Free Republic

Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer found that on his Sunday public-radio show with socialist professor Cornel West, PBS host Tavis Smiley thumped Obama chief of staff Valerie Jarrett for an apparently rude speech at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in New Orleans on  June 23. She came to describe Obama's "genuine love for black people," which Smiley thought was ridiculous since Obama did not show up. Several NABJ vets did complain to blogger Richard Prince about Jarrett reading a list of Obama accomplishments: "Why not just send a [campaign] video?" one said. "That was out of line," said...

Laura Ingraham's Radio Absence Creates Speculation After an unexplained radio absence and a cryptic message from one of her producers, speculation is building that syndicated radio talker Laura Ingraham may have at least temporarily stepped away from her program. It has been carried on hundreds of stations across the country. Worried listeners have already begun to email your Radio Equalizer, while attempts to confirm her possible departure from the Talk Radio Network- distributed show are met with a peculiar silence. Will Laura return at some point, or has she already moved on? When yours truly contacted a number of people...

Regardless of how one might feel about Savage, that's a terrific talk radio topic: should a career politician's past sins be cleansed because of a cancer diagnosis? Kennedy killed a young woman with his car. Has that now been erased from history? Certainly, tactful boundaries ought to exist when it comes to discussion of a US Senator with cancer. Between the mainstream media lionization of Kennedy and talk radio's new fear of even mentioning his name, however, Savage's points deserve urgent public attention.

For several days, your Radio Equalizer has been intrigued by a conversation that took place between Bill O'Reilly and syndicated radio talker Laura Ingraham on July 18th's O'Reilly Factor. When asked whether so- called "smear websites" serve to intimidate the opposition by bullying them right off the 'net, Ingraham took issue with O'Reilly, maintaining that a strong backbone is needed to enter the political fray. Today, however, a redesigned hate site truly seems to bolster O'Reilly's case. More on that in a moment.

*** Exclusive To The Radio Equalizer *** Has Janeane Garofalo's liberal talk show been declared FUBAR by Air America Radio? With one source indicating (via hard copy information) that it may leave the airwaves as soon as tonight, it appears very likely that the self- loathing and acerbic talker / actress / Hollywood political hothead may already have done her last show.

*** Exclusive To The Radio Equalizer - Part One ****** Updated With Breaking News Below *** It has long been reasonable to characterize Air America Radio as having an every man- for- himself work environment, where the name of the game is to see who grab the most cash before the whole mess finally comes crashing down. Add to the mix a nearly- constant stream of financial support from Real Networks honcho Rob Glaser and billionaire currency raider George Soros and the greedy temptation to push for obscene salaries, perks and benefits simply becomes too great to resist. Central to...

Have some liberals finally had enough of Al Franken & Friends? While Stuart Smalley's defenders continue to pound your Radio Equalizer for relentlessly exposing the truth about this partisan talk network, some of its harshest critics actually come from the left! In the past week alone, "progressive" mega-blog Daily Kos has featured two anti-Air America Radio rants, the latest with reader comments similar to these sentiments: An earlier diary here has a lot of comments I agree with, including especially that Air America is too much top-down. Trying to build an instant radio network from a studio in New York...

For talk radio hosts seeking fresh fodder, it was just what the doctor ordered: yet another flap involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), son of the notorious Teddy (D-Chappaquidick). Call it talk's instant battery recharge. How could anyone resist this one? Late Thursday, news spread like wildfire that Rep. Kennedy had been involved in his second car accident in just the past two weeks, this time at 3am, near the Capitol. Unlike his father's infamous 1969 wreck, there were no fatalities this time. One striking similarity, however: in all three crashes, based on available details, favoritism allegations seem to have substantial...

As certain as the presence of a dozen Dunkin' Donuts outlets in every New England town, today's second Air America Radio on-air anniversary is sure to bring mainstream media accolades from every corner of the country. When looking at the network honestly, however, how can we conclude it's been anything other than a debacle? --- Ratings are in the toilet (another update soon on the way). --- Just to stay afloat, it requires constant cash infusions from Rob Glaser and George Soros. --- To sustain a bloated management and staff structure, company spending remains outrageous, with lavish salaries, perks and...

