Air America Rescued (Huff Po)

[democraticinsurgent]

Exclusive: Air America Rescued

The Huffington Post | Melinda Henneberger | Posted January 29, 2007 11:23 AM


AP

Air America Radio, in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since October, will be rescued at the 11th hour by Manhattan real estate developer Stephen L. Green.

Al Franken, the best-known host of the liberal network, will announce his expected departure on his show later today, to explore a run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota.

Green is the brother of Mark Green, the New York Democrat who served as the city's public advocate in the 90s and ran for mayor against Michael Bloomberg in 2001.

He has already signed a letter of intent, and plans to finalize a purchase agreement within the week.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/01/29/exclusive-air-america-re_n_39897.html

[Sydnie]

1. Good news

Now, bring back our lost stations!

[rox63]

6. They need to get back on the air in Boston pronto!

If ever there was a place where progressive talk should be able to flourish, it's Boston. But instead, we are stuck with all the rabid right-wing talk shows.

[Sydnie]

14. I went to a local rally on Sunday

and handed out flyers about the petition online to bring it back. Hopefully, we'll get some more signatures and attention for it. I have lots of flyers left too and plan to post them on community bulletin boards everywhere I go.

[Beelzebud]

2. Thats great news. Now maybe they can distance themselves from Armstrong Williams in NYC...

[quiet.american]

33. Hear, hear. n/t

[NMDemDist2]

3. Sam Sedar just said he was going to cover this next segment n/t

[confludemocrat]

4. Maybe taking Al off the payroll will make them solvent! n/t

[NYCGirl]

5. Considering he hasn't been paid anything in some time, that may not make

any difference.

[confludemocrat]

43. Huh?

he cost a lot--that didn't help the network all that much, (bigger issues), they can't pay him, but they owe him, thus they go deeper in debt. Those are the differences he made, no real help, on the radio business side, since he wasn't enough of a draw and he was expensive to have. He wasn't a Tom Hartmann or a Mike Malloy, he wasted airtime on his friend the Limbaugh fan and G. Gordon Liddy and remained pro-war way beyond when any true liberal would have and then anti-withdrawal well beyond when any true liberal would have

[renate]

7. Wooo! Fantastic news!

I'll miss Al and I'm very very grateful to him for being such an instrumental part of starting AAR. I always enjoyed his show.

It would be neat to have "Morning Sedition" return in Al's place. However, having Thom Hartmann in that slot is a close second on my personal wish list so I've still got a big smile on my face. That was a great choice. Thom is such an articulate, intelligent, well-prepared host, and his voice... such a great voice. He rocks.

:loveya:

[Cassandra]

17. Hooray for Thom!!!

I'll be able to detach from my dial up listening and turn on my radio (and still be able to pick up the re-broadcasts if I miss anything).
S.L. Green was the manager of the building I used to have an office in when the building was in receivership. They were really good managers and I was sorry to see the building sold to a real slime, but that was the bank's decision.

[ronnykmarshall]

8. Al's talking about it right now.

:bounce:

Long Live Air America Radio!

[OllieLotte]

9. Why do they keep going belly up? n/t

[NYCGirl]

10. Get your hands on a copy of this documentary:

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/leftofthedial/synopsis.html

[OllieLotte]

23. Watch a movie?

No thanks.

[NYCGirl]

26. Yeah, it's called a documentary because it's non-fiction. That'll tell you

all about the startup and the crook Evan Cohen.

[Change has come]

34. Are you glad they're saved? N/T

:hi:

[Ilsa]

11. Thank goodness. I have a hard time getting a station where

I live, but I'd hate to lose AAR.

[itsmesgd]

12. "What now." yeah, Al's gone

Nothing against his political standings and I am glad that he helped start the station, but he's not that entertaining, nor informative. I hope that the station will see a rejuvenation of new and entertaining, as well as enlightening talent.

Let's ditch the Turkey's, bring back Maron in the morning, Thom at noon, give Randi her fourth hour back, keep Sammy, give Jeanene her own show if she'll have it, pick up Malloy in syndication (he's too wise to sign back up as an AAR employee, and restructure Maddow in the morning or evening.

[Sydnie]

15. Woo Donahue to fill in for Al for a while

What a show that would be!

[Iris]

16. I nominate you for COO of the new AAR!

Great ideas!

[itsmesgd]

19. I do have local programming and production experience, shoudl I send my resume? haha

I know what would be very democratic of AAR, let us vote or have other input on the lineup and scheduling. It would add to the "participant-ownership" feel of the station.

[GOTV]

21. I agree. I like Al. I'm glad for what he did. But I think he was one of the weaker hosts

I like Hartmann, Seder and Maddow better.

[FredStembottom]

30. The triple threat!

I work in a truck and have no DU most of the day. So AAR is my best friend (I even bought a special radio to pull in the weak signal over in St. Paul).

I have made a point to hear every show on AAR more than once and have heard most shows dozens of times. My verdict: Hartmann, Seder, Maddow - plus Ring of Fire on the weekends. What liberal radio should be.

"Republicans eat babies" radio just isn't nutritious enough for me. And I really enjoyed Al's guests - but find his halting "delivery" just too hard to wade through every day.

Randi? Unique! Rant + info + genuine laffs and while not at the very top of my list, beloved by me and so many more. If I was in charge, she would be my star draw at afternoon drive, for sure.

Maddow is perfect in the mornings, Hartmann in the Limbaugh slot? I'll have to think about that.
Sam in the evenings.

