04-15-2004, 01:49 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Huggles, sir?
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Air America yanked off the air, makes violent threats.
LINK
Quote:
US liberal radio flames out in LA, Chicago over billing dispute
1 hour, 2 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AFP to My Yahoo!
NEW YORK (AFP) - A liberal radio start-up touted as a counterweight to right-wing talk radio has been yanked from the airwaves in two of its top markets amid an acrimonious billing dispute, according to network representatives.
The broadcaster that rents air time to Air America in Los Angeles and Chicago pulled the plug on the network in those two cities Wednesday, just two weeks after its much-ballyhooed launch.
Executives with Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., which owns Air America affiliates WNTD-950 AM in Chicago and KBLA-1580 AM in Los Angeles, claims Air America bounced checks and fell behind on its payments, and now owes it more than one million dollars.
Air America, for its part, filed suit against Multicultural Wednesday in New York state Supreme Court, charging it with breach of contract and seeking an injunction forcing Air America back on the Chicago station.
"MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting's conduct in this matter has been disgraceful," said Evan Cohen, Air America Radio chairman in a statement posted on the network's website Thursday.
"To shut off a broadcast that listeners rely on without warning and in the middle of discussions is the height of irresponsibility and a slap in the face of the media industry."
Executives for the fledgling network say they have withheld payment for air time they purchased in Los Angeles in February, prior to its March launch.
They contend that Multicultural re-sold that airtime to third parties, essentially "double-dipping," and that the network should be credited for that block of time.
The network has also used its remaining radio stations in New York, Minneapolis, Portland, Oregon, and its website as platforms to attack Multicultural and its owner Arthur Liu.
Jean Heinemeyer, general manager of Multicultural's New York station, said the station has been flooded with calls from irate Air America listeners over the past 36 hours.
And he lashed out at a tongue-in-cheek Air America "press release" in which the network was going to resolve the matter, vigilante-style, by putting a crowbar to Liu's head.
"It's more than sophomoric," said Heinemeyer. "It's disgusting and frightening."
The release was removed from the site Thursday.
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It looks like Air America may not be on the air much longer if they can't (or won't) pay their bills. Why not just leave the liberal talk-radio market to NPR? Responding with threats of physical violence, tongue-in-cheek or not, is something that I see as a sign of desperation.
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seretogis - sieg heil
perfect little dream the kind that hurts the most, forgot how it feels well almost
no one to blame always the same, open my eyes wake up in flames
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