.....Will Air America's chicanery pay off?--------------------------------------------------------Posted: February 17, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Is it a dirty scam to elect Democrats to office using inappropriate means, or an innocent effort to discuss progressive viewpoints over the radio? You be the judge. Featured on the website for the liberal radio network Air America Radio is an effort called "Fighting Dems" that targets Republican candidates for office. The idea of openly campaigning for Democrats is the raison d'etre of Air America Radio, which on a daily basis carries the water of Democrat politicians and liberal political causes alike. What really...

All Access confirms Malloy will not be getting cleared in New York but not because of ABC's "The Satellite Sisters." Inner City Broadcasting, owner of WLIB, is reclaiming Malloy's hours and will be broadcasting Caribbean music. WLIB had a full-time Caribbean format (with somewhat better numbers)prior to AAR's launch and has continued to broadcast Caribbean programming during the overnight hours (AAR has leased the station from 5 am to 12 midnight). The third hour of Mallow's show has never been cleared in New York. So, far the Satellite Sisters weekday show airs only on XM Radio (12 pm to 3...

Until yesterday, US Senate confirmation hearings for Sam Alito's Supreme Court nomination didn't appear to be providing talk radio with an especially compelling topic, aside from the occasional sound bite of Sen. Ted Kennedy's jerky antics. Clearly, public interest lies somewhere between previous grillings of John Roberts (boring) and Clarence Thomas (edge of your seat excitement). Wednesday, however, as tears emerged from an overwhelmed Mrs. Alito, everything changed. Suddenly, Democrats who had clearly overplayed a very weak hand against the judge were exposed as mere garden-variety bullies. Now, thanks to Teddy and his desperate friends, talk radio and the blogosphere...

For Seattle's Mike Webb, calling for President Bush's "execution" had no effect on his position. In fact, his show was subsequently expanded by an hour. Nor did his on-air hope that Ronald Reagan had "really suffered" before his death make any difference. While it's hard to imagine conservatives getting away with similar rhetoric, somehow one of America's most extreme, hate-filled radio programs managed to remain on a major radio station in Seattle for years, despite marginal ratings performance. To find something similar on the extreme right, one would have to look to shortwave radio broadcasts. Mike Webb was to the...

(Severino Press Release Omits Controversies) With newly syndicated "libertarian/libertine" (read: anti-Bush quasi-liberal) host Jay Severin (real name: Jimmy Severino) still leading the pack, many controversies emanate from just a small number of questionable personalities. Even after exposes by the Boston-area news media on Sag Harbor, New York-based Severin's wild claims of winning a Pulitzer Prize for "online journalism" and other highly questionable assertions, CBS still went ahead with plans to take him national. What does that say about how very little has changed at the network since Rathergate? Teaming up with sister firm Westwood One, a highly misleading press release...

Despite new management assertions to the contrary, two KVI/Seattle talk show hosts believe a July court ruling now prevents them from discussing a key November statewide ballot initiative on the airwaves. In a stunning decision, a Thurston County, Washington judge forced organizers of Initiative 912 to report, as in-kind campaign contributions, favorable comments made by KVI hosts Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson. Backers of I-912, which seeks to repeal a statewide gas tax hike, were required to place a dollar value on talk radio's supportive statements....(snip) ....Despite the August sackings of its key participants, one of sports talk's most peculiar...

INSIDE AIR AMERICA: AL FRANKEN'S LYING LIES By Michelle Malkin   ·   September 07, 2005 02:22 AM Inside Air America: Al Franken's Lying Lies Part of an ongoing investigative blog series by Brian Maloney and Michelle Malkin Sept. 7, 2005 (Part II of this installment is at The Radio Equalizer) *** Take a close look at this signature. It belongs to Air America host and crusader for truth Al Franken. It is contained in a legal document we have obtained that exposes the Grand Canyon-sized chasm between what Al Franken says and what Al Franken does. On July 27, our blogs...

(Catch me Sunday, 9pm EDT on WRKO/Boston's "Pundit Review". Go to WRKO for streaming.) When it comes to fighting for "social justice", liberals sure can be selective. Take this interview with Al Franken in the new issue of The Progressive, "a leading voice for peace and social justice since 1909". Air America scandal, what's that? Every question is served Larry King-softball style. Maybe Franken really is a funny guy after all, claiming here he's actually not especially liberal! With unpleasant realities like $875,000 in taxpayer funds intended for an inner-city community center allegedly diverted to Air America Radio, The Progressive...