And more shows organized like Ring of Fire. I think liberals feel right at home in that magazine format.

[IndyOp]

44. Hartmann has beaten Limbaugh in the Northeast -

I think he can take him in the Midwest, too. :hi:

[derby378]

40. If AAR can get profitable again, they should offer Guy James a show

:toast:

[melm00se]

13. I will be interested in seeing

how the new owner(s) change the business plan around to ensure this is not just chasing more bad money....

[Bullwinkle925]

18. Terrific - I stopped listening when the SF Quake changed its format

and dropped Al Franken as well as the "Will & Willy' show. Just wasn't the same. Hopefully the format will change back to at least include "Will & Willy" again.

[LTR]

29. Not likely to happen

"Will and Willie" wasn't very successful in the ratings, and Stephanie Miller's show is pretty strong in West Coast markets. This was a move to strengthen the lineup.

Actually, I think KQKE is one of AAR's stronger affiliates. They are pretty committed to it and have been working to build it up. Ratings have been rising as of late.

[Bullwinkle925]

42. That's too bad .....

I really enjoyed "Will & Willie". They were brought together by my daughter who worked for KRON TV a couple of years ago. She was booking people for a morning political segment that had both Willie Brown and Phil Matier as 'hosts'. One day, Matier couldn't make it and my daughter had the idea to have Will Durst on instead. Guess the 2 "Wills" hit it off - history was made.
Oh well.

[MiniMe]

20. Al said that Thom Hartman is replacing him

Glad Hartman is finally getting a bigger audience!

[GOTV]

22. Great. I think Hartmann is the best I've heard on AAR.

He's not funny, but I like the way he discusses topics. I think it's great that he has debates right wing guests on his show as well.

[NoSheep]

24. Yahooo!!!!!! Great news!

:kick:

[nolabels]

25. This might even be a prudent investment

The ability to hold a megaphone in hand might not bring immediate gratification. Yet just to be sure why is it that the money grippers have to have quite few this type of losing pieces on their chessboard but they keep hold tight of them no matter what?

[LaPera]

27. Yay, the overpaid, boring (on radio) Franken will be gone! Looking forward to

Thom Hartmann kicking ass in that gravy time slot ....Hoping Franken wins back the great Paul Wellstone's senate seat from the duplicit asshole Coleman!

No need to respond NYCGirl. I don't like Franken on radio, to me he's boring and dull, unfunny, I prefer him visually as a live stand up...there's many more entertaining liberal radio pros out there.

[SoCalDem]

38. Well shit! That probably means that we won;t have him on Sirius anymore

Hartmann & Stephanie Miller are about the only ones worth listening to on Sirius..

[LTR]

28. Green is a pretty strong buyer

Very successful NYC real estate mogul.

Also has many plans to make AAR stronger.

According to a release from Air America, SLGreen Realty Corp. has been the most profitable office REIT in the country based on a total return to share holders, controlling 27 million square feet of commercial property largely in Manhattan and with a market cap of over $12 billion.

As for Air America's future plans, Green has many ideas. "Because I'm a businessman who enjoys creating and growing companies, I'm purchasing a majority ownership in Air America with the intention of making it a successful business that returns a profit," said Green. "To assure that AAR survives and thrives, we'll do three things. First, we'll stabilize its finances. Second, we'll build on its lineup to assure the best radio talent possible, since in the long run content is king. And third, we'll extend this special brand by partnering with other platforms beyond radio to make sure that Air America's content reaches the wide audience it deserves."

http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2007/01/air-america-sold-to-new-york-real.html

[edbermac]

31. Thanks Mr Green...and add your name to Bill Orally's shit list.

:patriot:

[clbuck]

32. Wonder what this'll mean for KPOJ

They currently have Thom Hartmann doing a seperate local morning show from 6-9 AM PT (9 AM-noon ET), and they current have Franken from 9-noon PT.

Since 6 straight hours of Thom would be crazy, I'm guessing they'll move Ed Schultz to the 9 AM slot, with Randi getting the live noon-3 PM slot.

Maybe this is what the lineup will be like for KPOJ:

6 AM-9 AM: Thom Hartmann (local)
9 AM-noon: Ed Schultz
Noon-3 PM: Randi Rhodes
3 PM-6 PM: Sam Seder, or Peter B. Collins (?)
6 PM-9 PM: Mike Malloy (?)
9 PM-midnight: Thom Hartmann (national)

[liberalla]

35. Thom Hartmann !!!!!!!!!!!!!

:applause: YEAH!!! :applause:

Great news! Thank you Stephen L. Green!!!!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

Thom Hartmann !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nutmegger]

36. Shout-out to Mister Green

Glad AAR will still be with us. It's a resource I rely on daily.

[MzNov]

37. URGE ALL VENDORS TO ADVERTISE ON AAR !!! nt

[RegimeChange2008]

39. Mark Green is a Democrat, but is his brother?

Forgive my cynicism but around here most real estate developers are horrid Republican pigs, and I'd hate to see AAR fall into the wrong hands yet AGAIN. (Glaser should be strung up in the town square as far as I'm concerned).

If Green is serious about saving Air America (as opposed to being committed to its destruction like Glaser and his friends) we'll know soon enough, because he'll put some people in place who know radio. Not cosmetics, handbags, or spyware infested media players. Losing Franken in favor of Hartmann is certainly a good start.

[mvd]

41. Needed some good news today after Barbaro

I wonder what this will mean for Malloy? Any chance of Malloy coming back if the management is good?