Air America Radio Bankruptcy

Can't make money with a one subject network!!
LOL!

I don't see how a network like Airhead America can make it without us taxpayers paying for it.

Maloney predicted it, I predicted it, others predicted it.

But, you know, it's alright. Because there will be other opportunities.

Here's to hoping KPOJ starts getting some local lib talkers. I'd like to see what they could scare up (not in a derisive way. I really do want to see who would be brought in.)

Even better....The Smoking Gun has the bankruptcy documents on their site....the list of creditors is pretty cool as to see who they have stiffed to pay for ridiculous salaries to Franken and Rhodes..but hey, Franken is one of the creditors as well.

no business wants to advertise to people that are just a waste of time, a bunch of cheapskate shoppers

Wyaner..I DON'T see how someone like you can live on a TAX-PAYERS pension......
HYPOCRITE????

Liberal Radio can't make it without taxpayers money.

Last time I checked AAR was not taxpayer funded in any way, shape, or form. But you know what, your church is and so is your pension.

Wayner said>>>
Liberal Radio can't make it without taxpayers money.


Neither can you!

Stop going to YOUR Church Wayner... They get MASSIVE tax breaks and don't pay ANYTHING for land!
HYPOCRITE!

Its not about me its about Airhead America. They filed bankruptcy not me.

By Reinstatepete on Friday, October 13, 2006 - 2:41 pm:
Last time I checked AAR was not taxpayer funded in any way, shape, or form. But you know what, your church is and so is your pension.


Thats why AAR went under! that was my point. They can't make it unless we pay for them. And both my church and my pension are privately paid for.

Is it liberal to "stick it" to the employees?
620 listeners are participating (indirectly) in taking advantage of the workers! Thats progressive?
Shouldn't there be a strike?

I would suggest bringing Elvis back, but they would also need to remove the 5 Kilocycle filter.

Business is business. Chapter 11 BK's happen all the time. Doesn't matter if it's a liberal or conservative business. Get over it folks, AAR isn't going anywhere, in fact, they will emerge from BK even stronger, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Wayne, find out how much your church pays in property taxes. I'll bet it's ZERO. Also, find out how much your pastor pays in income taxes. I'll bet that's zero as well. If so, and I'll bet you one year's salary that it is so, that's called a taxpayer subsidy.

Bringing back Elvis would be such a shame.....

Bringing back Elvis would cut the pay of the sales people.

How can it make sense that the sales people would take a Elvis pay cut, when they are not being paid to begin with?

From Reinstatepete:

Wayne, find out how much your church pays in property taxes. I'll bet it's ZERO. Also, find out how much your pastor pays in income taxes. I'll bet that's zero as well. If so, and I'll bet you one year's salary that it is so, that's called a taxpayer subsidy.


It seems a cat has Wayne's tongue on this one.

Re: libby talk can't make it because [insert uninformed reason here].

Tell that to Ed Schultz. AAR has it's own problems that have nothing to do with the overall viability of lefty talk. Randi Rhodes, Sam Seder, Thom Hartmann all have been doing their thing for years. They all have earned solid ratings, thus the political bent of the program in general is not the issue.

I know a fair number of people really want that to be the case, but it just isn't. The causalities (however you spell it) do not indicate that result.

In the 2004 election, the nation was essentially divided. That means more than enough potential listeners for the format to be viable.

What is at issue is the proper business model to make it work, overcoming legacy views on what works and why, and time. Time in particular is a biggie because potential ad buyers need to see they are getting a return. With all the FUD being spread around right now, it makes for a slow start.

Reinstate has it exactly right BTW. Sometimes it takes one of these to correct early mistakes and issues so that things can move forward.

By Trixter on Friday, October 13, 2006 - 5:49 pm:
Bringing back Elvis would be such a shame.....



I agree, lets bring back Elvis if AAR is going under! You guys can go back to NPR.

You silly troll, AAR is going under because it isn't very good. That doesn't mean that lib talk isn't viable. That would be like saying Tower Records going under means music retail isn't a viable business. It's a stupid conclusion.

There's a marketplace for good liberal talk (Schultz, Rhodes, Hartmann and Stephanie Miller). We have Air America to thank for opening that door to a national audience.

If AAR goes under in the process, so be it. That's capitalism.

pete, my pastor paid a crud load of income taxes last year, I was there when he gave his papers to his accountant.
I believe you are confusing the church with the pastor. If the pastor is a paid employee, as mine is, he is no different than anyone else.
The church however is a 501C3 which is a non-profit and thus tax exempt. All of the employees though pay the same taxes you or I pay.
When I worked for Northwest Medical Teams, as a 501C3 we were tax exempt as an organization but not the employees.
Most Christian stations are 501C3 and same applies. Air America is more than welcome to do the same. Before making statements like what you have about Churches and Pastors, do your homework.

AAR just isn't diverse and tolerent enough for the masses.

