Beginnings In late 2002 Chicago entrepreneurs
Sheldon Drobny and
Anita Drobny, angered at the firing of their favorite radio host,
Mike Malloy, decided to try to get Malloy syndicated nationally. At Mike's behest they called Atlanta-based radio executive Jon Sinton and requested a national berth for Malloy. The Drobnys hired Sinton as CEO of AnShell Media, and the three went about raising money. The first official fundraiser was in October 2002 at the home of
Arianna Huffington. The gathering was enthusiastically attended by many Hollywood notables. Sinton's brother, broadcaster Carey Bruce Sinton, suggested calling the venture Central Air, a name that stuck until just before launch. Around this same time, Democratic political operative
Tom Athans and radio industry veteran Paul Fiddick launched
Democracy Radio in Washington, D.C. Democracy Radio was an organization founded in September 2002 dedicated to creating political balance on America's commercial radio airwaves. Its concept was to develop, fund and incubate progressive oriented talk programming and retain well established radio networks to market the programs to stations around the country. Democracy Radio developed and produced talk shows that launched the national careers of
Ed Schultz and
Stephanie Miller. AnShell announced its intentions publicly in a
New York Times article in February 2003 in which writer Jim Rutenburg interviewed Jon Sinton about the need for a balanced national discussion. Sinton, the Drobnys and their associate, Javier Saade, a
Harvard Business School grad and venture capitalist, continued to raise awareness but little money throughout 2003 by spending time in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Sinton met repeatedly with
Al Franken to convince him to become the network's anchor talent. Franken did not commit to the enterprise, as he was worried about its sustainability. After mentioning actress and activist
Janeane Garofalo during an appearance on
Judy Woodruff's
Politics Today show on
CNN, Sinton received a call from Garofalo stating her interest in hosting a show. On a fundraising trip to Los Angeles, Sinton, at the suggestion of Al Franken, met with
Daily Show co-creator
Lizz Winstead, and she would later co-host one of the original shows and be the first program manager. In November 2003, Sinton's brother Steve Sinton left
Clear Channel's talk radio division to join AAR as vice president of programming and operations. Meanwhile, none of these talent agreements were finalized, as fundraising was difficult. The reputation of the effort was coming under duress and scrutiny, as it was announced but not taking shape. A further complication was that AnShell found itself competing against Democracy Radio for investors. During a trip to Washington, D.C., former
Clinton chief of staff John Podesta suggested a young lawyer, David Goodfriend, who introduced the Drobnys and Sinton to his former college roommate,
Evan Montvel Cohen, who had profited from advertising and research companies in the Pacific Rim. Having taken the idea as far as they could, the principals sold AnShell Media to Cohen and his partner,
Rex Sorensen, a broadcaster from
Guam, US, who formed
Progress Media, with Cohen as chairman, and
Mark Walsh as CEO; Sinton's title remained as president, but his impact on day-to-day operations was reduced after the sale to Cohen
Launch and rapid growth From the hiring of Goodfriend and Walsh in the fall of 2003, the network began to take shape. Al Franken and Garafalo finally agreed to contracts, and in short order the company was able reach agreement and hire Winstead, Chuck D, comedian Marc Maron, media attorney Carl Ginsberg, and many more people. In early 2004, talent, engineers and producers were hired, a lease was signed with New York's
WLIB creating a New York home and affiliate, and, at noon Eastern time on March 31, the newly renamed Air America Radio Network was launched. Air America Radio was then the only all-
progressive talk radio network. A predecessor, the
UAW's
I.E. America Radio Network, which was home to hosts such as Thom Hartmann, Peter Werbe, and Mike Malloy, never gained national attention. Its last day on the air was February 27, 2004, only weeks before Air America took to the airwaves. Although not a network, Democracy Radio launched
The Ed Schultz Show three months prior to the launch of Air America in January 2004. The
Stephanie Miller Show followed September 2004. Franken's show was the centerpiece of Air America, and would remain so for a little less than 3 years. The show featured Franken's low-key humor, political commentary, and guest and audience participation.
