Air America yanked off the air, makes violent threats. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

seretogis · 04-15-2004, 01:49 PM

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.

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.

Redlemon · 04-15-2004, 02:00 PM

"... and now owes it more than one million dollars"

I don't know much about the radio industry, but I don't believe that two weeks on two AM stations would cost a million dollars.

/ shifts over to TFP Paranoia

I think that right-wingers got to the station owners and asked them to cause trouble. Doesn't matter if it gets resolved the next day; it is the initial headlines that make Air America look bad.

nanofever · 04-15-2004, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by seretogis
Why not just leave the liberal talk-radio market to NPR?

Because NPR is a rather centrist news organization that looks left-wing when compared to radio people way there like Rush. The same thing is happening to John Mccain, he is a "regular republican" who look left compared to neo cons.

debaser · 04-15-2004, 03:54 PM

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Why not just leave the liberal talk-radio market to NPR?

McCarthy was a pinko compared to Hitler...

Superbelt · 04-15-2004, 04:29 PM

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Air America attorney David Goodfriend said it had stopped payment on the checks because Multicultural was selling time on the California station it had already leased to the new network. "We are not going to be bullied," Goodfriend said Wednesday, after the network filed suit in State Supreme Court in New York demanding that it be restored to the airwaves. Broadcasts in New York and the network's more than a dozen other affiliates were not affected.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...equestid=12093

Also O'Franken's Reaction:
http://www.airamericaradio.com/pub/resNews.htm

Quote:

THE SLUDGE REPORT
After just two weeks on the air, Air America Radio, the fledgling liberal talk-radio network featuring Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, and that really loud woman from Florida, appears to have encountered serious cash-flow problems.

Stop the presses!!! There’s nothing more exciting than half a story from a third hand source!!!!

Insiders tell SLUDGE, that the reason the network was pulled off the air this morning in Chicago and Los Angeles, the network's second- and third-largest markets, was because, the owner of both stations, Arthur Liu of Multicultural Broadcasting, said, the network bounced a check and owes him more than $1 million! The run-on sentence, tortured grammar and the exclamation point clearly means it’s true!!

Only it isn’t.

Normally we’d let this go because “habitual liars” like Drudge are laughable, and ridicule is our business.

But Arthur Liu --- not funny. He lied to us, he ripped us off and now we’re chasing him down with a pipe wrench. It’s a metaphor.

Here’s what really happened:

This Liu-ser was ripping off our boss Evan Cohen big time (he can’t do that, that’s our job). Evan found out about it and he stopped payment on a check to keep Liu-cifer from ripping him off even more. You can touch Evan for the occasional meal or drinks but a million bucks is crossing the line. And if we ever get low on cash, we can always call Barbra Streisand. Or any of the
Baldwins. Except Stephen.

So we got screwed, Liu’d, and tattooed. How Liu can you get? In Liu of payment. Liu’d and lascivious behavior. These write themselves. What we’re getting at is that we hate him.

So now everyone’s saying we’re going down the dumper in Chicago and Los Angeles, but what they don’t tell you is that we’re still on in Portland. And we OWN Portland. And let’s not forget Riverside and Plattsburgh. And New
York. And streaming on the internet. And XM. And Sirius. Actually we’re fine.

So cool your jets. Air America Radio isn’t dead, we’re in court and we’re going to slam Liu’s head in a car door. Another metaphor. We hope to be back on the air tomorrow or the next day in those markets.

In the meantime, why don’t you give Arthur a call at (212)966-1059, or check out his website www.mrbi.net

Arthur Liu, I wouldn’t show your face around here.

Or Riverside. Or Plattsburgh.

DEVELOPING……

Air america isn't going to default on their bank loans in the first two damned weeks.
The bastard at Multicultural wanted to make more money and AirAmerica would not let him exploit them. So they pulled their funding. AA set records in online streaming. There will be plenty of stations willing to pick them up. In the mean time AA gets more publicity, and will end up with a fat settlement from Multicultural for breach of contract.

Redlemon · 04-16-2004, 05:57 AM

And... Air America Back on Radio.

Quote:

A New York judge ordered the owner of two radio stations on Thursday to put the 2-week-old, liberal radio network known as Air America back on the air.

