Shakeup At Air America Radio...CEO and Program Director Out

[bearfartinthewoods]

Mark Walsh, has stepped down as CEO of the new liberal Radio network and its Program Director, David Logan, has been put on "administrative leave".

According to the AP, Walsh said, "he gave up his CEO title earlier this month but will continue to pursue deals for Progress Media." Progress Media is the parent company of Air America Radio.

There was no further clarification as to why Logan was no longer actively programming the network.

In the interim, Air America Radio is being run by David Goodfriend who is the company's lawyer. Goodfriend worked once as an advisor to the F.C.C. but reportedly has no other direct radio experience except for a one-time job as a DJ in Beloit, Wisconsin.

more


http://radio.about.com/cs/latestradionews/a/blaa042704a.htm

[Habibi]

1. What on earth?

Is this typical chaos for a burgeoning radio enterprise, or is something else going on?

[Must_B_Free]

2. I'd say no

and did anyone ever really hear an explanation of the checks that they stopped payment on?

[Eric J in MN]

15. A station was trying to bill Air America for the months

A station was trying to bill Air America for the months before it went on the air, even though another company's shows were broadcast in the interim.

In other words, the station was trying to bill two companies for the same time.

So Air America cancelled the check.

[Christ was Socialist]

3. Shit can they do anything?

They can't even get the jet of the runway. Don't anyone give the they are just starting bs either, liberal radio hasn't lasted for a reason, while howard stern is still going strong.QUALITY, Sensible execs.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. Lizz Winstead is an excellent choice (further down in the article)

She LITERALLY MADE The Daily Show the most watched news program for younger people long before Stewart came along...every new organization goes through changes and Air America might have to go through some in order to grow. I don't really think this is all that odd, stations go through personnel changes all the time and since this station is for a certain targetted demographic, there will be growing pains.

[robbedvoter]

23. I am not too crazy about her. Unfiltered is my least favorite show

When she "founded" the daily show they had the stupd Craig Kinear(sp?) on.
Winstead was doing nothing but rag on Clinton for the BJ. Then she left. Then Jon Stewart came - and we got the Daily Show we all love.
yesrerday she was ranting agaist Richard Clarke , O'neal for keeping stories to make a buck with a book unlike that God of journalism Woodward (reminder: O'neal did NOT write a book, make money, Clarke was eviscerate by BFEE unlike her God Woodward). She seems to hate Randi as well - just a feeling. I am not happy about this.

[NMDemDist2]

5. this doesn't sound good. Is Liz ready for the job of PD? n/t

[greenman3610]

7. they need a shake up

this is good. there are some obvious weak spots in their
program. We can't afford to blow this. Randi Rhodes is
so head and shoulders above all the rest of their offerings
that it's kind of embarrassing..

[robbedvoter]

28. She is the best, but Majority Report and Morning Sedition are not bad

Franken's show is uneven - but definitely interesting and funny. As for Winstead's show - it gets me quite angry at times...her most of all!
I am not sure I wanted changes. Winstead always announces of all shows EXCEPT Randi's - not a good thing.

[King_Crimson]

57. Why is Mike Malloy left out in the cold?

I just don't get it!:shrug: If they would AT LEAST give him a chance, Air America would take off like a rocket...especially if they would put him on opposite Limbaugh...at least temporarily! Mike is really cut out for the night-time crowd, but would be just the pill to neutralize Limbaugh and some of the other bile-spewing dipshits that dominate daytime talk radio!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. Absolutely ..see my post above..she did a lot of writing and segment

production for the Daily Show during its first few years...she's PROBABLY MORE qualified to run a news station than the rest of their staff...especially one that is using its force for a GOTV effort...

[robbedvoter]

41. Daily Show SUCKED in the first few years....

How many of you were even watching?

[funkybutt]

60. I was

and i quite enjoyed it. It was a little rough around the edges, but who isn't when they first start off.