Dead air america is a poor product with non- radio people running things. Why is AAR even needed, the lefties have NPR,CNN,ABC,CBS AND NBC. Maybe they can steal more money from the boys and girls club.

It's needed because the balance of views is poor on Radio.

It's viable because there is an audience roughly equal to the one currently enjoyed by traditional AM talkers.

If you can't show a case for either of the above not being true, really you are just all about making sure the view you favor is not threatened.

Dodger, apparently you've never heard of the parsonage allowance.

http://www.rothgerber.com/newslettersarticles/ff018.asp

Um, guys, time to move it to the other side. This has no relationship to radio and is also borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring.

NOtalent said>>>>
AAR just isn't diverse and tolerent enough for the masses.

And EIB (excellence in BULLSHIT) is???? FAUXNews is??? Insannity is???

Well it would be radio related for someone to show where the viability of the format is in question.

Let's see the numbers. Where is the support for the idea that only one view can be successfully aired on the radio?

Gee...A church pastor gets a parsonage allowance? C'mon Pete, come up with something else, will ya?

Some radio/tv stations pay moving expenses for new hires, some likely give housing and even, in the case of TV maybe even clothing allowances. Some even pay severance packages I'll bet.

You're trying to prop up a weak argument with information on compensation that is neither unseemly or unusual.

Try to do better, will ya? Maybe you should start ripping on Pete Rose and his apology baseballs for sale. Don't matter if he's selling them directly or not, it's still pathetic.

Attention Off-The-Air-America fans:
Please try out Mark Lavin, then tell us if you like that better than Savage.

PDXCoug: Could you give examples about how NPR,CNN,ABC,CBS AND NBC unfairly represent the news?

Outsider, it's common for pastors to have their entire salary or a majority of it classified as a "parsonage allowance" for tax purposes. I know this because I've seen tax returns for pastors, so it's not a weak argument, it's a fact.

Geez pete, you are really reaching. Why don't you just come out and vent your hatred of all thing Christian like you really want to. Of course it is the PC thing to do now. Can't attack the muslims, can't attack the buddhists, can't attack the bahai etc, but Christians are open season baby!
For your information, MOST pastors do not take the parsonage allowance and if they do, I have seen some of the parsonages, and lets just say I will keep my house such as it is. The last parsonage my father in law lived in was a 1963 single wide mobile home. 5 kids and he and his wife. Boy that was some deal!!
Pete, take your hate for Christians elsewhere. I am offended, and just as a Black would be offended by this sort of crap, or an Asian or Gay or whatever, hate is hate and you got it buddy boy. That is what Air America is all about, hate. By the way, so is Rush, Lars, O'reilly etc, all talk show hosts are about hate. Can someone please put a record on!!!

PS: as in all businesses, profit or non, radio or church, whatever it may be, there are always those who take advantage. But I don't lump all muslims into the picture we have of Osama Bid Laden. Why do you Christian haters do that with all preachers or teachers of Christianity?

You claimed I didn't do my homework. And never did I say anything about hating Christians. You told me I was wrong, and it ends up I'm not. Why are you so paraniod? Oh, that's right, you're the victim. Boo hoo.

Individual wage earners pay income taxes, period. I'll side with Dodger 100 percent on this one.

RIP said: "...find out how much your pastor pays in income taxes. I'll bet that's zero as well. If so, and I'll bet you one year's salary that it is so..."

That's a strong statement, RIP. You probably cannot name one single pastor who pays "zero" in income taxes.

The broader point remains unchallenged, this is what happens why you have non radio people trying to play radio for idealistic purposes.

While I believe Shultz and some of the more popular and talented AAR hosts will not be going away, I've never seen a true radio success story in what Notalent describes. KBOO is a classic example, they survive and provide local two-way conversation on important topics, but have they ever cracked a 1 share?

Perhaps KPOJ, one of the very few successes, has been successful in spite of AAR running totally on idealism.

It's ideology, not idealism. Big difference.

I can name one of my clients, but I won't.

The problem was not that there is no room for liberal talk in addition to what is out there, it is that AAR went about it the wrong way. They had an agenda, to effect elections. It was a complete network with an agenda, staffed by non radio people. They basically went about it the wrong way. They provided programming 24/7, which most affiliates carried. KPOJ did not do that. They acquired a few programs from alternate sources and also had some local origination. They were probably one of the most successful of the AAR affiliates...... but by not taking the full schedule.

I think KPOJ can survive well without AAR. Some of the AAR shows can do well on their own... Randi Rhodes being one of them. She does not need AAR to be successful, she just needs a syndicator to take her on and sell it separately. Probably the same for some others. But, she was a radio person before AAR.

Some stations may have a total conservative agenda but they don't get all their programs from one source..... they shop around and put on what they want. The same can be done by KPOJ and other stations that want a liberal agenda. Shop around for the programs they want and choose the better ones that are by real radio people who are dedicated to the medium who happen to be liberals or whatever.

