in the morning! Instead, we get Armstrong Williams & Sam Greenfield! The only mitigating factor of this (Greenfield isn't bad) is that there's usually a ritual where a caller rips Williams a new one, but I feel that that does not make it worthwhile--he gets to laugh all the way to the bank, and Mike Molloy is not getting his message out on AAR.
I also don't get to hear Thom Hartmann on Sundays on WWRL, when AAR would rebroadcast his show.
I wish Air America the best of luck with the reorganization, and that the progressives who have the money to do so, provide the backing and are able to get them straightened out, because I really feel that the writing was on the wall when they put the Satellite Sisters on in Mike Molloy's time slot on 1190AM in January.
I'll continue to listen, when the static isn't so bad, and when the programming is Air America's. I enjoy Randi Rhodes and the rest of the talent, including Franken.
by
Laur (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 22 comments)
on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 1:19:39 AM
is not the end of a business. Worldcom cooked the books, got caught, re-branded to MCI Worldcom, dumped tens of thousands of employees worldwide and went into Chapter 11 just before hitting the ground. Chapter 11 functions as a parachute for failing businesses. In Worldcom's case, they emerged from Chapter 11 in damned good shape, once again re-branded as MCI and were then bought by Verizon. That's the way the corporate cookie crumbles. It's all profit-driven. The boards couldn't care less about Quality of service or how their employees are doing. AA stopped caring about us, the listeners so we stopped listening.
AA made some really stupid mistakes. If and when they emerge from Chapter 11, someone with beaucoup bucks is gonna have to step in and take over. CEOs are interchangeable by the way. The one leading a company into Chapter 11 is rarely the one leading the company after they emerge from Chapter 11. A new CEO will be under a new set of instructions. CEOs don't make the rules ....e.g. how far Mike Malloy could go on 9/11, or if Randi Rhodes can just come out and use the "F" word while describing the gangs on the Hill. "F", as in Fascist. Not what you were thinking. Air America will have to compromise even more than they already have. The result will be less listeners and more commercial breaks. The problem is, Air America was the number one progressive talk radio show on the air and everyone listened. Then someone called the CEO and said "ya gotta drop Mike....he's going to far on 9/11" or "ya gotta get rid of the clown Marc, he's about an inch from spilling the beans on this place being run by a left gatekeeper", or "ya gotta talk to Randi, we need Randi but we can't have that "F" word in our studios".
My infatuation with Air American ended once I saw behind the curtain. The left gatekeeper pulling the strings thought he could get away with firing Marc Maron and then Mike Malloy in an effort to save money and please the board without pissing real liberals off. It's just another business where you have to gamble and sometimes lose.
Air America is free-falling and Chapter 11 may not open for them. It's a shame. They should have steered clear of partisan politics.
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Tony Forest (6 articles, 15 quicklinks, 155 diaries, 1359 comments)
on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 3:37:30 AM
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The more I look into this Chapter 11, the more I come to realize I've got my facts wrong. But I'm not alone, so what the hey ? An LA Times article has a much better aim at the case.....
Air America Parent Files for Chapter 11
"Parent", as in Piquant.
Who knows more ? Who cares ?
by
Tony Forest (6 articles, 15 quicklinks, 155 diaries, 1359 comments)
on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 11:47:17 AM
liberal radio gains market share. That's why conservative Clear Channel is growing liberal radio. In the many markets that Air America exists most gained tremendously. In some, like NY, it wasn't so hot. I think it was because of the crappy reception.
I don't pretend to know anything about the radio biz but it seems that there are at least as many liberals as conservatives. So, if conservative radio can support 500 stations, liberal radio should be able to support 67 stations.
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jpeskoff (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 18 comments)
on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 9:37:49 PM
"This is not AAR's official statement, just my thoughts, an official statement will be forthcoming...
Air America's parent company will enter into a Chapter 11 reorganization today. Frankly, this is good news. Because of a lack of capitalization and a clear business plan Air America has been behind the 8 ball since its launch. Despite these missteps AAR has, as a product, been wildly successful.
After only two and a half years, AAR continues to grow listenership, add affiliates and enhance our brand. With little fanfare, the Air America "Playbook", which was released Sept.18, hit number 14 on the times best seller list this past weekend. As of today, AAR currently produces 19 hours of original programming a day and is heard on 92 affiliates reaching 58 percent of the country. Air America affiliates reach 2.4 million listeners per week.
This reorganization will allow Air America to restructure itself and relationships it has had since its inception. It will also allow Air America to restructure these relationships to reflect its change in business model which took place September first of this year. At that time AAR essentially became a syndicator of progressive programming."
The current format, in my opinion, only attracts the fringe. Many moderate/liberal leaning people I know tried listening to AAR and got turned-off by the same ranting that turn them off to Rush Limbaugh. I have trouble with the discussions that turn overly shrill.
To paraphrase a skit from the Daily Show, 'the facts are liberal biased.' Give people a calm view of the events that includes what the MSM leaves out; interviews with liberal guests and call-ins and I think it would be a more successful format.
by
jpeskoff (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 18 comments)
on Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 7:39:27 AM
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