[redqueen]

75. I agree - it sucked bigtime

It was only after Jon took over that I started liking it.

*sigh*

[KharmaTrain]

6. I Hear A Fat Lady Singing

Tuning around today, the Chicago "affiliate" either had lost the network feed or someone had pulled the plug, again...as it was playing the same songs over and over again with the AAR stream location being mentioned.

Losing your CEO and PD in one swoop is like replacing the GM and Manager of your baseball team at the same time. You tell me if that's a good thing.

It was never really explained about what happened with the "bounced check", and I've heard several stories now...none that puts AAR in a good light. If the network were on the up and up, it would have still been on in L.A.

There's more I could say regarding mistakes this network has and is still making, but let's see how things play out. Right now it doesn't look very good.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. They are getting press and attention. In the entertainment business

and YES they are entertainment, all news really is good news. Heck the station isn't even a month old. Problems with a national station and shake-ups are to be expected. Just getting on the air when most stations and bandwidth are now controlled by Repubs was a HUGE accomplishment.

Frankly I am glad they lost their LA station..it was low power towards the end of the dial...I'd like to see them get a middle position at least in the LA market.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[No2W2004]

33. Chicago

The last 2 days they have been playing 60s "hippy music" (as Nixon would say) Until O'Franken Factor. Franken, Randi, and Majority are still on. I don't know about what is on after that, but is is scheduled to go off of AM 950 permanently on 5/1. During the music portion, they run an announcement stating that a new Chicago affiliate will be announced soon on the web site. They still run the air america station ID at the top of each hour till Franken.

There's been no announcement as to why this is happening. AAR was paid up in full for the Chicago affiliate, but since this station is owned by the same people who own the LA station, they got shut down too.

[ParanoidPat]

35. Well you ain't hearing it from Air America! LOL!

Must be your neighbors, perhaps you should close your window. :)
You personally may not have heard the explanation for the stopped check for the LA affiliate but it was explained in great detail both on AA by their attorney and in other media. Just because you are unaware of the situation doesn't mean that it hasn't been fully explained.

I have to question your logic in your assertion that "Right now it doesn't look very good" since both their audience and the network are growing at a phenomenal rate and setting records every day in the 'streaming media' category. If no one was listening and they had problems keeping the streams running I might say they had a problem, however, there are more people listening to AA on a daily basis over the Internet then has ever been experienced before by anyone. When your servers get crashed on a regular basis because there are too many people trying to access your site and the technology can't handle it, it shows that there's definitely a market there. They are literally pushing the technology to new limits. That's not a bad thing.

For a network less than a month old I'd have to say that they're doing just fine.
I just can't wait for the Arbitron ratings to come out. :evilgrin:

[KharmaTrain]

83. Why Not Open Your Eyes...

Stopped check, cancelled check, bounced check? What is it? I've heard it phrased all three ways. And, yes, I saw the website and heard the AA attorney. Now if this was Roy Black, would you say "Oh please, don't bother investigating that nasty story about those little pills"? Of course he was going the defend his client and did so on extremely friendly turf...I never saw him on any other media outlet.

Next, there had to be something wrong or else the format would have still been on in Los Angeles. Assuming that a month paid in advance was required BEFORE air time (a standard practice...many brokers will ask for 2 or 3 months on a one-year deal) then at least the first 30 days should have been on if a legal contract had been signed and the moneys paid. By the judge, first not forcing the format back on in L.A. and compromising in letting AAR have just the rest of the month in Chicago, that doesn't sound like a victory to me.

The radio websites...radio-info, all access and several others have been buzzing about the financial and management problems of the new network, I don't have to make things up, and being yanked off the air after 2 weeks is not a good sign either to your affiliates or advertisers.

Again, we have no ratings on any AAR station...the latest Chicago ratings came out but the station didn't show, and shouldn't...the survey period covers January, Feburary & March and the network wasn't on for that time, so whatever numbers your citing are obviously not Arbitrons. One day streaming numbers can't be a barometer either (and what a mess that first day was for people trying to log on)...what's their average listener session numbers? You don't know, I don't know...but if they were real strong, they'd be using them.

