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Sproing
Posted in Satire at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
"Office Politics Give Liberal Radio a Rocky Start"
Under the banner of It's-Not-News-Until-the-NYT-Says-It-Is, comes the report 'Office Politics Give Liberal Radio a Rocky Start'. It says in part:
In a sign that the privately held company's financial woes have not fully abated, Al Franken, the network's best-known star, said in an interview last week that he had agreed not to draw a salary, however temporarily, making him "an involuntary investor.''
"We had some bad management,'' Mr. Franken said. "Then we got some good management.''
Still, Mr. Franken, his tongue only partly in cheek, added, "It's a little fuzzy to me exactly who's in charge...''
The interview in question was blogged here two weeks ago. But, that's OK. It's all good.
Posted in Meta at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)
A blogger listens to Air America
Blogger "Mindles H. Dreck" discusses an AA discussion of a book about the defense department exercising editorial control over movies. Janeane suggests a class action lawsuit against movie makers or some such.
Posted in Janeane at 03:35 PM | Comments (0)
"Air America woes worry advertisers; Business issues, not politics, hamper startup"
Advertising Age has a roundup of Air America's problems locating advertisers, and it includes this funny bit:
General Motors Corp. might provide a clue. Spots for the company were running on Air America in the New York market, unbeknownst to GM, said Ryndee Carney, manager-marketing communications. According to Ms. Carney, the company had bought time on station WLIB when it was still an affiliate of American Urban Radio Network specifically in order to reach its African-America and Caribbean market. WLIB, she said, changed to a new, untested format,'' yet kept running GM ads. Those ads were pulled last week. They're going to have to have some kind of track record. ... We use advertising to reach specific audiences and need to know who's listening and if we're spending on advertising wisely.''
I wonder, which would be cheaper: a blogad on Hatrios, or a 2 minute commercial on AA?
Posted in Meta at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)
Randi cries wolf?
Is Randi leaving Air America, or, as the eighth comment here says, was it all just a jolly jape? I guess we'll have to wait for Tuesday to find out.
As pointed out at the first link, AA's ratings in NYC aren't that good: they're at #24. Their current ratings are barely above when the same station hosted Jamaican Talk.
Posted in RandiRhodes at 11:53 PM | Comments (1)
What's the difference between Harry Shearer and Stuart Smalley?
From this Harry Shearer interview:
I ask, "What's the difference between you and Al Franken?"
"Al is, of course, literally a Democratic court jester. He clearly wears his endorsements where his wit should be. I'm a satirist. My job is to make fun of all of them. People who supposedly practice the art of satire and then retire to the councils of power to write jokes for their leaders—people like Al Franken—really ought to have their satirist cards revoked."
(Via Hit & Run)
Posted in StuartSmalley at 01:27 PM | Comments (0)
Air America: Almost had Colorado outlet; concept called "interesting"
From this radio busines report:
Colorado almost had a radio outlet for Air America, the struggling politically liberal network. And it was almost in Colorado Springs, not exactly a hotbed of liberalism. KBCZ-AM (1300), part of a five-station cluster owned by Citadel Broadcasting, signed on for the network but then backed away when Air America began having severe financial problems.
"We were initially interested because of the concept," said Citadel operations manager Bobby Irwin. "It would have been interesting to see what kind of response the network would have had here."
Posted in Meta at 12:12 AM | Comments (1)
"A bumpy takeoff for Air America liberal radio network"
Reading this article almost makes me want to move to New York and get a job at Air America. Any job will do, I just want to help them build the society of tomorrow. I may have more to say about my "fantasy" of moving to New York later, but for now, let's all read this article:
Last week, Al Franken and Katherine Lanpher basked in the warm spring sun outside the Park Avenue skyscraper that serves as hub to the Air America radio network. Their distinctive laughs bounced off the courtyard wall as the pair relaxed after their 3-hour show.
I can practically hear their chortles echoing in the warm New York spring air.
"The O'Franken Factor" had been good that day. Good guests. Good energy. Things were looking up.
Uh oh. What's the strange music I hear? Like, I heard that in a movie or something.
Fifteen minutes later they went upstairs for a staff meeting, where they learned that two of the network's top executives had resigned, the second management shake-up in as many weeks. The good news was that their paychecks, delayed for 24 hours, would now be distributed.
"There was a glitch," Franken acknowledged later. "There was a little gallows humor, then everyone was sort of anxious to get back to work..."
That's the spirit, Al!
"It turned out there wasn't as much money as Evan said there was," Franken said. "That's why we're hitting a temporary little rough patch and why he's gone. Some heroes have come in and are keeping us going, and hopefully this will get restructured..."
Posted in Meta at 05:30 PM | Comments (0)
[Chicagoland] couple may acquire Air America
From the Chicago Tribune:
The Highland Park couple that founded the precursor to Air America Radio before selling most of it to a group of investors are in negotiations to gain control of the troubled liberal talk network, sources said Thursday.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said Sheldon and Anita Drobny want to buy--with the aid of at least one major new investor--a majority stake in the company.