By Michelle Malkin · August 18, 2005 02:48 PM Part II is up at The Radio Equalizer. Brian Maloney and I take a close look at the financial plans of Sheldon and Anita Drobny, the deep-pocketed, far left Illinois Democrat couple who dreamed up Air America and have been involved in its many strange and dubious business reorganizations. The key questions that curious radio industry veterans, financial observers, skeptical investors, and business reporters should be asking Air America: What is Nova M? And why now?

On July 21, 2005, a standing room-only crowd of Democrats filled a Highland Park, Illinois, public library conference room to hear two local businesspeople talk about their company and its future plans. The attraction? These weren't your everyday corporate suits: it featured Sheldon and Anita Drobny, who last year put Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo on their upstart liberal Air America talk radio network. Hearing about their "success" was surely appealing. To Democrat activists, these were bona fide celebrities. Sheldon, a Venture Capitalist, CPA and former IRS agent, spoke first, according to the 10th District Democrats Newsletter:

KSFO/San Francisco talk host Melanie Morgan's group Move America Forward is organizing a counterevent, to take on Cindy Sheehan's Crawford circus, that has Rhodes so excited: Next week Move America Forward will be leading a caravan to Crawford, Texas - to present an alternative voice to that of Cindy Sheehan, who has become the heroine of the "Blame America First" crowd. The Move America Forward's caravan (the "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour) will consist of family members who have loved ones fighting in the war against terrorism - stationed in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The truth is that...

Inside Air America: An Investigative Blog ReportPart. 1: A Trail of Debts By Michelle Malkin and Brian Maloney michellemalkin.com/radioequalizer.blogspot.com August 17, 2005 *** It's not just the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls that's knocking on Air America Radio's door looking for lost money. According to court records obtained by Radio Equalizer/MichelleMalkin.com, another major creditor has been demanding that Air America pay up. The liberal radio network has refused to do so, despite a court order and scathing words from a New York judge overseeing the case. Now, the creditor--Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc.--has filed a new complaint, accusing Air America and...

Is Air America host Randi Rhodes having a hard time containing her frustration with the network? After the Radio Equalizer's piece featuring a Rhodes memo demanding a private jet to accommodate her Texas travel needs, a number of people pointed out her increasing on-air irritation with the company. I've been wondering just how long Air America's hosts could keep up the facade of peace and harmony. At what point do the floodgates open? Reaction was swift to the release of Rhodes's memo, where conservatives such as Captain Ed blasted their lack of concern over $875,000 in diverted taxpayer funds, which...

Why have so few on the left been willing to admit Air America Radio might be an ideological liability? So far, the Radio Equalizer has been wrong in predicting New York Times and AP scandal coverage would force liberals to try new ways to defend the network. Instead, it's still about insults and claims of a made-up story. Air America's own strategy is now about diversionary tactics, with Cindy Sheehan's rabid supporters in Crawford and one of the network's hosts providing needed cover. If enough people can be convinced AAR's programming is responsible for the activity around the Bush family...

Some of the best questions yet on Air America's scandal, where $875,000 in taxpayer-funded community center grants instead went to the liberal radio network, appear in today's paper. To which New York publication might the Radio Equalizer be referring? Actually, none of them: it's all in today's Arizona Republic, 3000 miles away from the crime scene. In a blunt, knock-'em-dead op-ed column by Doug MacEachern, we see what was once a given in New York City journalism, tough talk:

Looks like the New York Times can be more accurate, when pressed. Today's edition corrects one of two errors in Friday's story discovered by Michelle Malkin, the Radio Equalizer and several other bloggers:

Less than a day after the New York Times botched its Air America scandal coverage with an inaccurate Al Franken quote, along comes the AP, to do it correctly. Wow, there's a way to kick your weekend off on the right foot! Apparently, AP felt the need to wait until almost 17 days since the Radio Equalizer's first piece, but hey, better late than never. Also, releasing the story on a Friday evening, going into a summer weekend does not exactly ensure a lot of coverage.

For two weeks, the Radio Equalizer's MSM clock (supplied by BoreAmerica) has been logging the mainstream media's non-coverage of Air America's scandal, where it appears to have received $875,000 in taxpayer funds, intended for a Bronx-based community center. More recently, we've been discussing what the first New York Times story might include. Perhaps both sides, rather than merely covering for Al Franken? Would they acknowledge the blogosphere, for picking up their slack? Now, we finally have their version of the story, 16 days later. Is it time to remove the MSM clock?

