What to do about Mike's firing

[The Witch]

1) Call Thom and every host on-air, find out what they know, make them talk about it. It's a dirty trick, but these guys know how badly we want honesty from The Powers That Be. (1-866-303-2270)

2) Call Air America's main number (212-871-8100) and ask what their usual firing notice is. I talked to Programming. You talk to Human Resources if you have to. Find out, when they make programming decisions, what notice they give folks that they let go of. Two weeks' notice? It can't possibly be two seconds' notice the way it seems to have been with Mike. Don't let them tell you it's a financial or programming decision - if that were the case, they would have given them a few weeks' notice.

Go.

[EFerrari]

1. Okay!

:toast:

[Rosco T.]

2. 3) let's get him a new home....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2013746&mesg_id=2013746

[RB TexLa]

3. You don't fire someone and then give them 2 weeks of air time

That doesn't happen.

[Rosco T.]

6. sad but true... that IS the way the Radio (and other) Businesses work...

[The Witch]

7. so tell them on saturday, for fuck's sake, not 2 minutes before airtime

-- we all tuned in for mike and mike's not there? is that how they treat their audience? that's not respectful to him or to us.

[EFerrari]

11. Radio is so crazy. Let's see what we can do. n/t

[shadowknows69]

23. You're under the impression that any corporate stations

actually respect their audience? Sorry, jaded ex-radio guy here.

[EFerrari]

4. That 202 number isn't working? n/t

[The Witch]

5. sorry, it's 212

I live in 202 area code and type it a lot more often :D

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. 3) Let AAR make their own goddamn decisions. (nt)

[EFerrari]

9. Sure, let's sit here passively while someone who has supported us

gets axed.

Not me, my friend.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. Hello? AAR itself supports us!

Wake the fuck up, will ya? It's still a business.

[EFerrari]

14. You wake up. If AAR is so inept that they can't afford Mike,

that's their problem. And they've had plenty of business problems because apparently no one there can balance a checkbook. You don't build progressive talk radio that way. Hello?

Mike has a huge following and this is a stupid, stupid, so very stoopid move on their part.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

15. You seem to know so much.

Please, tell me where you found their accounting books. Obviously, you have much more information than I do about their revenues and expenses. Enlighten me as to how exactly they could have unlimited resources to keep and hire any personality they desire.

[EFerrari]

20. Vash, you know as well as I do that the funding for AAR has always

been a struggle.

And yet, here you have a host so popular, this whole board is exploding.

Tell me that a competent person couldn't find a way to organize this. I only wish my husband had Mike's audience. I'd be on vacation right now.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

25. "This whole board"

I see a handful of overly loud people making a big deal out of very little. If you think you're the majority, think again. I highly doubt most people give a great goddamn.

[EFerrari]

30. Okay. n/t

[LSparkle]

31. WRONG! A LOT of people do care

Including myself -- I just haven't posted until now because frankly I'm in shock and just trying to figure out what the fuck happened.

We have so few hosts who speak our minds, when we lose one, it is a BIG DEAL.

[GreenTea]

32. Very true!

[The Witch]

10. As opposed to what?

Isn't a voice all a consumer has? Can't we use ours? What's wrong with advocating for the product we enjoy?

AAR has made its decision - and we're just letting them know we don't like it.

You have an anime name + a bosox avatar so you get points from me, btw :D

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

13. I'm not into witch hunting against our own.

Sorry.

[The Witch]

16. Then don't participate.

1) You're welcome to make your own decision on this. Your post made me think you were telling us to shut up and sit down. You can make your own decision about whether to act, but it sounded like you wanted to keep us from acting in a way that we thought was right.

2) In terms of witch hunting, my suggestions were not to boycott AAR or ask them to go #%( themselves, or whatever, I just wanted to know what their decision-making process is. You'd think a liberal-leaning organization (business or no) would have a little bit kinder of an employee management philosophy than that. And I want them to be more transparent/accountable. Yeesh.

[EFerrari]

17. Holding supposedly a progressive organization accountable

is not a witch hunt. It's what we should do every single time one of "our own" is used and abused by money interests.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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

[EFerrari]

21. No, I'm saying that we stand by the people who support us.

And, I don't plan to grow up any time soon, thanks!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

27. Again, ALL OF AAR SUPPORTS US!

You're still claiming that the only one there that did was Mike Malloy, but that is patently wrong. There is no way around that fact.

[EFerrari]

36. No, I haven't said that at all. I'm saying I support Mike Malloy

and AAR management has made a stupid mistake.

[petersjo02]

34. Your posts

seem unnecessarily meanspririted. Having a bad day? If you don't feel like protesting this firing, fine, but why be so hateful to others who would like some answers? If your posts reflect your attitude generally, then they certainly shout out to those who disagree with your personal opinion the old and ugly saying about "when rape is inevitable sit back and enjoy it." You're out of line. Do your thing and leave the others alone.

[K8-EEE]

29. It's A Good Decision...

It wasn't that good of a show.

[LSK]

33. so if they put Rush on the air, you still would have no problem?

:shrug:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

35. How again is firing Malloy the same as hiring Rush Limbaugh?

Interesting parallel you draw there. :eyes:

[RockHardCore]

18. This is...

The BIGGEST NON-STORY ever!!!

Come on people! Real things are happening in the world.

[shadowknows69]

22. Radio doesn't give you much notice

I was ushered out of my bulding when I was let go "for financial reasons" in 15 minutes so I couldn't go berzerk and start deleting important files and such.

[CrushTheDLC]

24. Don't bother calling Thom Hartmann

A caller just paid him a compliment, saying that Air DLC should give him a regular time slot and Thom cut him off saying that he wouldn't discuss "programming issues" on the air. Maybe he was anticipating the caller mentioning something about Mike, or maybe not, but either way, it seems Thom doesn't want to be dragged into it. Not that I blame him for that. He and Mike go back a long way, and I believe they're friends, yet Air DLC signs his paychecks. Tough position to be in.

[shadowknows69]

28. Another unwritten rule of radio, one I hate.

When someone goes away they simply aren't spoken of anymore.

[rniel]

26. Products to boycott??

No reason at all for me to support air america. I'd like to do my part to hit them in the financial gut for their dirty, disguisting behavior on this matter. Any ideas?