Air Amerika on it's last leg.....

[Army_of_One]

Air America Radio files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Air America Radio, the liberal news and talk radio network whose on-air talent includes comedian Al Franken, on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after talks with a creditor broke down.

The network said it plans to stay on the air while it reorganizes. In a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan, Air America said it lost about $40.9 million since the spring of 2004, including $13.1 million so far in 2006.

Recent investing newsAt Forbes: Six ETFs To AvoidAt Forbes: Truman Show Moves OnAt Forbes: Spitzer's Painful LessonAt Forbes: Samsung Q3 Bodes Well For Wireless Sector: AnalystAt Forbes: Philips' Fuzzy Picture
"This regrettable action became necessarily only recently when good faith efforts to resolve outstanding debt with a creditor from the company's earliest days broke down," Air America said in a statement.

Air America was launched in March 2004 with programming to counter-balance politically conservative shows by nationally syndicated hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

The New York-based company said it has 4 million listeners, and has on-air personalities including Robert Kennedy Jr. and Randi Rhodes. Air America also syndicates a radio show from television host Jerry Springer.

Scott Elberg, who became chief executive on Monday, said in an affidavit that Air America's backers advised last month that they would no longer subsidize the network's operating losses. He said this led Air America to consider a possible sale or liquidation.

Also in September, MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., a creditor that said it is owed $550,000, blocked Air America from drawing needed cash from its bank accounts, Elberg said. The bankruptcy filing will lift this restriction, he said.

MultiCultural Radio, also based in New York, did not return a call seeking comment.

"Nobody likes filing for bankruptcy," Elberg said in a statement. "This move will enable us to concentrate on informing and entertaining our audience during the coming months."

Elberg had been an Air America vice president, and is a former general manager of New York's WLIB radio station. He is the latest of several chief executives at Air America, who have included radio industry entrepreneur Danny Goldberg.

Franken is owed $360,750, while Robert Glaser, the chief executive of RealNetworks Inc , has a $9.8 million secured claim, court papers show.

Air America said it will seek court permission to obtain up to $3 million of financing from an entity called Democracy Allies LLC so that it may operate while under Chapter 11.

Air America filed for protection from creditors as Piquant LLC, doing business as Air America Radio.

[TexKan]

whaaaaaa!!........... is it any surprise?

[Army_of_One]

No surprise at all but it's fun to watch them die a slow death. What I don't get is why do conservative warriors such as Hannity and Limbaugh pull HUGE audiences and Air Amerika couldn't can't make a buck even with private funding helping keep it afloat. Do liberals not listen to the radio? ??

[Highwayman]

According to liberal Alan Colmes (of Hannity & Colmes and has a radio show of his own) Err Amerika is all about a mission to elect liberals an has no entertainment value.

No kidding! Even liberals get tired of bash Bush hate speech 24x7.

[lurker]

Bush Bashing would be extremely popular and even profitable IF there was a solid argument. "Bush Lied" - "Bush oil" - "Bush cronies" - "War for oil" - and what ever they attempt to emphasize - are all very thin arguments. It's no small wonder that Air amerika failed.

Solid arguments are somewhat like a great song. You know what the next words are and you don't mind (and even enjoy) hearing them again.

The solid argument I most enjoy hearing is that President Bush knows the deep level of commitment that the Muslimes have towards pushing their beliefs and they aren't content to ignore those who disagree. Beheading is their default. It's simply a shame that a large percentage of the world's population seems to want to ignore this.

[Outofdodge]

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

Air America Radio files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy..

Sheesh, you guys are getting slow in y'alls old age, this is last week's news and I wondered how long it would take before this showed up.

Who wants to listen to 24 hour political talk radio? left or right? The business plan sucked. When I first got Sirrius radio it was on there, I played it for 5 minutes and switched to ESPN. Never played it again and noticed sometime this year it disappeared off the play list.

[Outofdodge]

Originally Posted by lurker

The solid argument I most enjoy hearing is that President Bush knows the deep level of commitment that the Muslimes have towards pushing their beliefs and they aren't content to ignore those who disagree. Beheading is their default. It's simply a shame that a large percentage of the world's population seems to want to ignore this.

A large percentage of the world's population does not ignore this. However a large percentage of the world's population and a growing percentage of the United State's population knows that trying to Americanize Iraq isn't going to do a thing to stop it.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by Outofdodge

A large percentage of the world's population does not ignore this. However a large percentage of the world's population and a growing percentage of the United State's population knows that trying to Americanize Iraq isn't going to do a thing to stop it.

Alrightie then, what does espn think about stopping jihad and Islamic terrorism?

[Bubba]

I can tell you what Bubba thinks, it's been around for hundreds of years and it will be around for hundreds more. Nothing you can do to stop it, if you think you can, you are only fooling yourself.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by Outofdodge

Sheesh, you guys are getting slow in y'alls old age, this is last week's news and I wondered how long it would take before this showed up.....

Not me OoD. How about last month?

Cleaning up the airwaves