Randi Rhodes was also in the initial lineup. AAR became the fastest growing network in modern radio history, increasing its listeners from 120,000 to 400,000 within three months, and reaching 2.137 million listeners per week in 2005.
Difficulties and turnover At the time it started Air America Radio,
Progress Media, (an entity created and completely controlled by Evan Cohen and his former business partner, Rex Sorenson) stated it had secured US$30 million in
venture capital before its debut. The amount was later estimated by the Wall Street Journal to be closer to US$6 million; Sorensen said that an investor had backed out at the last minute. Sorensen never identified who the supposed investor was. Sorensen served as the chief financial officer of both Progress Media, and Air America Radio. He had complete control over all funds and banking relationships for the company, and reported directly to the chairman, Evan Cohen. No one else at the company, from Walsh on down, had any control of or input to Sorensen's activities. On April 2, 2004, the day after launching the network, CEO Mark Walsh departed the offices for good. He had been having a number of disagreements with Evan Cohen about the direction of the company, and in particular about the complete lack of financial transparency in Cohen's business dealings and fundraising efforts. Walsh was a resident of Washington, D.C., and told Cohen that he could not be part of an enterprise run in such an opaque and disruptive fashion. Walsh never returned to the offices while Cohen was chairman, and resigned from the company several weeks later. Two weeks after the on-air debut of Air America Radio, programming was withdrawn in two key markets due to contract disputes.
Multicultural Radio owned two stations contracted to carry Air America programming, in Chicago and
Santa Monica, California. Air America alleged that Multicultural Radio had sold time on its Los Angeles station to both Air America and another party, and said that that was why it stopped payment on checks due to Multicultural while Air America investigated. Multicultural Radio argued that Air America had bounced a check and claimed it was owed in excess of US$1 million. Air America Radio filed a complaint in
New York Supreme Court, charging
breach of contract and was briefly granted an injunction to restore the network on
WNTD in Chicago. On April 20, 2004, the network announced the dispute had been settled, and Air America's last day of broadcast on WNTD was April 30, 2004. The New York Supreme Court ultimately concluded that the injunction was improvidently entered and that Air America Radio's court action was without merit, dismissing Air America's complaint and awarding over US$250,000 in damages and attorneys' fees to Multicultural. According to a subsequent lawsuit filed by Multicultural, Air America Radio never paid the sums ordered by the court. Four weeks after Air America's debut, its executive vice president for programming, Dave Logan, left the network. One week after those departures, its chairman and vice chairman, Evan Cohen and his investment partner Rex Sorensen, were forced out by the remaining investors. In a tense late night meeting, which included Franken, Saade, the Drobnys, Mark Walsh and other investors, the company found out that it had virtually no assets. It asked David Goodfriend to operate the company while a reorganization was planned and new funds were raised. Subsequently, the company had a number of acting CEO's, including outside investor Doug Kreeger and Jon Sinton for a short period. The tumultuous early days of the network were chronicled in a fly-on-the-wall
HBO documentary,
Left of the Dial. As part of a reorganization, the Progress Media board of directors bought the assets of that company, creating a new company, Piquant LLC; at around the same time, the company decided to stop trying to buy radio stations and lease air time, and to allow affiliates to carry programming outside of the network's offerings. On February 28, 2005, a new CEO,
Danny Goldberg, was named, and in April 2005, Gary Krantz was named president of the network. Ginsburg and Sinton were named co-
COOs with Ginsburg in charge of operations and Sinton running programming and affiliate relations. In December 2005, over Sinton's objections, CEO Danny Goldberg broke up the network's morning drive-time show
Morning Sedition, and let comedian and co-host
Marc Maron's contract lapse. While the increased overhead for the show's heavily produced format may have been a factor in the show's demise, Maron claimed that Goldberg did not "get" or agree with the comedy on the show. Maron exacerbated the conflict by calling attention to his situation during the show for several weeks, prompting a petition drive that garnered over 5,000 signatures. This was to no avail, as Maron announced on November 28 that his last show would be December 16, 2005. Maron was offered an evening show, which ran briefly on affiliate
KTLK in Los Angeles, but Air America never followed through with promised national syndication and the show was cancelled in July 2006. Goldberg announced his resignation on April 6, 2006, after a little more than a year on the job. Maron guest hosted a few times in 2007, and later co-hosted a webcast program for Air America called "Breakroom Live".
