NEW YORK POST: THE MONEY PIT
Gathering Steam
NY Post, Fortune, Others Covering Scandal
As you may know, Michelle Malkin and I have continued to plug away at Air America scandal developments, including our New York Post op-ed, which ran today:
MONEY PIT
By BRIAN MALONEY & MICHELLE MALKIN
AIR America, the much-hyped liberal media venture that was supposed to revolutionize talk radio, is "solvent and apparently stable".
So claim the gullible cheerleaders at The New York Times, who made that unsubstantiated assertion in a recent glowing profile of Air America host Janeane Garofalo.
But behind the fawning headlines and celebrity kiss-ups is a tale of astounding financial and legal chaos.
The city Department of Investigation and state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer continue to conduct separate probes into a dubious loan scheme involving Air America and the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club.
An estimated $875,000 of the charity's funds have disappeared. Evan Montvel-Cohen, who served as both chief of Air America and director of development at Gloria Wise, reportedly steered the funds to himself (for claimed medical expenses) and Air America (for operations).
Network officials are pinning all the blame on him, and are reportedly pressuring the inner-city charity to back up their story.
But the charity scam is just the tip of the iceberg.
Read the rest here.
Meanwhile, Fortune Magazine covers some of the other angles, referencing "conservative bloggers" without naming anyone in particular. Who on earth could they be referring to?
Here's a sample:
It was a bizarre story, but the new management’s public response is proving to be even stranger.
Following word of the investigations (Eliot Spitzer’s state gumshoes have since joined in), Air America, whose CEO is now former record executive Danny Goldberg, retreated into opaque legalism.
An official statement in late July explained that a new entity now controls Air America and that it "had absolutely no involvement" with the Boys & Girls Club.
That was technically true, but it left out the fact that the new entity consisted of the same asset—Air America—and many of the same investors, including heavyweights such as RealNetwork’s Rob Glaser.
In other words, the new entity looked suspiciously like the old entity. By August, Air America had back-pedaled. A new statement reiterated that "the current owners of Air America radio have no obligation" for the loans.
But, it went on, "we agreed months ago to fully compensate the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club. …" Since then, Air America says, it has begun repaying the debt. The network’s strange behavior has been fodder for conservative bloggers. And a second dispute is now stoking their wrath.
This suit began when Air America—er, its prior ownership entity—sued MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, a station owner, for kicking it off the air in two cities in April 2004 because the network hadn’t paid its bills. MultiCultural won a $255,000 judgment.
Not our problem, says Air America’s lawyer Michael Schlesinger of Latham & Watkins.
He argues that the current owners bought only the assets of Air America’s original owner and left the debts behind. It’s "a completely new group of ownership," he says. Hogwash, says Randy Mastro of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, who represents MultiCultural: "Air America engaged in the oldest trick in the book. They tried to reorganize themselves to avoid paying their debts."
Even Italian bloggers are starting to notice our Air America scandal coverage.
Most of the radio trade publications are continuing an Air America scandal coverage blackout, for which the network is probably thrilled. But All Access, a major online site covering radio and the recording industry, had this today, from reporter Perry M Simon:
The reporting by "RADIO EQUALIZER" blogger BRIAN MALONEY and conservative columnist MICHELLE MALKIN, most recently in a four part series, on AIR AMERICA RADIO's financial dealings has been summarized in a column by MALONEY and MALKIN in MONDAY's NEW YORK POST.
The column recounts the GLORIA WISE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB loan controversy, MULTICULTURAL RADIO's lawsuits against the network, and LIZZ WINSTEAD's suit seeking back pay and interest after her firing, as well as the efforts by original investors SHELDON and ANITA DROBNY to start a new entity to acquire small stations to affiliate with the network.
More updates shortly.
Scandal graphic by Darleen Click. Frankenspeak by Agent Tim Online.
Your Amazon orders support these efforts. Thanks!