I have nothing against AAR and was hoping they'd be successful since I wanted a listening alternative to the hate radio in Chicago, but I have to say, I'm not "compelled" by what I hear....if and when it's available. Maybe you want to hear the anti-Rush, I could live without him and his twisting and the same for some of the stuff I've heard on AAR. Extremes in any direction is not good.

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that NONE of the AAR stations draw even a 1 share...or 1% of radios in use at a specific time...a standard broadcast measurment many large companies use as the format "Mendoza Line"...I'd even say a .5 may be a lofty goal. That's fine since I could explain how ratings are distorted to start out with, but unless AAR has some wizard who can extrapolate numbers out of nothing, AAR won't be Arbitroning anything.

A second, and sad, bet, is the network will be a sad memory in 90 days. I see new affiliates listed on their site, yet no start date (never a good sign...means contracts aren't inked, just sitting), this is where a top management shake-up hurts most, since these are the people who make these deals. Would you sign an agreement with someone different than who gave you the contract?

Doing fine? Hardly. I hope they survive and can make it off satellite and internet listenership...the only solid outlets they have.

This is where some deep pocket Democrats could help out...buying ads to keep the network afloat, but I'm not hearing them.

Sorry, my friend, I have to call it as I see 'em and hear 'em.

[xultar]

72. Have you worked in radio? n/t

[deutsey]

8. I like AAR, but I'm still more a devotee of Pacifica

And as such, I can say that Pacifica also had a shakey beginning when it started in 1949. Give it time...AAR will hopefully stablize. I'll continue to listen to AAR, but only as an alternative to KPFA when it isn't broadcasting something I'm interested in...

[Gloria]

9. Randi Rhodes must be having fits.....

She's been pretty sarcastic about how it was being run...
Lucky for her (us) that she can go back to WJNO, no matter what happens. That's what she said when she left FL...

[onecitizen]

10. Just yesterday on C-Span........

Mark Walsh was on at some sort of luncheon. He seemed nervous but then again, I don't know him so maybe it was normal for him.

[mzmolly]

12. wha?? There doing great!? Great Programs and lots of media ...

:shrug:

[DoktorGreg]

22. What else do they have to do to succeed?

They are on the air. They are doing it, they have a larger audience than say... CNN or MSGOP. They have amazing radio talent. They get amazing guests. They seem to have financing. If you are determined to get them, you can, however people are finding out their ISP's are ripping them off.

The broadcast problems look like growing pains to me. They seem to have a differnt business model, than the rest of the radio industry. They look more like a television network, but they are on the radio.

[Red State Rebel]

26. They aren't making $$$$$ apparently...

In order for this to work, the investors money needs to start being replaced by advertising $$$. If the numbers don't look good enough or the investors start getting nervous about the problems they are having, their money will disappear from use.

Thats the way this business works.

[DoktorGreg]

36. Its only been one month!?!?

I bet they have AT LEAST a years cash on hand, if not more. I bet the investors dont expect to make a dime for three years. Lets watch it for a year and see where it is at. Only then, can we start to say things like, "it isnt working". Cause right now its a smashing success, but for the liberal species overwhelming desire to argue minutia.

[ParanoidPat]

39. You claim "They aren't making $$$$$ apparently..."

....Do you have a source for that statement or is that just a guess? :shrug:

Even if they aren't 'raking it in' three weeks into their existence, how many new businesses do you think show a profit in the first year of operation? How about the first two years?

The answer might surprise you! :evilgrin: Talk to your local Chamber of Commerce.

[Red State Rebel]

46. Don't take offense, I was just stating what I thought the problem was....

I personally hope they kick butt and take names, but what we want and what it takes ot make that happen are two different things.

