 Is Air America Radio filing for bankruptcy on Friday? That's what Think Progress a whiny disreputable blog whose link we're not providing, citing three sources, reported today. Calls to Air America executives weren't returned, but star talk-show host Al Franken confirms that, once again, the troubled network is facing a serious cash crunch.
"I don't know if that's true or not," Franken tells Radar when asked about the bankruptcy report. "We do know that there have been cash-flow problems. I haven't been paid in a while. Like, there's no cash flowing to me."
| Gee, maybe the money you took up front will have to last. |
It's not the first time Franken has gone without a paycheck and he still doesn't get the idea. Air America ran out of money promptly after it launched in 2004, after disgraced former chairman Evan Cohen inflated the amount of money he had raised to fund the network. Since then, Air America has seen a litany of troubles, executive departures, talent shuffles, and lawsuits.
| An endless source of amusement! |
Six months ago, the network was booted from its flagship station in New York City, WLIB, to a much weaker signal that doesn't cover the entire city, and it laid off five staffers on September 11, according to the New York Post.
Franken isn't the only person Air America is in hock to. Last year, the network settled a multi-million-dollar lawsuit by Multicultural Broadcasting, the owner of its Chicago and Los Angeles stations, for its failure to pay for rented time. But according to Multicultural's attorney, Randy Mastro, the network still hasn't paid up. "It involved a structured settlement over time," Mastro says. "There is additional money owed. If it's true [that they're filing for bankruptcy], we'll have to do something about that."
| Quick, call our lawyers Charlie, we're about to be stiffed again by those Air America bastards!" |
 Norman Wain, a Cleveland-based former radio executive and investor in Air America, says he hadn't heard about any financial difficulties. "I know nothing about it," he says. "They don't communicate with investors very well. They only come to us when they're looking for more money." The last time that happened, he says, was "three or four months ago."
| And you continue to pour money into this enterprise because ... |
If bankruptcy is imminent, the timing couldn't be worse for Franken and better for us: His new movie, Al Franken: God Spoke, opens today in New York. In a statement, an Air America spokeswoman said "no decision has been taken to make any filing of any kind." |