Repairing Al Franken's mangled public image is probably not a job for the Radio Equalizer, but I do still have to wonder about his reconstruction strategy, unveiled today in the New York Post, via John Mainelli: AL Franken says 20,000 poor kids and old people weren't the only victims of an exec who allegedly arranged a Bronx charity's mega-buck "loan" to Air America. "About three weeks into the life of Air America, I became an involuntary investor — I stopped being paid," Franken told listeners yesterday on WLIB (1190 AM).

Increasing Liberal Anger Over Air America Coverage Misplaced Anger Killing The Messengers, Plus Other Air America Updates Increasingly bent-out-of-shape Liberals are reacting with rage over Air America's corporate meltdown. Are they mad at Air America Radio, for not yet repaying nearly $900,000 in taxpayer funds, improperly received from the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club? Or for their terrible public relations mishandling of the scandal? Nope, instead, angry lefties would rather blame everything on Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt and yours truly. And, they've started a campaign to dominate the comments section of my site, in apparent retaliation for kicking...

It's bad enough trying to keep Air America's everchanging story straight, but what's left of the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club isn't any less frustrating. Get a load of these two statements, by the same spokeswoman:

--- Air America hosts are still pretending on-air as though nothing is happening, continuing attacks against the Bush "crime family". Apparently they believe the mainstream media will continue helping AAR avoid negative publicity. If the New York Times finally covers this, they're finished. Maybe that's what worries Times staffers most, they don't want to kill off allies. --- Common email question: where's Drudge?

What's next for Air America's programming and personalities, after a week of blogospheric pummeling and self-destructive corporate behavior? Many have asked that question in recent days, wondering if Franken & Co. could actually face real consequences. Not just legally, but in terms of public image, as they take self-inflicted beating after beating. A fresh example of success from St. Louis, however, proves Air America's real fate may be in your hands.

Watching Air America Radio thoroughly destroy its credibility is like last night's burning Airbus jet in Toronto: it's hard to take your eyes away from a full-fledged disaster. At least everybody escaped from the plane's wreckage, who knows what will ultimately happen at Air America's headquarters? The network's claim that all that's stopping it from repaying nearly $900,000 (boy, does that number continue to grow) it owes the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club is an official direction from New York's Department Of Investigation (DOI), is blown to bits by a fresh New York Post report.

It's taken nearly a week, since the Radio Equalizer's first report on Air America's taxpayer funding diversion scandal, but Al Franken has finally addressed it in a second New York Sun investigative piece. Why the delay? If we hadn't pushed this issue, would Franken have ever said a word? Maybe they really are worried at Air America's head office. Can Franken's contention, that he first heard about the diverted funds a week ago, be taken at face value?

Here's a pop quiz: If you're running Air America Radio right about now, are you A) horrified your dirty secrets are being aired by bloggers and others, or B) thrilled, knowing it will shortly be back to business as usual, since the mainstream media has decided to look the other way at your network's past dirty dealings and recent conflicting statements.

Wow, it didn't take long for a number of "Air America Scandal" logos to arrive. Thanks for your submissions! Who knew we had such creative readers? Here are several:

If you've at all followed previous sticky liberal flaps, the routine should by now be clear: First, it's silence, then quiet consultation, followed by a "collective" response, repeated verbatim across the Internet and mainstream media. On Air America's taxpayer funding diversion scandal, it was inevitable liberals would snap out of their stunned silence and fight back. Don't forget, Air America has been the realization of an ages-old lefty dream, to take on Rush Limbaugh and conservative talk radio. They're not going to let $480,000 in taxpayer funds meant for a community center, going instead to the network, get in the...

So far, in seeking to determine whether Air America benefited from taxpayer money meant for a community youth center, we've accomplished two things: sending the blogosphere into action mode and compelling the company to respond to the developing firestorm. Early Friday morning, I was made aware of a new, second press statement on the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club scandal. A number of emails and blog comments quickly followed, leading me to wonder if there was some kind of organized effort to turn the tables.