I know 3 weeks is too short to show a profit, I'm just saying it's possible some of the investors have been made nervous for some reason and hence the change. It could be how the previous management handled the problem with the Chicago/LA stations, it could be something else entirely, I was just speculating. No matter how good the service is that they are doing to the Democratic community, investors put money in in hopes of making money and sometimes that reality sucks.

[ParanoidPat]

48. Did it ever occur to you that it's just as possible that even more....

.....investors are looking at the actual potential of such a huge under served market and are considering jumping in on the ground floor? I know if I had the capital to invest, I'd do it in a heartbeat! Investors such as those behind AA are not 'day traders' looking to make a quick buck. I'm not sure what your take is on how these types of investments generally work but in my experience, the investors generally have little or no say in the day to day management and operation of the businesses they invest in.

Investors put their money into business ventures based on a prospectus detailing a sound business plan. While having a good management team is important, who makes up that management team is not as important as the ability of who does to get the job done. In the case of a media entity such as Air America, the 'on air' talent is a much bigger factor in the decision to invest than the behind the scenes personnel including the management.

Part of AA's plan hinges on several well known celebrities hosting programs designed to appeal to the widest demographic possible in order to attract as wide an audience as possible. My guess would be that there may have been some friction between the talent and management that necessitated a change. In that case, management will always lose. People tune in to hear the talent, not to hear how well managed they are. If you hear that the talent is unhappy and considering leaving then you can safely assume the investors are getting nervous.

If you haven't seen the movie Howard Stern's 'Private Parts' rent it. It will give you some flashbacks to the comments made on this and other boards about how everything is wrong with AA and it will never survive. I lived through the Stern invasion of Don Imus's New York market and all of the same old arguments are being made about AA today.

One thing I can say several decades later is, Many management teams have come and gone but Howard is still the tops in his market. I'll bet his original investors are happy. :)

[mzmolly]

69. They planned on losing money for one year when they started the venture.

:shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

14. Only one thing will make AA successful.

And that's the ability to sell advertising.

[pretzel4gore]

24. but if they need money....

surely an unserviced demographic like half the population is an asset all the fascist monkey bs on earth can't overcome.....sheese, it's a damn radio station!

[solinvictus]

16. Air America

I've listened to the live feeds over the internet and honestly, Sam Seder couldn't be more of a tranquilizer. The man is boring. Period.
I just really haven't cared for "Majority Report". I haven't had the chance to listen to Randi, but I've heard some great things about her.

[belle]

17. "Morning Sedition" is good.

[robbedvoter]

32. I agree. It's Unfiltered (Winstead) thay stinks

[meg]

43. Unfiltered is my favorite

followed by Randi Rhodes. Al Franken is too much schtick for me.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

19. I could do a better job than Seder and my friends want me to.

Last week when Janeane was away he was completely lost and inarticulate. Sounded like junior high radio. She needs a higher caliber co-host to match her fast articulate wit. They both need to lay off using the words 'stupid'+'idiot'+'moron' etc. Not gonna get any cross-over converts that way.

Franken's show is very listenable, no shouting, lots of great guests, info, humor, attempts at reasonable cross-over appeal. Light-hearted and upbeat yet meaty and poignant. (Sorry, vegetarians.)

Randi takes it into the stratosphere with energy, wit, and savvy outrage. No one even close to her caliber anywhere else. Gives tons of info on the neocons and Bush Bastards with easy to understand over-a-beer accessibility.

Heard a little of the morning show and switched it off fast. Piffle.

All in all, not a bad start with some really great programming and room to improve.

[keep_left]

38. Here in Minneapolis, they're leasing air time...

After Franken, they have a locally produced show; I think it's called "High Ground Radio". It sounds pretty out of place next to people like Randi Rhodes. It's way too middle of the road, nonoffensive Minnesota stuff. Think public radio--I'm not kidding.