NY Post, Fortune, Others Covering Scandal
As you may know, Michelle Malkin and I have continued to plug away at Air America scandal developments, including our New York Post op-ed, which ran today:MONEY PIT
By BRIAN MALONEY & MICHELLE MALKIN
AIR America, the much-hyped liberal media venture that was supposed to revolutionize talk radio, is "solvent and apparently stable".
So claim the gullible cheerleaders at The New York Times, who made that unsubstantiated assertion in a recent glowing profile of Air America host Janeane Garofalo.
But behind the fawning headlines and celebrity kiss-ups is a tale of astounding financial and legal chaos.
The city Department of Investigation and state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer continue to conduct separate probes into a dubious loan scheme involving Air America and the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club.
An estimated $875,000 of the charity's funds have disappeared. Evan Montvel-Cohen, who served as both chief of Air America and director of development at Gloria Wise, reportedly steered the funds to himself (for claimed medical expenses) and Air America (for operations).
Network officials are pinning all the blame on him, and are reportedly pressuring the inner-city charity to back up their story.
But the charity scam is just the tip of the iceberg.
Read the rest here.
Meanwhile, Fortune Magazine covers some of the other angles, referencing "conservative bloggers" without naming anyone in particular. Who on earth could they be referring to?
Here's a sample:
It was a bizarre story, but the new management’s public response is proving to be even stranger.
Following word of the investigations (Eliot Spitzer’s state gumshoes have since joined in), Air America, whose CEO is now former record executive Danny Goldberg, retreated into opaque legalism.
An official statement in late July explained that a new entity now controls Air America and that it "had absolutely no involvement" with the Boys & Girls Club.That was technically true, but it left out the fact that the new entity consisted of the same asset—Air America—and many of the same investors, including heavyweights such as RealNetwork’s Rob Glaser.
In other words, the new entity looked suspiciously like the old entity. By August, Air America had back-pedaled. A new statement reiterated that "the current owners of Air America radio have no obligation" for the loans.
But, it went on, "we agreed months ago to fully compensate the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club. …" Since then, Air America says, it has begun repaying the debt. The network’s strange behavior has been fodder for conservative bloggers. And a second dispute is now stoking their wrath.
This suit began when Air America—er, its prior ownership entity—sued MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, a station owner, for kicking it off the air in two cities in April 2004 because the network hadn’t paid its bills. MultiCultural won a $255,000 judgment.
Not our problem, says Air America’s lawyer Michael Schlesinger of Latham & Watkins.
He argues that the current owners bought only the assets of Air America’s original owner and left the debts behind. It’s "a completely new group of ownership," he says. Hogwash, says Randy Mastro of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, who represents MultiCultural: "Air America engaged in the oldest trick in the book. They tried to reorganize themselves to avoid paying their debts."
Even Italian bloggers are starting to notice our Air America scandal coverage.
Most of the radio trade publications are continuing an Air America scandal coverage blackout, for which the network is probably thrilled. But All Access, a major online site covering radio and the recording industry, had this today, from reporter Perry M Simon:
The reporting by "RADIO EQUALIZER" blogger BRIAN MALONEY and conservative columnist MICHELLE MALKIN, most recently in a four part series, on AIR AMERICA RADIO's financial dealings has been summarized in a column by MALONEY and MALKIN in MONDAY's NEW YORK POST.
The column recounts the GLORIA WISE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB loan controversy, MULTICULTURAL RADIO's lawsuits against the network, and LIZZ WINSTEAD's suit seeking back pay and interest after her firing, as well as the efforts by original investors SHELDON and ANITA DROBNY to start a new entity to acquire small stations to affiliate with the network.
More updates shortly.
Scandal graphic by Darleen Click. Frankenspeak by Agent Tim Online.
Your Amazon orders support these efforts. Thanks!
published by Brian Maloney at
21:45
9 Comments:
In situations like this where the big boys try to protect their friends by ignoring a story, a story that they would be all over if it involved anyone else, you simply have to be persistent.
Step by step. Inch by inch. Story by story. Before you know it, the whole continent starts paying attention. I look forward to each installment. Good work.
By
al fin, at 22 August, 2005 22:05
OT on this post, but on your links post at Michelle Malkin's you left out the link to the conservative Italian blog.