We're continuing to press the matter of Air America's $480,000 in (possibly unreturned) taxpayer funds obtained in a highly questionable manner. Meanwhile, more ratings releases today shed a great deal of light on the network's future. Unlike its conservative counterpart, liberal talk is destined to be simply a regional, niche format that works in a few cities and fails elsewhere. That's become clear. While right-leaning talk also appeals to a segment of the population, it's big (even with recent ratings troubles) and successful nationwide, almost without geographic exception. Ratings released today for Seattle, Portland and Denver put the finishing touches...

What happens when mainstream media folk, after years of seething over conservative talk radio's success, discover its alternative got diverted federal funds, earmarked instead for inner-city youth and seniors? The answer, with one key exception: they pretend it didn't happen. Yes, only because of a New York Daily News tidbit do we know how Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club nearly shut down major programs recently, because almost $500,000 in federal grant money was instead diverted to Air America's liberal radio network.

Air America is being investigated in New York for diverting federal funds--possibly "hundreds of thousands of dollars"--meant for inner-city kids and senior into the station's coffers.Um, why isn't the New York Times, which has spilled tons of adulatory ink on the liberal radio network, covering this scandal on its front page? Radio blogger Brian Maloney has the lowdown. Read the whole thing. He sniffed out the story when he spotted this tidbit buried in the NY Daily News about Air America being targeted in a NYC Department of Investigation probe of kids' and seniors' programs being ripped off in the...

Today's All Access online edition contains an ad that had the Radio Equalizer just plain baffled: CHRISTIAN RADIO NETWORK FOR MEN 25-54 WOW! We still have not found the right guy, who does not sound like he works at Salem. For the last time... if you are a FLAME-THROWING AIR-TALENT who has personality and not a limp-wristed girly man sound, send you're Mp3 now to programming@centalkradio.com or info@centalkradio.com Our national network targets christian men 25-54 "No chicks". We pay great not like the other so-called christian radio networks who pay low and bonus with God. Working for CEN means you...

Nothing's worse than seeing a major news development, especially one having such a huge potential impact on conservative activism, getting buried by holiday distractions. Especially ironic: a judicial assault on free speech, just before Independence Day. Since a Thurston County, Washington, judge ruled late last Friday that comments by Seattle talk hosts are considered in-kind campaign contributions, subject to reporting under state disclosure laws, it's been an uphill battle getting conservatives to understand its ramifications.

ABC's politically loaded "Welcome To The Neighborhood" has been cancelled before even a single episode could air, according to the Drudge Report and Washington Post. Set to debut July 10, it's been entirely removed from ABC's site, as if it never existed! The ill-conceived reality show, previously covered in-depth at the Radio Equalizer, put three white families in a position to select their new neighbor.

Is there a weekly contest at Air America to see which host can make the most asinine public statements? Perhaps there's a chart in the breakroom where each silly press outburst gets a happy face sticker next to the person's name?

It can't be easy being Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney these days. While he works overtime trying to bolster his "ineffective governor" rap, the real villains are playing golf on Cape Cod! Perhaps Romney expected too much in taking the Bay State's reins,

Is the recent talk radio listenership dropoff continuing? The first set of ratings figures for the three-month period of March, April and May, have emerged tonight and early indications are of a sustained, rocky period for talk radio. It's just a little bit too soon to know for sure, however.

Air America's New Outrageous Claims We've heard some pretty outrageous claims made about Air America's programming in recent months: that it was available to 60% of Americans via radio, that liberal (including non-Air America) talk shows have grown faster than Rush did in his first year. And we were lectured on the "fact" that radio ratings weren't available to the public, therefore we couldn't possibly know whether the network was performing well, or not.

A number of interesting updates on recent stories covered here: --- Alan Colmes wisely took the opportunity to question Bill Clinton on future talk radio plans, according to Radio & Records and All Access today. Clinton scoffed a bit, pouring some cold water on recent reports, but left the door open for a potential program.

Washington Post's Kurtz Adds To Liberal Talk Hype Recently I've been asked by several people, including in a national radio interview last night, why I spend so much time attacking liberal talk radio. Let me make it clear: if liberal talk can succeed on its own, then I have no dispute. After all, who can argue with success? If there's an audience for it, far be it for me to fight the tide. Countering the dishonesty, that's what motivates the Radio Equalizer. For over a year now, we've been subjected to slanted reports, puff pieces and softball interviews of Air...