AA really has to make sure that every minute counts with their programming. I don't know how "High Ground" relates exactly to AA except that apparently there's a local investor here in MN. But when you have 360 hours a week of right-wing talk (as was mentioned by an AA exec on C-SPAN), you had better make it snappy if you're the left-wing upstart, or you're going to be in trouble.

[Supormom]

61. The O'Franken Factor is the only AAR show on WMNN

They are not an Air America affiliate but rather a news station owned by MN Public Radio.

[keep_left]

81. Correct. I just remembered the investor...

It's Janet Robert, who ran unsuccessfully against Mark Kennedy (like Norm Coleman, an embarassment to MN). She founded Minnesota Production Network, which is sponsoring both Franken's and now also Ed Schultz's show:

http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/prnewswire/20040406/06apr2004183152.html
http://www.keepmedia.com/ShowItemDetails.do?item_id=334936&extID=10026

[JanMichael]

18. Good. Maybe now they'll get our own Guy James on.

About bloody time.

[robbedvoter]

37. The republican guy? How very interesting!

Oops! Conservative!

[loudsue]

47. Republican??? Guy James??? Are you kidding??/

Guy James is one of us! He's a DUer, born & bred.

He'd be great. Plus, we need to get Mike Malloy on there! NOW!!

:kick:

[GregW]

63. Either you're sarcastic (and it went completely over my head)

Or a flipping MORAN if you think Guy James is a conservative. I let you have the former to save face.

[GregW]

64. That great sucking sound you hear ...

Is the sound of the moles and trolls rushing to pile on to this thread. They've been burrowing in to DU like ticks over the past few months ... threads like this are the flashlight of discovery.

[JanMichael]

87. WTF are you blathering on about? Guy is NOT a conservative.

Not by any stretch of a warped imagination.

Did you forget the </sarc>?

[BabsSong]

20. Well...this sounds real promising.....................

It is possible to put together a real force with planning, intelligence, leadership, etc.. Instead this sounds like a clusterfuck and one that does this party no good. I'm embarrassed....and this was suppose to be a Gore thing?? Dear god.........

[Must_B_Free]

40. IE Radio America alread y had some great shows

Malloy, Thom Hartmann, Peter Werbe was a great show- these were true radio shows (Hartmann still is). Randi is the most Radio like think AA has. The guy that follows her is also great, but more Pacifica like. The rest is just entertainment.

Franken can't usually follow a train of thought long enough to have a point - he has to have Liz Weinstead hitting him with a stick to stay on point. (Not that I don't love the show).

The Morning Sedition is literally like that spoof of college radio girls they used to do on Saturday Night Live.

[robbedvoter]

44. Lizz Winstead is NOT Franken's sidekick, Catherine Lampert is

Winstead is Rachel Meadows' sidekick on Unfiltered.

[Must_B_Free]

51. thanks for the correction

too bad they still don't have Werbe and Malloy though

[robbedvoter]

45. I know, we deserve W - thanks for the ever helpful advice

Did you ever listened to Air America?

[ParanoidPat]

49. Same old song eh?

:evilgrin:

[RetroLounge]

62. You should be embarrassed

I read some of your other posts...

RL

[mzmolly]

70. Makes ya wonder don't it?

;) hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Over 1000 posts ?

[redqueen]

76. I've seen trolls bragging about getting 1000 posts

so it's not too farfetched.

[symbolman]

21. Hey

Maybe there's room for Take Back the Media's radio show..

http://www.takebackthemedia.com/radio.shtml

C'mon, we're a lot of fun!

Over 34 weekly shows in the can now, all archived

[thebigidea]

27. midnight-1am!

[robbedvoter]

29. If Randi called the shots...Winstead seems to hate her guts so, I dunno...

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. They don't like each other?

[robbedvoter]

34. Little vibes from Winstead : "ALL WOMEN FROM AAR WENT TO MARCH"

and Randi didn't. She repeats that "all so often, makes me wonder...Just a feeling.

