AIR AMERICA: SINKING SHIP
By Michelle Malkin · March 07, 2006 09:00 AM
The New York Post's John Mainelli follows up on intrepid Brian Maloney's investigative blog exclusive from last week on the impending loss of left-wing radio network Air America's New York flagship station:
Losing its New York outlet would be a serious blow to the fledgling liberal radio network. "Radio Equalizer" blogger Brian Maloney - who blew the whistle on questionable loans to the lefty network last year - published the first report that WLIB was on the verge of evicting Air America some time soon.
Air America's options for a new home are not promising. All of the city's other strong-signal stations are spoken for, leaving only weak-signal "fringe" stations that do not cover the entire city and suburbs.
Air America parent Piquant LLC has reportedly been paying Inner City Broadcasting - controlled by former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton and his son, Pierre - $2.5 million a year to air Franken and others.
An Air America spokeswoman told The Post, "It's business as usual," and declined further comment.
Also not commenting: Air America's cheerleading team at the New York Times.
David Lombino at The New York Sun also trails Maloney's blog exclusive:
Air America Radio, the liberal radio network that is home to host Al Franken, is refusing to address reports that it will be dropped by its New York flagship station, WLIB.
A spokeswoman, Jaime Horn, said she would not comment on the reports due to ongoing negotiations, but added, "We have no plans of leaving the New York City airwaves and plan to be on in New York for many years to come.
"It is business as usual at Air America Radio. We will not, nor have we ever discussed, our confidential negotiations with third party companies, investors, or others in a public forum," the spokeswoman said.
The author of a Web log called the Radio Equalizer, Brian Maloney, reported this weekend that a group led by a former executive for Clear Channel, Randy Michaels, is taking control of WLIB and that the new owners are likely to dump Air America from the station in favor of other programming. Mr. Michaels, who brought the conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh to Clear Channel, did not respond to messages.
from Michelle Malkin |
