Air America Radio

Air America Radio, a liberal talk radio network that features comedian Al Franken, said Danny Goldberg was giving up his role as chief executive and would be replaced by an executive from a management consulting firm. Goldberg, a longtime music industry executive, joined Air America as CEO in February 2005. He will remain with the company as vice chairman. Jim Wiggett will become interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement, the company said.

Though comedian Al Franken, who gave up his Air America radio show for a U.S. Senate run, may have been the best-known personality on the liberal talk network, his time slot might be in even better hands now, a local station executive says. Thom Hartmann's three-hour program had been syndicated by Air America; now the network has begun airing it throughout the network in Franken's old 9 a.m. to noon window. "I think Thom's better than Al.

Air America Radio's chairman and vice chairman resigned Thursday in the latest shake-up at the liberal radio network that launched five weeks ago. Chairman Evan Cohen, the network's co-founder, who resigned along with vice chairman and investor Rex Sorensen, said he left for personal reasons. "It was the right thing to do at the right time," he said. "Very few people thought this could get going, and obviously it has been proven," with what he called strong ratings in Portland, Ore.

Liberal talk-radio network Air America Radio has reached a tentative deal to be sold to a New York real estate investor, and Al Franken, its best-known host, will leave next month, the company said Monday. The agreement, outlined in a letter of intent by Air America to sell its business to SL Green Realty Corp. founder and Chairman Stephen Green, comes three months after the radio network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A year ago, from offices in midtown Manhattan, people in trendy glasses -- upstart entertainer-intellectuals hoping to mount a counteroffensive against conservative talk radio and unseat the Bush administration -- launched a liberal network called Air America Radio. "Left of the Dial," an insular documentary airing tonight on HBO, chronicles Air America's herky-jerky beginnings from the inside.

A New York judge Thursday ordered liberal talk-radio network Air America Radio back on in Chicago, but Los Angeles listeners to the 2-week-old service have an indefinite wait before it returns to the airwaves here. MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., which leases airtime to Air America on station WNTD-AM (950) in Chicago and KBLA-AM (1580) in Los Angeles, pulled the talk lineup featuring comedians Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, rapper Chuck D and others off the air Wednesday.

Though comedian Al Franken, who gave up his Air America radio show for a U.S. Senate run, may have been the best-known personality on the liberal talk network, his time slot might be in even better hands now, a local station executive says. Thom Hartmann's three-hour program had been syndicated by Air America; now the network has begun airing it throughout the network in Franken's old 9 a.m. to noon window. "I think Thom's better than Al.

Financially strapped Air America Radio acknowledged Thursday, after star commentator Al Franken said publicly that his paycheck had stopped coming, that it had suffered a small number of layoffs but insisted there were no plans for the liberal talk-show network to declare bankruptcy. "If Air America had filed for bankruptcy every time someone rumored it to be doing so, we would have ceased to exist long ago," said network spokeswoman Jaime Horn in a statement.

Liberal talk-radio network Air America Radio has reached a tentative deal to be sold to a New York real estate investor, and Al Franken, its best-known host, will leave next month, the company said Monday. The agreement, outlined in a letter of intent by Air America to sell its business to SL Green Realty Corp. founder and Chairman Stephen Green, comes three months after the radio network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Air America Radio, a start-up radio network that offers liberal talk and commentary, has signed a new contract with comedian Al Franken to stay on as its lead personality for at least two more years, the company announced Wednesday. "I have re-signed with Air America in order to spend less time with my family," said Franken, who is on the air for three hours each weekday. Air America also said that Rob Glaser, the chairman and chief executive of the technology company RealNetworks Inc.

Red ink finally got the better of the nation's blue-state radio network. The parent of Air America Radio, plagued by management and financial problems since its inception, filed Friday for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The filing in New York by Piquant, the network's parent company, became necessary after negotiations with one of the privately held company's founding creditors broke down, said Air America spokeswoman Jaime Horn.

Financially strapped Air America Radio acknowledged Thursday, after star commentator Al Franken said publicly that his paycheck had stopped coming, that it had suffered a small number of layoffs but insisted there were no plans for the liberal talk-show network to declare bankruptcy. "If Air America had filed for bankruptcy every time someone rumored it to be doing so, we would have ceased to exist long ago," said network spokeswoman Jaime Horn in a statement.

Air America Radio, a liberal talk radio network that features comedian Al Franken, said Danny Goldberg was giving up his role as chief executive and would be replaced by an executive from a management consulting firm. Goldberg, a longtime music industry executive, joined Air America as CEO in February 2005. He will remain with the company as vice chairman. Jim Wiggett will become interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement, the company said.

Re "Why the Liberals Can't Keep Air America From Spiraling In," Commentary, April 18: Brian Anderson's attack on Air America Radio is petulant and inaccurate, an indication that conservatives are having a hard time dealing with a robust alternative to the monopoly they had on talk radio since the 1980s. Regardless of how much Anderson and his ilk whistle past the graveyard, there is a large and growing audience for liberal talk. Every one of the original stations that picked up Air America has experienced dramatic increases in ratings.

The liberal Air America Radio, just past its first birthday, has probably enjoyed more free publicity than any enterprise in recent history. But don't believe the hype: Air America's left-wing answer to conservative talk radio is failing, just as previous efforts to find liberal Rush Limbaughs have failed. Wait a second, you say, didn't I read that Air America has expanded to more than 50 markets?

A year ago, from offices in midtown Manhattan, people in trendy glasses -- upstart entertainer-intellectuals hoping to mount a counteroffensive against conservative talk radio and unseat the Bush administration -- launched a liberal network called Air America Radio. "Left of the Dial," an insular documentary airing tonight on HBO, chronicles Air America's herky-jerky beginnings from the inside.

Re "Why the Liberals Can't Keep Air America From Spiraling In," Commentary, April 18: Brian Anderson's attack on Air America Radio is petulant and inaccurate, an indication that conservatives are having a hard time dealing with a robust alternative to the monopoly they had on talk radio since the 1980s. Regardless of how much Anderson and his ilk whistle past the graveyard, there is a large and growing audience for liberal talk. Every one of the original stations that picked up Air America has experienced dramatic increases in ratings.

Listeners in Los Angeles and Chicago who tuned in to Air America on Wednesday to hear comedian Al Franken dissect President Bush's news conference got entertainment gossip instead -- in Spanish. In a dispute over payment for airtime, the liberal talk-radio network was abruptly yanked off the air in the morning by MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., the New York company that owns Santa Monica-based KBLA-AM (1580)and WNTD-AM (950) in Chicago.

Air America Radio, the left-wing talk-radio venture featuring Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Janeane Garofalo, celebrates its first anniversary on the air this week, and HBO is giving it a rather macabre gift to mark the occasion: a searing, warts-and-all documentary showing just how perilously close the fledgling network came to oblivion in its first weeks. "Left of the Dial," which premieres on HBO on Thursday (8 p.m.

The nation's most prominent liberal talk radio network has tapped one of the music business' most prominent liberal activists to be its new boss. Air America Radio, seeking solid footing after a rocky start last year, on Thursday named veteran music executive Danny Goldberg chief executive of the network.