"A possible acquisition is imminent," said one party involved in the negotiations...
There's commentary on this development here.
Posted in Meta at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
Petro Truck Stops to acquire Air America
From the AP:
BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, ILLINOIS (AP) -- In a surprise announcement, Petro Truck Stops announced its intent to acquire the troubled radio network. Petro - which operates over 2000 truck stops across the U.S. - will continue the format as-is. Any areas that are currently not covered by AM radio will be covered using Citizen's Band repeaters located at Petro's locations.
"Breaker, breaker, good buddy. Looks like we've got some comedy radio comin' your way!" announced Petro CEO Buford Schmitterling. "This will provide a good forum for Petro advertising, as well as giving our customers a steady source of comedy," he continued.
Air America interim CEO Carrot Top could not be reached for comment.
Wait, this just in, see the next post for breaking news...
Posted in Satire at 10:49 AM | Comments (1)
Air America to consolidate, regroup, switch to broadcasting over CB radio
OK, the last one I made up.
In addition to closing their L.A. sales office, they've also closed the one in Chitown:
Air America has shut its sales offices in Los Angeles and Chicago and is recasting its business plan, the network's president said on Wednesday as troubles beset the liberal talk show network...
Since it started, Chairman Evan Cohen, Vice Chairman Rex Sorensen and Head of Programing David Logan have left while co-founder Mark Walsh has stepped down as chief executive to take a smaller role in the organization...
Sinton said Air America was in "high-level affiliate discussions in Chicago and Los Angeles" and other cities.
Sinton said the company had moved away from its original business model, which was to lease and totally control the radio stations in which its programing ran.
Rather, Sinton said Air America has found success with traditional affiliate relationships, under which it provides about 20 hours of programing per day in many cases in exchange for the ability to sell a certain number of minutes per hour of advertising.
In other words, AA is brokered.
Posted in Meta at 11:38 AM | Comments (1)
"Liberal radio is airing bad jokes and worst taste"
From this:
The United States "is on the slippery slope to theocratic fascism." "The Catholic Church has been secretly encouraging oral sex for years." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "ought to be tortured." President Bush should be taken out and shot.
Those are a few nutso nuggets from the hosts of Air America Radio, which calls itself the new liberal voice. The fledgling network is carried in New York on WLIB, 1190 AM. With the Iraq torture scandal everywhere, I tuned in, expecting to hear sober policy analysis mixed with glee over President Bush's political pickle.
Instead, I got 10 hours of rancid venom directed at the President, Rumsfeld, Rush Limbaugh, the Catholic Church and anyone else the hosts felt like slamming. If you're a card-carrying lib who likes crude sex jokes and a cartoonish echo chamber, Air America is for you...
Rock bottom came when [Randi Rhodes] compared Bush and his family to the Corleones in the "Godfather" saga. "Like Fredo, somebody ought to take him out fishing and phuw," she said, imitating the sound of gunfire...
You can hear Rhodes' comment here.
Posted in Meta at 04:59 PM | Comments (0)
Air America closes Los Angeles office
Details here. They don't have a station in the #2 market in the U.S., so why bother paying for office space? It makes sense!
Posted in Meta at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)
EXCLUSIVE: Air America Paycheck Discovered
Our sources have surreptitiously xeroxed Al Franken's payroll check.
Posted in Satire at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)
Air America "on the air to stay"
The future is looking bright for Air America, and it's on the air to stay. That's despite minor bumps in the road like today's announcement that "co-founder and chairman Evan Cohen resigned Thursday, as did vice-chairman and investor Rex Sorensen."
It's just a bump in the road to a glorious future.
(Via Brother Matt)
Posted in Meta at 08:03 PM | Comments (1)
"Franken asks a Clinton for advice on Senate run"
AP reports on America's Favorite Funnyman:
As Al Franken considers challenging Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., for re-election in 2008, the comedian and liberal radio host is looking to his hometown senator for advice: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"I asked Hillary, 'Can you give me some suggestions about running for Senate in a state you haven't lived for in a while, or in your case, ever?' " Franken recalled, laughing heartily. "And she said, 'This will be a long conversation,' so we agreed to have a long conversation about it."
Posted in StuartSmalley at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
Mark Walsh's strident swan song
Former CEO of AA Mark Walsh appeared on C-SPAN a few weeks ago. So far all I've been able to find is this page and the raw video. The page just contains a few pics and a short description. I guess C-SPAN doesn't do transcripts.
Posted in Meta at 09:37 PM | Comments (0)
Senator Smalley? That's a joke, right?
From 'It's No Joke! Franken Eyes Senate Run':
Comedian and liberal talk show host Al Franken puts the odds of a 2008 bid for the U.S. Senate at better than even...
Although he's not a candidate yet, Franken is already taking shots at [Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota], calling him a "shill" for the Bush administration.
Posted in StuartSmalley at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)
