Free Republic

WHAT DID AL FRANKEN KNOW, and when did he know it? When Air America launched last year, it was the beneficiary of more free publicity than any radio show or network launch had ever received. So desperate was the mainstream media to find some left-leaning response to the Limbaugh-led revolution in talk radio that the many and obvious flaws in the network's offerings went largely unreported. Those of us who have been around radio studios for a few years know, though, that launch hype and selective reading of Arbitron results can never mask the key question: Is a show profitable?...

Tuesday, August 2 Michelle Malkin and Hugh Hewitt pulling Air Ameriscam threadsOnce again doing the job of mainstream media, these two biggies of the blogosphere, Michelle Malkin and Hugh Hewitt, spent a couple of segments earlier this afternoon comparing notes on the Gloria Wise/Air America scandal, which appears to have the liberal radio network getting their startup financing literally out of the hands of a boys and girls club in the Bronx. Here's the interview:HH: Michelle, welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt show.MM: Thanks for having me back, Hugh, and thanks for helping force this story into the mainstream....

The New York Sun takes on the Air America story today and advances it by leaps and bounds, talking with the president of the non-profit which had its money taken by Air America founder Evan Cohen. It turns out that Cohen didn't just get money for the netlet, but also managed to get plenty for his own pockets as well while sitting on the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club board: Initially, members of the executive committee viewed Mr. Cohen fondly because he had thrown a tremendously successful fund-raising affair for Gloria Wise in Manhattan last year. They recalled being...

Where are they? Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the supermen of the civil rights establishment — able to leap tall buildings in a single bound to get in front of a picket line. When victim politics calls, the demagogic duo leap into patented action: March. Boycott. Shakedown. Repeat. But the raging reverends are nowhere to be found as a scandal involving the liberal radio network Air America and a Bronx, N.Y.-based inner city charity for poor children brews. Why the silence?

AIR ENRON By Michelle Malkin   ·   August 02, 2005 05:57 AM David Lombino of The New York Sun continues to move the Air America story forward. According to Lombino's latest article, Al Franken revealed that Air America's current owners have known about the loan from Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club for some time: Mr. Franken said he has learned details of the story only in the last week. He said Piquant LLC, current owner and operator of the radio network, found a record of the transfers while conducting a "forensic" investigation into the finances of the previous owner, Progress...

LOS ANGELES - The boxing saga "Million Dollar Baby" was the Academy Awards (news - web sites) heavyweight Sunday, claiming best picture and three other trophies, including honors for director Clint Eastwood (news), lead-actress Hilary Swank and supporting-actor Morgan Freeman (news). Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" came away with the most Oscars (news - web sites), its five awards including the supporting-actress prize for Cate Blanchett (news). Eastwood, who at 74 became the oldest directing winner ever, noted his mother was with him when his Western "Unforgiven" won the 1992 best-picture and directing Oscar. "She's here with me again tonight, so...

Magazine takes shot at Laredo By Adriana Arce Times staff writer Laredo took a blow last year when it was rated the worst city to live in. This year its being called one of the dumbest. "Mens Health" magazine recently released an article, "Is Your City Stupid?" ranking cities based on the number of bachelor degrees per capita, number of universities and inhabitants SAT scores. The researchers also considered state creativity scores assessed by the Catalytix and the Richard Florida Creativity Group and the number of Nobel Prize winners for physics and medicine born within city limits. Among 101 cities...

<p>Amanpour: CNN practiced self-censorship CNN's top war correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, says that the press muzzled itself during the Iraq war. And, she says CNN "was intimidated" by the Bush administration and Fox News, which "put a climate of fear and self-censorship." As criticism of the war and its aftermath intensifies, Amanpour joins a chorus of journalists and pundits who charge that the media largely toed the Bush administrationline in covering the war and, by doing so, failed to aggressively question the motives behind the invasion.</p>

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