Re: Irish blogs you should definitely check out Slugger O'Toole--Northern Ireland but a terrific group blog.
By
Pat, at 23 August, 2005 00:52
That's a spicy meatball.
Thanks alot for pushin my a blog.
Guido S.
By
@whut, at 23 August, 2005 01:39
This is the type of situation that can put a blogger, or any news provider, on the map. Take a significant story (stealing from hungry kids) that nobody else has the courage to cover, and stick with it day in and day out adding to the evidence as it comes in.
Limbaugh did the same thing when he was getting started. His POV was so different from the MSM that his show drew millions of people who were sick of the same old drivel from the MSM.
The problem with AAR is that it is not a new voice at all, merely just another voice in the same big choir that is slightly out of tune. There is no compelling reason for a listener to choose AAR, when he can easily get the same drivel from the mainstream. The mainstream is even funnier than Franken, without trying to be.
By
al fin, at 23 August, 2005 08:27
for those who missed the show it's archived at http://www.punditreview.com
By
raccoonradio, at 23 August, 2005 11:29
It's amazing to see how vile the liberal comments tend to be, not to mention lacking in facts. With nothing to disagree about they simply attack you.
Nice to talk to you on Pundit Review radio Sunday, I called in.
I continue to link to your stories from my blog.
Keep up the good work, this story has legs.
By
SactoDan, at 23 August, 2005 11:43
I was just listening to the show again, online. When it first aired I was up in Burlington, VT, and it was tough listening because there's a station in Montreal at AM 690 that was walking all over WRKO (680)! I did hear SactoDan's comments. By the way I'm pretty sure the called "Joe from Peabody" is "Joe Bag" (aka Edward
J. Tracchia) who does a conservative talk show Sat. afternoons on tiny WNSH in Beverly, MA. I went to school with him :)
By
raccoonradio, at 23 August, 2005 12:34
I suppose I just don't get all the hullabaloo...
The guy who set the whole thing up (and NO ONE has propped any evidence to the contrary), evan cohen (? do I have his name right?), was forced out...the deal that was made fell apart, but Air America is trying to pay the money back.
So - if anything illegal was done in the setup (funds being diverted) - it would be EC and Progress Media we want, right?
If anything was done after the 'transfer of power', we want those who are in charge of the money after that, right?
How is this indicative of something wrong being done by Al Franken? How is this indicative of 'Air America' as a radio platform being amoral?
Brian continues to post the same information over and over again, yet rather than actually uncovering the facts, he makes innuendo. Rather than exposing any more facts, he celebrates the same regurgitation getting New York Post print as an op-ed...
All of this seems to be caused by people's hatred that Air America and Al Franken exist. How sad for all of you.
Rather than trying to make nonexistent connections, why not point the fingers at those we know are responsible? Why not focus energy on where the investigation points now, rather than where you hope it will?
Why not, after-all, devote more of this time and energy getting money for the Boys and Girls club you claim to be championing?
By
TJ, at 23 August, 2005 14:21
"Al Frankenberry was involved in Ham Sandwich America at that time - and his million-dollar contract was at stake. It is pretty inconceivable that he would not be aware of the "forensic accounting" and the investors' meetings that took place around that time"
so, "it is pretty inconceivable" is your best evidence that Al Franken did something illegal?
Hey, for everyone that did anything illegal - charge them, try them, convict them, punish them...but it seems quite a stretch to lump AF in yet.
Get me evidence, and I'll be right there with you!
Oh - wait, there's an actual investigator looking into this - that's right - so all responsible are very likely going be held responsible.
The right thing is already being done...
So - oh, I get it - the whole point of this effort is to A) help brian forget his failed Seattle Radio efforts and B) get Brian money (he's gonna make all this into a book, whatever the outcome) because he has no other job and C) try to bring down Air America regardless of the facts, because, after-all, they are growing in number of markets and every station that switched to an AA format immediately saw an improvement of ratings.
Silly me - why didn't I see it?
By
TJ, at 23 August, 2005 15:31
Post a Comment
<< Home