Janeane Garofalo's last day as co-host of
The Majority Report was on July 14, 2006. Several reasons for her departure were cited (including her outside acting responsibilities). The show ended a few months later. By the late summer of 2006 Sinton and Ginsburg's influence was marginalized (both would leave in short order). On August 30, 2006, nighttime host
Mike Malloy was fired from the network. Malloy had hosted a nighttime show from the inception of the network. The show was vitriolic in its criticism of the right–wing. Comments included referring to the Bushes as the "Bush crime family"; right–wingers commonly were referred to as "rat bastards" and "pigs". In the two weeks before the firing, Malloy had announced an impending multi-year deal for him to stay with Air America (and to return on the air in New York City). The firing was explained as for financial reasons. Rumours persist that Malloy's criticism of Israel during its bombardment of Lebanon in the summer of 2006 may have played a role. News of his termination was conveyed via a short statement on the homepage of Malloy's website, posted by his wife/producer Kathy Bay Malloy. His final show was on August 29, 2006, filling in for Randi Rhodes. No mention of his firing was made during the broadcast. Malloy's firing drew criticism from Air America on-air talent, including Rhodes and
Sam Seder. It also began a large online campaign, including a petition that had over 17,000 signatures as of October 2006. At the end of October, Malloy resumed his show on a newly created progressive radio network,
Nova M Radio.
Gloria Wise controversy In July 2005, the
Bronx News reported that the
Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club of
Co-op City, a non-profit organization providing services for children and seniors in the
Bronx, loaned (equivalent to $ in ) to Progress Media, then owner of Air America Radio. It later turned out that there had been four separate transfers from Gloria Wise between October 2, 2003, and March 14, 2004, totalling (equivalent to $ in ), and that no interest was to be paid on these loans. Since then, the city has suspended further funding of the agency, and
Boys and Girls Clubs of America has revoked the group's right to use their name, likeness or logo. At the time the funds were to have been transferred,
Evan Cohen, the founder and first chairman of Air America and the former chairman of the now-defunct Progress Media, was also director of development for Gloria Wise. In response to this report, Air America Radio's owners at the time, Piquant LLC, issued a press release stating Piquant had "no obligation to Progress Media's business activities", and Piquant, as previously agreed, would "fully compensate" the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club. While Gloria Wise remains under investigation, Air America has since repaid the loan. On May 28, 2008, Cohen was arrested at
Guam International Airport on a warrant from the State of Hawaii. He was indicted in Hawaii for
money laundering and stealing over (equivalent to $ in ) from a
Honolulu-based landscaping company.
Air America, The Playbook Air America, the Playbook, a 300 plus page collection of essays, transcripts, and interviews by mostly Air America personalities was published shortly before the 2006 Congressional elections. It was on
The New York Times Best Seller list for October 8, 2006.
Reorganizational bankruptcy and sale to Green Family Media A week later, on October 13, 2006, Air America filed for bankruptcy protection under
Chapter 11, at the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Air America continued broadcasting while the finances were worked out with the creditors. The company had US$4,331,265.30 in assets and US$20,266,056.23 in liabilities.
Al Franken alone was owed US$360,749.98 and
Rob Glaser, founder of
RealNetworks, was owed the most at US$9.8 million. The filing had over 25 pages of creditors and showed that the company lost US$9.1 million in 2004, US$19.6 million in 2005 and an additional US$13.1 million by mid-October in 2006. On January 29, 2007, Air America "signed a letter of intent to sell its business to SLG Radio LLC, an entity controlled by
Stephen L. Green, the founder and chairman of SL Green Realty Corp, a company that controls 27 million ft2 (2.5 million m2) of real estate with a market capitalization of US$12 billion". Air America CEO Scott Elberg said of Air America's sale, "We are extremely pleased to have reached this agreement with Mr. Green, which will solidify Air America's future." The sale was completed on March 6, 2007, to Green Family Media, a new company created by Stephen Green and his brother Mark Green.