People listen to programs because they like the program/host/etc......, not just because they have a particular view. Limbaugh and Hannity have listeners that are liberals who disagree with them but they like the show. I am sure there are some liberal hosts that have conservative minded people that listen because they like the host. They may disagree entirely but still like the show.

Put someone on the radio that is a radio person that people like to listen to and you will have an audience. How large??? That is up to how entertaining the host/hostess is. Even thought the show may be political, people still want to be entertained and like a well produced show.

The same is true for music shows.

Just my opinion, fwiw.

If KPOJ were willing to reject Sam Seder and bring in a local, that could help them out greatly.

To put it plain, without Air America's schedule, KPOJ could do fine. They would just have to work hard to find people that would be ameniable to the schedule.

Just get a second live person, and they should be fine.

For what it's worth, my prediction is that if AAR went out of business, Jones or Clear Channel would pick up Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, and Rachel Maddow and listeners to KPOJ, etc. would notice virtually no difference at all. AAR's problem seems to have always been it's business model. Well, back to Gustav Holst...

How many hosts does the station have that aren't with AAR? I bet there are a few.

liberal, conservative, it doesn't matter.
be interesting.
when you hire Al Franken--who's never hosted a radio show---to be your star--thats trouble.
radio is hard. hire radio stars to be radio stars.
rhodes and shultz will be fine.
but franken and the gerapalo chick...please. and the other comedian in the mornming (mark something) none had radio experience.
liberals tend to think being smart and witty will solve all your problems---nope--just makes you smart and witty.
kerry was probably smarter than bush--but smart doesn't translate to votes.
just be interesting in radio,,you will get ratings.
doesn't matter if you talk sports, politics or cars or stocks.

I agree with you, except for Marc Marin. (However you spell it)

That guy was hilarious!

Miss him being on the radio big time.

Question is, can they put together a reorganization, that they can convience a federal bankruptcy judge, will lead to solvancy, otherwise they will be liquidated, and any assets sold to benefit creditors.

I'd be willing to bet they can't do that.

Their investors will get screwed and the company will move forward without them post BK, as is the case with any other chapter 11 BK.

In a chapter 11, you have a temperary grace period, and are protected from creditors, but you still have to convience the judge, you have a viable business plan, to keep from being liquidated.

I've never quite understood, was Air America set up to be a long term, alternative source of news, with a liberal slant.

Or was it set up, to accomplish a short term goal, of putting liberals back in control of the govt.

It might depend if the bankruptcy judge is a liberal slanted appointee or not!

Maybe Soros will bail them out again, it will only take a few million, after all he has lots of money he gives to various causes, shuch as
http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200502170843.asp

"I've never quite understood, was Air America set up to be a long term, alternative source of news, with a liberal slant."
NO!!!! There are many forms for that now.


"Or was it set up, to accomplish a short term goal, of putting liberals back in control of the govt."
YES!!!!
That was it's purpose. Go back to the beginning and read all the press before it started on who was setting it up and why.

THAT is why they are failing..... their business plan is not good radio.
Pienumclaw hit it right on the head in a short summary. MissingKSKD, he didn't say Marc wasn't funny, he said it didn't make good radio. It doesn't matter how good or bad someone may be, there will always be a small segment of listeners who will like them..... but it doesn't mean it is good radio. Good radio is what gets and keeps listeners. I agree with Pienumclaw.... Franken may be good on tv or on a scripted SNL or even as standup, but as a daily radio host .... he stinks.

Of course, the biggest problem with liberal radio is the lack of a huge nation-wide herd of liberal-thinking sheep to tune in.

Conservative sheep, on the other hand, flock to one-sided radio with nary a shepherd in sight.

Don't confuse Air America's bad network business plan with the appetite for progressive talk radio. Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, and a couple of Air America hosts (like Al Franken and Randi Rhodes) are pulling numbers and will continue to be viable.

Franken gets big numbers in Portland...most other markets, not so big. (Of course the whole of AAR does well in Portland but not so well in other markets.) Rhodes does better and yes, Schultz does well too. What's the dfifference. Rhodes and Schultz are BROADCASTERS and know how to put together a radio show.

Franken and Miller are comics and are getting the kind of numbers you might expect from comics on the radio. Miller, you may recall, has bombed on several TV shows as well. Franken did well on TV, but he did it as a comic. At least Miller is trying to do comedy on her radio show. Franken is doing hate radio and doing it poorly. Hate radio will work if done right, by the way. Just ask Michael Savage.

Stephanie Miller has been on the radio in LA for years!

If I were Al Franken's PD there are definitely some changes I'd encourage him to make (mainly less repitition of guests, topics, and bits) but "hate radio?" I don't hear that at all....I used to hear what I'd call hate radio from Mike Malloy and I hear it sometimes from Randi Rhodes, but I've never heard anything approaching hate from Al. Strong opinions, sure, but not hate.