HarmlessRabbit · 04-16-2004, 06:04 AM

I am amazed how quickly the conservative press got the "spun" story out there. As you can probably see from the judge's actions, Air America is the one who is getting scammed, not there other way around.

You've been scammed by conservative spin-meisters, Seretogis. I'm surprised they got their version of the story syndicated through the AP. Kinda scary.

Superbelt · 04-16-2004, 06:34 AM

damned liberal media bias...

onetime2 · 04-16-2004, 09:44 AM

So, if the AP reports something that's "anti-liberal" it's the conservatives fault but if they report something "anti-conservative" they're unbiased. I got it. I'm also amazed how quickly this thread went to the "conservative conspiracy" theory as well.

I'll bet you Bush did it. He does have that all powerful button on his desk that controls all manner of things.

The simple fact is, there was a plethora of promotion around this radio launch and anything with that level of hype is a target should any little hiccup occur. It's not a big conspiracy, it's just one method the media uses to garner ratings.

smooth · 04-16-2004, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by onetime2
So, if the AP reports something that's "anti-liberal" it's the conservatives fault but if they report something "anti-conservative" they're unbiased. I got it. I'm also amazed how quickly this thread went to the "conservative conspiracy" theory as well.

The distinction you aren't making is this story turned out to be B.S. once the facts caught up to the spin cycle.

HR seemed to be commenting on the conservative media's power to disseminate an unvetted story--not accuse the entire industry of possessing conservative bias.

onetime2 · 04-16-2004, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smooth
The distinction you aren't making is this story turned out to be B.S. once the facts caught up to the spin cycle.

HR seemed to be commenting on the conservative media's power to disseminate an unvetted story--not accuse the entire industry of possessing conservative bias.

News organizations jumping on a story before it's vetted is nothing new and immediately jumping to the conclusion that it was a conservative conspiracy is ridiculous.

smooth · 04-16-2004, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by onetime2
News organizations jumping on a story before it's vetted is nothing new and immediately jumping to the conclusion that it was a conservative conspiracy is ridiculous.

I'm glad you agree--now stop saying it was a consipiracy.

All that was said was that conservative sources had pumped disinformation into the spin-cycle, and the mainstream press took off with it. That's a testament to the conservative media sector's power to disseminate information, truthful or not.

Accusations of any kind of conspiracy were your words, not mine, superbelt's, or HR's.

Media stories don't sprout out of this air--someone reports them. In this case, someone reported false information and it eventually made it into mainstream media, which superbelt, HR, and myself have repeatedly asserted is corporate controlled moreso than "right" or "left" in ideology.

onetime2 · 04-16-2004, 11:28 AM

This:

Quote:

Originally posted by redlemon

I think that right-wingers got to the station owners and asked them to cause trouble.

and this:

Quote:

Originally posted by HarmlessRabbit
You've been scammed by conservative spin-meisters, Seretogis. I'm surprised they got their version of the story syndicated through the AP. Kinda scary.

are accusations of a conspiracy.

Redlemon · 04-16-2004, 11:36 AM

onetime2: You will note that my quote was preceeded by

Quote:

/ shifts over to TFP Paranoia

, and that was intentional.

onetime2 · 04-16-2004, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by redlemon
onetime2: You will note that my quote was preceeded by , and that was intentional.

My bad I misunderstood the reference. I thought it applied to the previous paragraph since "/" whatever is typically at the end of the code.

Redlemon · 04-16-2004, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by onetime2
My bad I misunderstood the reference. I thought it applied to the previous paragraph since "/" whatever is typically at the end of the code.

Hrm. Yes, I suppose so. Pretend I got it right.

smooth · 04-16-2004, 12:02 PM

If Harmless was accusing the mainstream media of conspiring with conservative spinmeisters, why would he state that he was "surprised" the story made it out on the wires.

I think you need to re-think your position on this. You've misread two posts now because of what you believe left leaning people are wont to do--not based on what they actually typed and meant.

When I explained the meaning behind HR's post, you didn't accept that as a valid response, but insisted that we are insinuating conspiracies in the mainstream press.