Franken moves on to the U.S. Senate , host of Air America Radio's former flagship program,
The Al Franken Show. During the bankruptcy, key on-air personality Al Franken decided that he was going to give up his show of three years to run for U.S. Senate. He made his official announcement during the last show. Thom Hartmann replaced him in March 2007. Franken won a
close and highly contested election to become the 60th Senator in the Democratic Caucus for the 111th United States Congress.
Air America 2.0 After the sale, major changes were quickly put into place. Stephen Green became the network's chairman, and Mark Green became president of Air America, with a hands-on role. Former chief executive Scott Elberg remained as chief operating officer. Mark Green announced on Thursday, April 25, 2007, that
Westwood One would take over the handling of Air America's ad sales from
Jones Radio Networks. the hiring of longtime radio veteran David Bernstein to be the new vice president of programming. Prior to joining Air America, he was best known as the program director at New York radio station
WOR from 1995 to 2002. In an interview with the
New York Daily News, Bernstein explained his vision of Air America's future as "I don't see our purpose as 'answering' conservative radio or
Rush Limbaugh. There's no clear majority in this country today. We want to talk to everyone and help everyone make the right choice." On November 15, 2007, industry news site Radio Online reported that Bernstein was exiting Air America. After being suspended by Air America management for derogatory remarks toward
Geraldine Ferraro and
Hillary Clinton while off the air,
Randi Rhodes quit the network on April 9, 2008, citing a contract dispute. She was one of Air America's more popular hosts, with a listener base of 1.5 million unique listeners per week built up over 4 years. Rhodes moved to
Nova M Radio the next week, and was syndicated by
Premiere Radio Networks after Nova M went bankrupt. 's "Changing the Media, Changing America" event in
Seattle (June 2006) Meanwhile, longtime host
Rachel Maddow was finding her way into television. As a guest host and as a panelist, she appeared on
MSNBC. She started her own show on the network in September 2008, in prime time after
Keith Olbermann and
Chris Matthews. Her radio show became more of a replay of her television show, and ultimately her radio program became a one-hour show in the mornings. Maddow didn't want to completely depart from radio. She commented "My relationship with the radio audience is valuable and important. I also believe in what Air America is doing."
Thom Hartmann moved his show to the
Dial Global radio network on March 1, 2009. Hartmann had been the flagship program on AAR for a year.
Montel Williams hosted the new flagship program in Lionel's previous spot, and Lionel moved his show to the 12p.m.–3p.m. ET slot.
Sale and closure Stephen Green sold Air America Radio in 2009 to Charles Kireker. Mark Green continued as president. On January 21, 2010, Air America announced that it would immediately cease programming and file for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, giving the following explanation on their website: The very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America's business. This past year has seen a "perfect storm" in the media industry generally. National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection. From large to small, recent bankruptcies like
Citadel Broadcasting and closures like that of the industry's long-time trade publication
Radio & Records have signaled that these are very difficult and rapidly changing times. Others involved with Air America or progressive talk radio cite other reasons as the cause of the network's demise. Thom Hartmann left Air America due in part to his dissatisfaction with the network's merry-go-round management. "We've been far more successful since we left," Mr. Hartmann said in an interview after the closure. Several other former employees have made similar complaints, specifically that the management of Air America lacked the necessary broadcasting business expertise. Progressive commentator
Alan Colmes cited problems with the network's constituent stations: Because conservatives were so entrenched on heritage stations, the progressives on Air America were relegated to smaller, less powerful, under-performing signals that could not compete with their more established counterparts; certainly not without lots of promotion and time to develop, both of which were denied in most cases. At some point after the network's closure in 2010, Newsweb Corporation (the owner of Chicago's
WCPT AM band radio station) gained ownership of the network's name. ==Ratings==