[Citizen Daryl]

56. "All Women Went To March Except Randi"

Doesn't it seem a bit hypocritical that someone who is about "women's rights" would complain about a woman's right to choose NOT to go to demonstrations?

[robbedvoter]

84. Oh, how precious! "Hypocrisy" argument from whom?

Randi did more to publicize the march before and after than anyone. She was more effective in doing that then the ones who went. But admit it, it's not why you hate her, non?

[americanstranger]

52. With a brand-new one up tonight!

-as

[SpiralHawk]

30. Hey, Mercury is retrograde until Friday

cut them some radio slack.

They will be back on track within another month or so, and ready to serve America.

Forever gazing at the splendid celestial canopy,
I remain, SH

[crossroads]

53. It has been rough for all types of communications!

Not a moment too soon for me and mine! With this last Mercury retro motion I thought my family would make headlines... bad ones...lol.

[wyldwolf]

42. Not surprising... questionable choices were made personality wise

Though Garafolo sounds like a natural, I think a chance was taken in chhosing her. It sounds like it may pay off. Franken, on the other hand, has been a little disappointing though his name recognition brought a level of respect at first. Speaking of those two, how long can we expect them to stay on board?

The only proven winner is Rhodes.

The other shows sound like little more than college radio/NPR type stuff.

Air America can do better.

My opinion, of course.

[mzmolly]

71. I LOVE the O'Franken Factor. I think it's a great balance of humor,

news and debunking RW LIIIIEEEEZZZ! It keeps me relatively sane. :hi:

[Cat Atomic]

50. Uhh... just what the hell is wrong over there?

I happen to like most of their line-up, but their management is making them look like incompetent, fly-by-night scam artists. Maybe that's unfair, but I think it's the impression they're giving off right now.

They need advertisers to make it work, and they need to look STABLE to get advertisers. They couldn't look less stable at this point.

[Democat]

54. Your point about stability is right on

Who is going to buy ads if they have to worry about the station being on the air next week?

Look at what happened in a couple of the markets when they went dark - the advertisers had likely agreed to a certain term, which were sent down the drain when the stations went off the air.

What the hell is going on over there and why?

[Almost_there]

58. That could be a stumbling block..

I am not sure what sort of cash on hand that AAR started out with, and I have no idea what the burn rate is, but, the key is getting advertisers. It has to be. They pay the bills, and the hosts (in this case) are not the majority of the bills. Just to transmit has got to be a small fortune.

Assuming that they started with enough cash to go for a year with zero influx of new money, and they are able to make enough to keep them going for a bit longer, things should stablize and they should be ok. I am concerned about the Arbitron ratings though. Do they take into account streaming? How do advertisers get streaming ads if you pull directly from the AAR site. Advertisers are local. I have listened to shows (ESPN radio) from one one market into another, same game, and in those places where you get the same thing twice, the ads are different, since they are run by the local stations. Which makes me wonder is streaming really good unless it is coming from a local station that can point out to their advertisers solid demographic results?

I think they'll do fine in the long run, I don't see them closing their doors anytime soon, the talent is too strong, and the audience is there. They just need some time to get people used to hearing the new kids in town.

~Almost

[DemNoir]

55. Amazing just amazing

So many radio industry experts here, who would have guessed!

[Suziq]

59. I Want to Scream . . . .

The number of people on this board have been complaining that a liberal radio network was badly needed. Then, Air America starts up, has a few problems due to the start-up and some folks are ready to declare it dead. :eyes:

They are drawing in a tremendous amount of listeners who are streaming on the Internet and then some folks again complain that the streaming is terrible. I have been listening to Randi via streaming when she was on WJNO and it was great!

Remember, Air America is all we got for now and I am confident that it is going to take off as this extremely important election year progresses.

:hippie:

[apnu]

66. I support AAR...

... however, I have my worries. I'm mentally and emotionally invested in it and I don't want to see it fail.

