Air America now Panhandling

[Bonnie]

Panhandle broadcasting:
Air America crumbling?
Liberal radio network asking listeners for donations to help spread message

Posted: September 27, 2005
9:52 p.m. Eastern


By Joe Kovacs
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Air America's Al Franken

Air America, the liberal radio answer to Rush Limbaugh, is now asking its listeners to send in money, leading some analysts to say the network is "crumbling."

The network, featuring voices including Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, has developed a program where people become "associate" members by contributing cash.


On its website, Air America lists the benefits of membership, stating, "In return for your help, we'll send you a monthly Associates insider e-mail with the backstage news from our shows and our headquarters. When we take Air America Radio on the road, we'll invite you to meet our hosts and progressive leaders in your community. And for gifts of $50 and up, we've got free stuff to send you."

Among the "free stuff," Air America is giving contributors three bumper stickers to help spread word about the programming. Gifts of $100 or more entitle listeners to "a stylin' yet functional tote bag," and for those donating at least $250, "our hosts and staff will personally thank you at this level of giving on AirAmericaRadio.com and on the air."




"We know we can't achieve this next stage of growth without significant help from you, our loyal listeners," said the network in an e-mail to supporters, according to Mediaweek, which said the "unusual move for commercial radio" was "more common to noncommercial stations and political action committees."

The problems at Air America were the subject of a segment tonight on "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel.

"It is really almost comical that they're putting on these sort of panhandling pleas to their audience members," WorldNetDaily columnist Michelle Malkin told Bill O'Reilly, saying bad content was key to the demise. "They've got a trail of debts, a trail of creditors. There's two stories really here. The crumbling of Air America, and the failure and the refusal of the rest of the mainstream media to cover it as a financial, political and entertainment media story."

Malkin was among the first writers to document a scandal at the network, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars reportedly diverted from the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club in New York to Air America. The network recently repaid the club $875,000 after the word of the diversion seeped into the national media.


Radio analyst Brian Maloney told O'Reilly, who also hosts a radio talk show, the company clearly had a bad business model, and he's not sure it can survive.

"As things stand now, they may be down to their last couple of months," Maloney said, "but that could change at any moment if [George] Soros or one of the other big guns comes in, steps to the plate and puts up some cash. But otherwise, I think things are looking bleak. They're overpaying the air talent, they're fending off lawsuits, they're overspending. They just put a brand new studio facility in. They didn't need that. That was at Franken's insistence and now he's not even going to use it. He's moving to Minnesota. So they're wasting money, they're not bringing it in. It's a mess."

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http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46552

 

[theHawk]

The only reason they've stayed on air this long was from big contributions from leftwing millionaires, mainly for the purpose of spreading anti-Bush propaganda before the election. Personally I wish liberals would keep throwing away their money at the hopeless cause.
But anyway, cheers to the downfall of Air Anti-America

 

[no1tovote4]

I look forward to the day that Rhandi Rhodes' horrific voice and victriolic hatred will be relegated to the has-beens list of radio announcers.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

this is not surprising, as it was predicted by all the other talk show hosts. Though they thought AA would not last this long. i always laugh to myself when i see one of their bumperstickers, which has been maybe 5 times in the last 2 years.