Air America Goes Green (& Al Franken Takes the Green and Runs)
| Mon Jan. 29, 2007 9:13 PM PST
The latest chapter in the looooong saga of Air America has evidently been penned, but I must say that even those of us who'd wondered if the network's tortured history had become parody/proof of the right's criticism of the left didn't quite see this one coming. AA or Ax2 or Asquared will, it seems, be acquired by NYC real estate mogul Stephen Green, brother of perennial NY mayor/senate/attorney general candiate Mark Green. "Speaking only as the brother of the purchaser," Mark Green, who's also played guest host on AA, told the NYT that "no hiring or programming positions had been decided for the network, should the deal go through."
None 'cept one, I'd guess.
And if Brother Green becomes a permanent AA personality, he won't have to live in the shadow of Al Franken. Franken, who'd been paid a truly outrageous $2 million a year—10 times more than "many other syndicated hosts with a similar audience reach"—will host his last show on Valentine's Day. Franken's outsized salary makes him an easy target for those who mourn AA's passing, but to my mind it's just further proof that the people behind the network (and there have been lots) just had too much money and little idea of the media terrain. Wishing you (and why would you?) had a lefty 24-hour equivalent to Rush/Imus don't make it so people.
Meanwhile, Spinsanity Alert: Green said the sale will, in the words of the NYT, "usher in a new phase for Air America, focused on digital content distribution rather than radio."
"In this digital era, the tech changes by the day and Air America Radio has to become something of a new media company," Mark Green said. "We look forward to an A.A.R. 2.0 that has sharp smart content better distributed over a variety of platforms. And what better time to try this than with progressive and democratic values obviously on the rise?"
So does this mean that Stephen is buying his brother a podcast? If so, Senator Chris Dodd has some programming suggestions.
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Comments
Submitted by Eric Ferguson (not verified) on Tue Jan. 30, 2007 11:52 AM PST.
I'm surprised Mother Jones would fall for this. The source for Franken's salary is a conservative blog dedicated to a large degree to bashing Air America. That blogger gives no source, and his claims are so outrageous I don't buy them. The producer get $600,000 a year? Right. No one believes Air America had a hand in the Democratic victory? Must be a surprise to the Democratic winners who have said talk radio was important for their wins, including Franken's frequent guest, freshman Rep. Tim Walz, and Thom Hartmann's regular, Bernie Sanders.
Even though I'm clearly on the MJ web site, I was a regular listener to Mother Jones Radio on Air America.
Submitted by Naomi (not verified) on Tue Jan. 30, 2007 1:05 PM PST.
Quite honestly, I have always thought that Franken was over-rated. Now I see he was overpaid, as well! As a radio personality, he was a complete wash. His backtracks within backtracks were confusing and annoying. Interrupting his guests with unfunny asides was rude to the guests and fatally diverting to the points they were trying to make (non-sequituritis, Al!). And his recent all-male team felt like "stumbling into a men's locker room by mistake".
He chased off the very heart of his show: Kathryn Lampher. I suspect (with nothing other than intuition and my highly-developed Diva-radar) that he was instumental in the departures of Lizz Winstead and Mark Maron--both of whom are brighter and funnier than Franken.
I'm not optimistic about his chances for the Senate. He is not as well-liked as he thinks he is. I hope a clear-thinking and -speaking progressive/liberal will beat him in the Primary... And, when that happens, I sincerely hope that AAR doesn't succumb to his desire to return. If AAR refuses to take him back, watch him turn on them like a feral weasel!
Naomi