But, I do wish they would be more public about what's going on in the network. I don't see how it could hurt our image anymore than we've already been publicly hurt. CNN and the right wing pundits are all laughing at us... and since tons of Americans tune to this... you do the math... its like handing the right wing a campaign stump over a radio network.

[xultar]

67. 2 true, I can't believe all the crap people are saying.

:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:

[redqueen]

77. Here too

hard to take all the nitpicking... I thought their numbers were fantastic!

All this doom and gloom sure is sickening.

[apnu]

65. the sad thing is this hurts us all...

... AAR is quickly becoming the most visible representative of the liberal movement, and problems like this... internal shake-ups, management secrecy, cash questions... only reinforces the myth that liberals can't run anything.

The right wing pundits can jump up and say "Hey! Liberals can't even start a company, do you want them running the country?" And people will buy it because run-of-the-mill Americans are sheeple. And so, the myth will continue that liberals are not to be trusted, or even paid attention to.

They need them to fix this wagon, failure here will hurt us all. Above all, they need to be honest as we liberals are always spouting off about taking the moral high ground. AAR should just come out and say what's going, and keep us informed. I bet if they came clean, listener would respond and be sympathetic, the network can stabilize, and advertisers will reconsider in time. Maybe a public funding drive and/or investor drive could help stabilize.

I don't see why they shouldn't open their books to the public. It makes them look like they have something to hide, and since we bitch about the right doing this... it makes us look like hypocrites.

[redqueen]

78. Come clean? Open their books?

WTF are you talking about?

:crazy:

[apnu]

82. sure why not?

There's no reason to run a company with a mind towards an open source mentality. None what so ever. There's an irrational fear about companies showing their financial privates in public and it defies reason.

When I say "come clean" and "open the books" I mean just that. If AAR is in the right, and I believe they are, then no damage can come from it. But with all this confusion in the public media about bounced checks, stopped checks and whatnot, and being tight lipped about it is only confirming our detractors that we (and AAR) are crooks and/or loonies.

If they go public with the evidence about Liu's double dipping, this whole nonsense will end, IMO. And I bet Multicultural will jump through any fire drenched hoops and play nice with AAR after that.

Exposure, Exposure, Exposure -- its the only thing these f**king crooks fear. Let the truth come out in all its ugly glory, expose everything. AAR is an instrument of that exposure. It has to have high ratings, it has to be stable, it has to remain out there for everybody to listen to -- by any means necessary. If that means going public with any dirty financial laundry they may have, then so be it.

[robbedvoter]

86. Damning with faint praise - very good! Want to see their books? Donors?

A little investigation mebbe? What are them commies hidding? What a crock!

[Jeezwhiz]

68. Conspiracy

It wouldn't surprise me if Murdoch & company are behind this. I'd like to see it grow to rival the nazis like Limbaugh and Hannity, but I'm not sure what the formula should be. Personally, Randi isn't getting it done and Al Franken needs to hit harder.

[rman]

73. Interesting how some people seem to "know" why..

"aren't making $$$$$ apparently..."

"questionable choices were made personality wise"


Which all is nothing but speculation.

[bobbieinok]

74. Savage spent a lot of time ridiculing this and all liberals last nite

[NJmaverick]

79. I am upset and rightfully so

This station is very important. With out it, this country is doomed to being under the control of evil right wingers, with the left being afraid to speak out. This station empowers liberals and encourages them to be more assertive. Yet, the station is been poorly managed. This disaster with the station in Chicago and LA is inexcusable. It hurts them when they are at the delicate growing state. Hard to attract steady sponsors when they have no idea where their commercials are going to be heard. I hope this shake up, brings in a quality management team that can get this important job done.

[West Coast Democrat]

80. In Portland we get the Ed Schultz Show rather than Unfiltered

so I've never heard Liz Winstead's show. I think Ed Schultz would be an excellent addition to the network actually.

[robbedvoter]

85. I doubt. Man's a conservative. Stream Unfiltered and decide for yourself

It's not my favorite show, but it has its excellent moments.