I think it would be more conducive to discussion to accept one's clarification instead of persisting in telling people what they meant.

onetime2 · 04-16-2004, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by smooth
If Harmless was accusing the mainstream media of conspiring with conservative spinmeisters, why would he state that he was "surprised" the story made it out on the wires.

I think you need to re-think your position on this. You've misread two posts now because of what you believe left leaning people are wont to do--not based on what they actually typed and meant.

When I explained the meaning behind HR's post, you didn't accept that as a valid response, but insisted that we are insinuating conspiracies in the mainstream press.

I think it would be more conducive to discussion to accept one's clarification instead of persisting in telling people what they meant.

I misread one post that appeared to be in a generally accepted/traditional message board format but was in fact used the opposite way.

The last line in your post is quite fitting and I agree wholeheartedly. Please keep it in mind.

In reference to HR's post I did not say there was a conspiracy between the "mainstream" media and the "conservative spinmeisters" I said that the implication by him is that the sole reason the story spread was through the conspiring of conservative spinmeisters. I then offered the most likely reason that the story spread. That reason is media's desire to play off events that have high levels of hype.

Kadath · 04-16-2004, 05:06 PM

So we're agreed the version of the story as quoted by seretogis was an overhyped misrepresentation of what actually happened? Good. Time to move on.

almostaugust · 04-16-2004, 05:42 PM

David Goodfriend is a top name for a attorney! I wonder if its real.

HarmlessRabbit · 04-16-2004, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kadath
So we're agreed the version of the story as quoted by seretogis was an overhyped misrepresentation of what actually happened? Good. Time to move on.

04-15-2004, 02:00 PM	#2 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	"... and now owes it more than one million dollars" I don't know much about the radio industry, but I don't believe that two weeks on two AM stations would cost a million dollars. / shifts over to TFP Paranoia I think that right-wingers got to the station owners and asked them to cause trouble. Doesn't matter if it gets resolved the next day; it is the initial headlines that make Air America look bad. __________________ I can't read your signature. Sorry.

04-16-2004, 09:44 AM	#9 (permalink)
onetime2 Junkie Location: NJ	So, if the AP reports something that's "anti-liberal" it's the conservatives fault but if they report something "anti-conservative" they're unbiased. I got it. I'm also amazed how quickly this thread went to the "conservative conspiracy" theory as well. I'll bet you Bush did it. He does have that all powerful button on his desk that controls all manner of things. The simple fact is, there was a plethora of promotion around this radio launch and anything with that level of hype is a target should any little hiccup occur. It's not a big conspiracy, it's just one method the media uses to garner ratings. __________________ Strive to be more curious than ignorant.

04-16-2004, 12:02 PM	#17 (permalink)
smooth Junkie Location: Right here	If Harmless was accusing the mainstream media of conspiring with conservative spinmeisters, why would he state that he was "surprised" the story made it out on the wires. I think you need to re-think your position on this. You've misread two posts now because of what you believe left leaning people are wont to do--not based on what they actually typed and meant. When I explained the meaning behind HR's post, you didn't accept that as a valid response, but insisted that we are insinuating conspiracies in the mainstream press. I think it would be more conducive to discussion to accept one's clarification instead of persisting in telling people what they meant. __________________ "The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann "You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -- Abbie Hoffman

04-16-2004, 05:06 PM	#19 (permalink)
Kadath Muffled Location: Camazotz	So we're agreed the version of the story as quoted by seretogis was an overhyped misrepresentation of what actually happened? Good. Time to move on. __________________ it's quiet in here

04-16-2004, 05:42 PM	#20 (permalink)
almostaugust Junkie Location: Oz	David Goodfriend is a top name for a attorney! I wonder if its real. __________________ 'And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe Maybe this year will be better than the last I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself To hold on to these moments as they pass'

04-16-2004, 06:04 AM	#7 (permalink)
HarmlessRabbit Junkie Location: San Jose, CA	I am amazed how quickly the conservative press got the "spun" story out there. As you can probably see from the judge's actions, Air America is the one who is getting scammed, not there other way around. You've been scammed by conservative spin-meisters, Seretogis. I'm surprised they got their version of the story syndicated through the AP. Kinda scary.

04-16-2004, 06:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
Superbelt This vexes me. I am terribly vexed. Location: Grantville, Pa	damned liberal media bias...